A Soda? What the heck is that?
It doesn’t take long to realize the cost of living in the Guanacaste area is expensive. Maybe not California expensive, but more spendy than what I was used to in Colorado. For instance, a box of Triscuits, yes, the Nabisco brand, if you can find them, will run you over $6.00. There are some grocery store discounts (Wednesdays) and no dollar stores to be found. Why you ask? Well, Costa Rica has an import tax on EVERYTHING!
In the past, when it comes to food shopping, I’ve always found good deals, shopped on “sale” days, etc. After moving here, I had to change my approach to shopping and eating in general. I started buying the local or Central American brands versus the US ones, much to my children’s dismay. Some are similar in flavor others are well, just not worth it. I found out about “ferias” which are local farmers markets selling seasonal produce and fruits that don’t break the bank.
This leads me to the Soda. As soon as we moved here, I started seeing signs all over the place that said “Soda”, Soda Marcell, Soda Sueño, etc. Of course, my children were curious about what types of soda’s were available there, “do they have fanta or coca cola?” Neither of which I choose to give them any other time than a special occasion. That’s where my research started. Come to find out Soda’s are a mainstay here in Costa Rica, and a cheap alternative to an expensive night out. It’s easy to find out what is a soda in Costa Rica, God bless the internet, but I will summarize here. Soda’s are a family owned restaurant, often on someone’s patio or porch. They offer a plate called a “Casado.” Casado, $4 to $7, is the staple of the Costa Rican diet. It’s made with a choice of meat like a pork chop, steak, chicken breast or corvina/Sea bass filet cooked to order and served with rice, beans, fried plantains and a salad. The sides tend to vary depending on where you’re at in the country.
My mouth was watering. Our next meal would be a Casado, I was determined.
We found one nearby, a short beach walk away. Tough life, right?!
We approached Estero Azul at dark. It was on the beach, had some picnic tables set up and the entire Costa Rican family involved. They were either cooking, serving or rocking the babies to sleep in rocking chairs. I was immediately touched by the family environment it offered. Being Italian, everything was centered around a meal. Whether it be my Nana’s fried dough on Saturday mornings or cheese ravioli at the cottage on Sunday evenings. Everyone pitched in. If you didn’t help cooking, then you cleaned up. That was the unspoken rule. Food was the focal point, and everyone jumped in where they were needed. The Soda environment was the same here in Costa Rica.
Once we selected our picnic table and sat down, we each ordered a Casado plate, which turned out to be too much food! But who can say no to leftovers? Every Soda offers a full menu which includes specialty fishes, appetizers, meat dishes, etc. to choose from if the Casado plate isn’t your thing. The next morning, we heated up the pinto gallo and arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), fried some eggs and boom an easy, delightful breakfast! One thing you can’t forget to add is Lizano hot sauce. It’s also a staple with every meal here. Although it’s a hot sauce, it’s not as hot as Tabasco and provides a nice deep flavor to whatever you are eating. It costs about a buck at the Merkado (grocery store) and is worth every penny!
When you make your way to Costa Rica and you see a Soda sign, STOP! Your taste buds will be very happy that you did!