Week 4: Restaurantes en San Jose, Costa Rica

So this is the blog post for week 4 of the GST class for the Costa Rica study abroad trip and this week's topic (if you can't tell from the title) is about restaurants and the culture and stigmas associated with it here in Costa Rica. The answers to these questions are provided thanks to my awesome Tica mom Arlyne and Tica sister Nikki. So without further a due, here are their responses.

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.)?

Valentines Day dinner

In response to the first part of this question, my Tica mom said that most people like to go out and eat on the weekends, like Friday night and Saturday. According my mom, this is so because the women in the house who do most of the cooking want a break and a chance to rest from cooking and so they go out to eat. Otherwise my Tica mom says that people go out to dinner for special occasions like birthdays and various other celebrations. I witnessed this for Valentines day as my family went out to eat dinner instead of a home cooked meal by mom. In term of the generational difference, my 16 year old Tica sister joined the conversation. First of all my Tica mom claims that younger people prefer to eat food that is faster whereas older prefer more home styled meals. My mom believes that in general, younger people like to eat out more than at home, where as my sister believes that it depends on the situation and where they go. She says that she enjoys eating food at home because it better because it is home cooked and because it is cheaper and mostly free. 

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?

Both my Tica mom and sister agreed that the most popular restaurants in Costa Rica are the fastfood chains that are found in the US. The even listed Burger King, McDonald's, Taco bell, KFC and Pizza Hut as some of their most popular choices. When I asked how long the foreign restaurants had been in Costa Rica they both agreed that it was before they were born. My mother commented that she grew up eating food from some the food chains in Costa Rica like KFC. That being said the foreign restaurants became popular in Costa Rica somewhere after 20-50 (due to inaccuracy of mom's age ;) ). My mom thinks that the foreign restaurants offer both positives and negatives. On the positive side it offers food that she enjoys, that is also reasonably priced and quick to get. On the negative side however she points out that those foods tend to be greasier and less healthy.

Photo/ Video Analysis

For week four's analysis we had to go into a variety of restaurants and observe their layouts and compare them to the restaurants as we remember in the US. For this I visited a McDonald's and Kaldi bakery. The set up of Kaldi bakery which I describe and show in the video to the bottom is much like a small coffee shop in the United States. It is somewhat similar to a Panera but with a wider variety of options and more Costa Rican pastries. It is similar to small coffee shops in the US in that it offers free wifi and space for small groups to get desserts and coffee or tea. It is different from the US in that it is located more in a neighborhood than not. In the US those types of restaurants are in big metropolitan cities, or areas close to Universities where there are college kids who will take advantage of the meeting space for home work. That is not the purpose of Kaldi, it is meant for people in the community to meet up and spend time. It fits in with the more family oriented culture here in Costa Rica. The same is also true for McDonalds. Although not 100% clear in this photo, on the right side there is a playpalace, but in the same space there are benches for families, and in a room next door with see through windows or walls is a computer space. This is so that busy parents can bring their kids to McDonald's to eat and play while they do work. 

Inside of McDonald's

In addition to the setup of the restaurants, the menu offerings also show the cultural difference between the US and Costa Rica. In a small coffee shop similar to Kaldi, you would find coffee and other drinks, with a small selection of baked goods like muffins, cookies or brownies whereas in Costa Rica you will find all of those as well full meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This just shows that the role of Kaldi as restaurant is much more than simply a cafe or bakery. McDonald's on the other hand is much more similar to the US in terms of the foods it offers in its menus. The major difference however is that McDonald's here has a wider selection of ice cream than in the US. This makes it appear as a more family friendly environment and encourages families to visit and eat its foods.