This week the theme of our blog was restaurants. I was particularly interested in this week’s themes and talking to my host family about restaurants because I was very curious as to when they go and what types of restaurants they go to. After being in Costa Rica for almost a month and visiting different restaurants, I have noticed some things that are very similar and some things that are so different from restaurants in the United States. Even restaurants that are technically “the same” as the U.S. (such as McDonalds) are different. One thing I noticed soon after coming here was that the service in restaurants is much slower. The waiter/waitress does not come to check on you very often, if at all. This seemed strange to those of us at the time, but then we realized that at many restaurants, the tip is included. When I reflect on why waiters/waitresses come to check on us so often in the U.S. it is most likely because they want a good tip, however here, they don’t need to worry about it as much. Another difference was that here, you always have to ask in order to get the check, whereas in many restaurants at home, you are given the check automatically. We had a conversation about this in our Spanish class earlier today and our teacher was shocked when we told her that the check was given to us without us asking. She told us that if that was done here, it would come off as extremely rude and pushy. It’s interesting because something like getting the check automatically seems so normal to me, but to others it can mean something totally different (like being rude, for example). Just another cultural difference I suppose!
The first question I asked my mom involved when people ate at restaurants. The answers were similar to what I think would be answers from American families as well. My mom at first said that it depends on what kind of restaurant you are talking about. Fast food restaurants are gone to at random, when someone needs a quick meal for example. However the nicer restaurants are most commonly eaten at on holidays, like Mothers Day. Many families also go out for birthdays. When I think about my family and when we eat out, it’s very similar to what my mom said. Holidays are very common times to go out, but other than that it is usually random. Fast food is eaten when our schedules clash because of work/sports, but other than that, one night we might just all decide to eat out as a treat. As for popular food types, besides typical Costa Rican cuisine, my mom said that Italian, Mexican, Argentinean, and Columbian restaurants are very popular, especially in the San Jose area. Argentinean and Columbian cuisine is very similar to that of Costa Rica. My mom said that there are a fair amount of Chinese restaurants but people don’t like it as much. There was a lot of laughing when I brought up the idea of Chinese cuisine. I didn’t quite understand all that she was saying, but from what other people in our group have said, our Tica parents have an interesting perception and opinion of Chinese culture and people. Reflecting on these answers, I was thinking about our readings and how they related to why these types of food are popular here. Most of Central America was colonized by European countries, which is why it makes sense that they have influence on the cuisine. The Chinese and Japanese didn’t, therefore, why would their food be popular? Also, Mexico, Argentina and Columbia are all in fairly close proximity to Costa Rica, so it makes sense that their cuisine would be represented.
Our picture assignment was to visit three different kinds of restaurants; a typical Costa Rican restaurant, a family restaurant of any kind of cuisine, and a fast food restaurant. A typical Costa Rican restaurant, or better known as soda, featured foods native and popular in Costa Rica. Many sodas are set up in a kind of buffet line where you tell the person what to put on the plate. Their most distinguishing feature in my opinion is that they feature a casado which is a typical Costa Rican plate, usually consisting of rice, beans, meat, plantains, etc. I think in the United States, that would best relate to the idea of a hamburger and fries (which unfortunately often makes us think of fast food). But that got me thinking about what would be an American casado? My Tica mom asked me what I consider typical American food. The first things that come to mind would be hamburgers, and mac and cheese (separate dishes), but in general our food really is a mixture of foods from other cultures. It isn’t like here, where every day we have some form of rice and beans, whether it is at breakfast, lunch or dinner. For the family restaurant, we stumbled upon a restaurant in Puerto Viejo that has been classified in the top 5 of all the restaurants in Costa Rica. It was labeled as “World Cuisine,” and was absolutely delicious. The menu offered many options involving curry, tacos, and fish dishes. It featured live music, and probably the biggest difference from restaurants in the U.S. was that it was open. It wasn’t enclosed. Now, this could also be because of the location and weather. In New England, a restaurant like this wouldn’t make it unless it was only open in the summer, simply because the weather is too cold. Lastly, for fast food, I went to the McDonalds, located right off the rotunda near Mesoamerica. It was an interesting experience. The food was much more expensive and as you can see from the photo of the menu, there are a lot fewer options. There also was no dollar menu, which is something McDonalds prides itself on back home. My first thought after getting my food was why people would come here if it is so expensive and so unhealthy. The motivation for going at home is usually because it is fast and cheap. But here, it is a luxury. Looking around, people were dressed in stylish clothes. The people who eat at McDonalds are a lot different here than the ones at home. For Costa Ricans, it’s about that “American experience.” The food is definitely different. Even my Tica mom agrees. She says that she likes Wendy’s in the U.S. but not here in Costa Rica. Even though they are the “same” they are different.
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