Being Vegetarian in Costa Rica

It had been 19 years since I had been to Costa Rica but I could still remember how much I was bored with the food there. I'd say if I never saw another plate of gallo pinto again, it'd be too soon. Well here I am again, and guess what, more gallo pinto.

Even though Costa Ricans eat a lot of meat plates, side dishes with meat in them, and soups made with meat, you really do want to try and eat at the sodas (local eateries). Not only are they budget-friendly, but it's often cafeteria/buffet style so you can pick some veggie options.

In general, you'll be eating a lot of rice, beans, eggs, salad, veggies, fruit, friend plantains, corn tortillas, and some local non-melty, rather squeaky, cheese.

You are sometimes very limited. I've had my share of terrible nachos barely covered with cheese sauce, and been stuck eating an appetizer of patacones as my meal more than once. But sometimes you just have to know how to ask.

One night when I flew in, my friend and I were travel-weary and it was late and the only option in the small town was Chicken Bros. Yes, even spelled in English. I explained that I was vegetarian and they said they had nothing, Nothing. (try not to cry tears of hunger) Well after a little prodding, it turns out their beans are not made with pork fat, their rice is just plain white rice, and their plantains are even fried separately from the meat. I had a huge (although not incredibly satisfying) meal of rice, beans, salad, and fried bananas. So they simply did not understand how to put together a vegetarian plate even though they had the food.

For the set local dishes, knowing a few key phrases helps immensely so you can adapt a local selection to get something vegetarian. Of course the tourists towns will have western restaurants catering to all sorts of non Costa Rican whims.

Gallo Pinto

, a mixture of rice and black beans, is a typical Costa Rican breakfast with fried plantains, eggs, crema, and maybe tortillas and a chunk of local crumbly cheese. Definitely ask if it's made with chicken bullion or meat products. To keep cost down, many times it's just made with water (mmm, yummy) so it's vegetarian friendly.

Casado

is what is served for lunch and dinner. It's not a specific dish, casdado refers to the entire plate of typical local food that might even come with a glass of juice. Ordering a casado, you'll get rice and/or beans, salad, tortillas, fried plantains, and chicken or something meaty. Sort of a chef's choice kind of dish. Obviously just ask for it without the meat. Sometimes you can get grilled veggies instead.

Patacones

are smashed deep friend rounds of green plantains. They're a bit dry but are a good salted snack with, you guessed it, beans! Sometimes it comes with avocado or pico de gallo (called chimichurri in Costa Rica, yeah weird).

Picadillo

is a diced veggie hash sometimes made with chayote squash cooked Costa Rican style (usually with onions, pepper, garlic, oregano, sometimes salsa Lizano, and other spices) and served with tortillas or rice. It usually has ground beef in it but you can get it without and it's still delicious.

Soap Negra or Caldo de Frijol

(Black Bean Soup) is surprisingly vegetarian much of the time! But definitely ask if it's made with chicken bullion or not. Sometimes it has actual beans, sometimes not, sometimes it has a hard boiled egg in it, sometimes white rice. It's basically just beans cooked with the typical tico fare of onions, sweet peppers, garlic, and cilantro.

Pipa

(PEE-pah) is a young green coconut that is full of refreshing coconut water. You can get these for $1 from roadside carts. They are kept chilled and vendor will cut the top off and give you a straw.

When in doubt, have dessert! :)

Arroz con Leche

(rice pudding) is great here and you're in for a treat with the

flan

because they will put coconut on the bottom of it! Roadside cart Copo or Granizado are shaved ice treats with sweet syrup and sweetened condensed milk. You'll want to invest in some

Salsa Lizano

. It's a staple here and delicious and many Costa Rican dishes are made with it. It's a brown sort of sweet tangy smoky Worcestershire steak-sauce and it'll add some personality to your food!

Due to the huge amount of expats in Costa Rica, the grocery stores are well stocked with familiar western foods! You can buy yogurt, cereal, peanut butter, sandwich bread, and mayo. The avocados are big but sometimes are the big watery kind (not Haas) and there are a lot of nice fruit and veggies. Fresh fruit is easy to come by and the papaya and pineapple are tropical sweet.

Vegetarian Phrases

Language	Meaning	Phrase / Pronunciation
Spanish	chicken stock / bouillon	consome de pollo cohn-soh-meh deh poi-yo
	Does this have animal products?	Esto tiene productos de animales? eh-stoh tyeh-neh proh-dook-tohs deh ah-nee-mah-lehs?
	Does this have chicken stock?	Tiene caldo de pollo? tyeh-neh cahl-doh deh poi-yo?
	I am vegetarian	soy vegetarian(a fem.)(o male) soy ve-he-TAH-ree-YAH-nah
	I don't eat meat, chicken, or fish	no como carne, pollo o pescado
	Is this made with water or chicken stock?	Está hecho con agua o caldo de pollo?
	no meat, no chicken, no fish	ni carne, ni pollo, ni pescado nee CAR-ne, nee POY-o, nee pes-CA-do
	with vegetables instead of mean (chicken), please	con verduras en lugar de carne (pollo) por favor