(To the tune of Karma Chameleon) Comí comí comí comí comí comi-i-da.

---

Good evening everyone.

Before I arrived here I read that Costa Rican cuisine was 'basic', which is about as near as a guide book gets to saying that it's either 'boring' or 'rubbish'. I assumed this 'basic' tag must be ill-informed because there was no way that a country just south of Mexico and a bit north of Argentina could have anything other than varied, exciting food. But it turns out that those two countries are really not as close and you think they are, and that's reflected in the food. The national dish is something called Gallo Pinto, which may sound fancy but it's actually just rice and beans. I have always been a little confused by the term 'national dish'. I don't know if it's something that is a staple food of the country or if it's a kind of signature meal, the kind of thing you'd serve to someone if they were only visiting for one night and you wanted to say something about where you live through the food you gave them. If it is a so called 'signature dish' then I suppose England has the full English breakfast, Scotland has haggis, India has curry, Japan has sushi and Spain has paella - leading you to the inevitable conclusion that Costa Ricans are getting screwed with their rice and beans combo.

The difference between Gallo Pinto and all of the food I've just mentioned is that it is eaten with literally every meal. Breakfast is either rice and beans on their own or with an omelette or a piece of bread. Lunch is rice and beans with some type of vegetable or plantain (which I think is a fruit - more on that later) and tea is rice and beans with some meat and maybe vegetables too. Not the most varied but in truth there's nothing to offensive in there and the Mum of the family I live with is a good cook so as long as I can stomach the omelette in the morning then it's easy street from then on in.

The best thing I've eaten since I've been here is a jerk chicken kebab on a skewer, which we got from a vendor on a street corner in Puerto Viejo. Somehow when you're abroad the rules for those kind of things are different. I have eaten Souvlaki from a van in Greece, a pie covered in gravy called 'a floater' from a guy on the street in Australia and the inevitable hotdog from the vendors in New York, yet if someone suggested getting a burger from one of the vans on Briggate in Leeds you'd assume they were drunk, naive, stupid or all of the above.

Outside of that kebab, and as shameful as it may be to admit, the tastiest and most filling thing I've had since I've been here was the Taco Bell we got when we had no running water a few weeks back and the cheeseburger I treated myself to in Wendy's the other day isn't far behind it. It's not as bad as it sounds though, we don't have either of them in England which means that when I have been to these places I am still trying something different and exotic. Honestly. Even they (and McDonalds) make concessions to the starch hungry locals as they offer rice and beans instead of, or as well as, chips with your burger or taco. We have tried on several occasions to find an actual 'Costa Rican' restaurant but each time we've had to settle for something else. There are plenty of Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Mediterranean and American style places but nowhere that serves Costa Rican cuisine. Whatever that is. If you know San Jose and you can point me towards somewhere then please do and I'll be straight there.

The nearest that there seems to be are places called 'Sodas', which are all over the place. They are loosely in the same family as the American Diner and the British Cafe, although the food is much nearer to the former rather than the latter. They are basically places for lunch or a quick bite to eat and largely value convenience and speed over any real quality, which is no bad thing on it's own, but it becomes one when you have a city full of them.

As boring as the Gallo Pinto may get after a while, the aforementioned Plantains have been a culinary revelation for me. In their natural form they look like big, off colour bananas, and as everyone knows, there is no funnier shape in nature than a banana so I was immediately a fan. Also, who doesn't enjoy a versatile food. A food that that is happy to be used in any course, for any meal, at any time of the day, whilst also being humble enough not to be the centrepiece of any. Unlike the arrogant, headline stealing rice, with it's curry and rice and rice puddings, you never see Plantain in the title of a dish. It's always just there, quietly helping things along, tasting brilliant. There are guys on the street here who sell packs of dried, curried Plantains for 100 colones each (about 15 pence) I'm back home for Christmas so get your orders in now, I've already thrown some clothes out so I've got extra space in my suitcase.

For all I have said about the food here, the cakes are still incredible. Almost every cafe, restaurant, food store or Soda seems to have a team of people baking these amazing looking things, everyday of the week. If you ever visit and you're a fan of a good pudding, you're in for a treat. Just resist the temptation to get rice and beans with it and you'll be fine.

Pura Vida.

Dave

---