Costa Rica

🇨🇷Limón, Costa Rica

Agua de Sapo

Caribbean drink with panela (unrefined sugar), ginger, and lime, called 'toad water' for its color, refreshing and spicy.

🇨🇷Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Arroz Guacho

Sticky rice soup with seafood, traditional in Guanacaste province, similar to asopao, rich and comforting, coastal.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Baked Tamale

Tamal asado

Baked corn dessert with cheese, sour cream, sugar, and coconut, moist texture between cake and pudding, a Costa Rican specialty.

🇨🇷Limón, Costa Rica

Banana Bread

Pan banano

Caribbean banana bread, dense and sweet, a Limón province specialty, moist with distinct banana flavor, traditional.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Bavaria Beer

Cerveza Bavaria

Premium Costa Rican beer since 1932, German Pilsner style with amber color and fuller body, smooth and drinkable.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Black Bean Soup

Sopa negra

Black bean soup from southern Costa Rica, creamy and smooth with sautéed vegetables, served with hard-boiled eggs and cilantro.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Cajeta

Cajeta de coco

Coconut candy balls made with condensed milk, coconut, butter, and graham crackers, a traditional Costa Rican sweet treat.

🇨🇷Limón, Costa Rica

Caribbean Rice and Beans

Rice and beans

Caribbean-style rice and red beans cooked in coconut milk with thyme and Panamanian pepper, a Limón province staple, aromatic and spicy.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Casado

Typical lunch plate with rice, beans, plantains, salad, tortilla, and choice of protein, name means 'married' as components are always together.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Cassava Bread

Pan de yuca

Cassava bread made with yuca flour and cheese, gluten-free with chewy texture, a traditional Costa Rican bread, golden and cheesy.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Chan Seed Drink

Fresco de chan

Drink made from chan seeds that become gelatinous in water, sweetened with sugar, a distinctive Costa Rican refreshing beverage.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Cheese Breads

Bizcochos

Cheese breads made with corn masa, natilla, and cheese, baked in banana leaves, a traditional Costa Rican snack, moist and cheesy.

🇨🇷Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Cheese Tortilla

Tortilla de queso

Cheese-filled corn tortilla, popular in Guanacaste, with good cheese melting and generous filling, a savory snack.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Chicharrones

A Cuban fried pork rinds, crispy and salty, a street and daily classic

🇨🇷Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Chicheme

Fermented corn drink from Guanacaste, nutritious and popular at gatherings, traditional and rustic, a distinctive Costa Rican beverage.

🇨🇷San José, Costa Rica

Chifrijo

Layered bowl of white rice, spiced beans, chicharrón pork pieces, pico de gallo, and tortilla chips, born in 1990s San José bars.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Chilera

Pickled vegetable sauce with onions, carrots, and hot peppers, a popular Costa Rican condiment, crisp and tangy.

🇧🇷Oriente (Amazonian Ecuador), Brazil

Chontaduro

A palm fruit native to the Colombian Pacific and Amazon, with orange-red skin and starchy yellow flesh. Eaten with salt or honey, a staple of Pacific cuisine. On Cali streets the boiled fruit is sold in paper bags with salt and lime (chontaduro con sal).

🇨🇷Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Chorreadas

Fresh corn pancakes made from ground corn, milk, and salt, an indigenous recipe from Guanacaste, can be sweet or savory.

🇨🇷Limón, Costa Rica

Coconut Bread

Pan de coco

Coconut bread from Caribbean coast, sweet and aromatic, a Limón province specialty, traditional and moist.

🇨🇴Colombia

Coconut Flan

Flan de coco

Coconut flan made with eggs, coconut milk, condensed milk, and flaked coconut, smooth and creamy with proper caramel layer.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Corn Drink

Atol de elote

A Guatemalan creamy, warm corn drink with milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Corn Pudding

Mazamorra

Corn pudding dessert, similar to atole but thicker, smooth with good corn flavor, a traditional Costa Rican sweet treat.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Corn Tamale

Tamal de elote

Sweet corn tamale made with fresh corn kernels, milk, and sugar, wrapped in corn husks, bright yellow and moist, traditional.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Corn Tortillas

Tortillas

Handmade corn tortillas, staple accompaniment to meals, freshly made at sodas, pliable and slightly thick, essential.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Costa Rican Ceviche

Ceviche tico

Raw fish marinated in lime juice with onions, cilantro, and sweet peppers, served with crackers, a refreshing coastal specialty.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Costa Rican Chorizo

Chorizo

Costa Rican sausage, typically pork with local seasoning, used in empanadas and many dishes, juicy and flavorful.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Costa Rican Coffee

Café

Costa Rican coffee, world-renowned for quality, grown in highlands, a daily social ritual and national pride, rich and aromatic.

🇨🇷Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Costa Rican Corn-and-Cheese Rosquillas

Rosquillas

Cheese and corn ring cookies from Guanacaste, crispy snacks with good cheese flavor, a traditional Costa Rican treat.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Costa Rican Guava

Cas

Costa Rican guava, intensely tart and aromatic, used for refresco de cas rather than eaten fresh, a uniquely Tico fruit, refreshing.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Costa Rican Tamales

Tamales

Corn masa filled with pork, rice, vegetables, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, a Christmas tradition made in family gatherings.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Coyol Wine

Vino de coyol

Sap tapped from a felled coyol palm and left to ferment in the sun for hours into a cloudy, sweet-sour drink that keeps getting stronger.

🇦🇷Buenos Aires, Argentina

Dulce de Leche

Argentina's national sweet: a thick, creamy caramel of milk and sugar slow-cooked for hours. Eaten by the spoonful, spread on toast, or used in alfajores, cakes, and ice cream.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Empanadas de Chiverre

Costa Rican Easter empanadas filled with chiverre, a sweetened squash-jam filling, baked in a corn or wheat pastry.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Gallo Pinto

Costa Rica's national dish of rice and black beans fried with onions, peppers, cilantro, and Salsa Lizano, eaten at breakfast.

🇨🇷Costa Rica

Grilled Meat

Carne Asada

Charcoal-grilled beef marinated with salt, garlic and lime — the celebratory asado plate of Central America, sliced thin and served with rice, beans, fried plantain, chimol and tortillas.