Restaurants

When do people eat at restaurants? Is it only for special occasions or do people eat out at restaurants often? Is there a generational difference (older people prefer to eat at home while young people eat out more, etc.)?
What type of restaurants are popular in Costa Rica, or at least in the city? When did foreign restaurants become more common in CR? Are all the foreign restaurants positive or negative for CR?


Restaurants in Costa Rica seem to be very generational.  My tica family has not gone out to eat since we got here and my tica parents say that they usually don't.  My tica mom said that going out to a restaurant would only really happen for a special occasion.  She also mentioned that young people who are dating tend to go out to restaurants and then told me about dates she and her husband went on.  She says that it is becoming more popular for young people to eat away from the home especially for lunch.  Since people are usually away from the home for lunch already, young people have started going out to eat instead of bringing a lunch from the home. I also noticed this myself when we visited a McDonald's; there were lots of young people in their school uniforms having come straight from school. 
Another difference I noticed was that a lot more people go to restaurants, especially fast food, for just dessert.  In the States we almost always go for a full meal at fast food restaurants.  Here, I have noticed and heard people talk about going to McDonald's just for ice cream.  This seems to emphasize it's status as a "special event" type trip.  This definitely contrasts with the United States-ian use of fast food restaurants.  In my family back home, we often go to restaurants as a family for a family dinner.  Here, family dinners happen in the home pretty much exclusively.  
Many restaurants that come from the United States are very popular here.  They start out with a bit of fame just because they come from the US and are automatically considered cool.  This elevated consideration of US culture over their own is not really new for me, but it is definitely disconcerting. Having experienced so many cultures myself, I love learning about and experiencing the differences between cultures.  I would not, however, consider any one culture better than another as some cultures seem to do with anything from the US.  
As we discussed in class, foreign concepts like fast food restaurants may have to be adapted slightly to fit a different culture.  I saw that in the McDonald's menu because it offered corn as a side option and fried chicken as a main course.  These foods are not generally offered in the US at a McDonald's.  Because of the culture, McDonald's has to adapt to fit the need in this market.  
My family was pretty torn about whether foreign restaurants were good for Costa Rica or not. They said that the economy was helped by the restaurants and that people got jobs they otherwise wouldn't have, but that the foreign value system inherent in restaurants like McDonald's might outweigh the potential benefits. 

The meals at McD's were pretty much the same.  

The same message of "happiness" (Lleno de felicidad) as in the States.