I spent a few nights at this wonderful Marriott resort. It ain’t roadfood, but if you got a few extra bucks, It is one of the most expansive resorts I have ever been to. They have several restaurants that provide some of the best Costa Rica cuisine I had. Their fruit and juice bar was beyound huge. It is on the Pacific coast side and they have a huge marina that can dock boats up to 100 feet. Count me out on that as I took a taxi to the location but it adds to the ambience.

Just a few miles back toward San Jose, I saw hundreds of scarlet macaws flying from the forest to the mangrove thickets, huge crocodiles lying beside the river and huge iguanas everywhere. How the iguanas can reside close to the crocodiles is beside me.

There is a neat little town just south of there where the roadside food is abundant. I wish I was like Bushie and could recall all the names of the food that I had. Rice and beans with something is everywhere. Palm salad is great.

http://marriott.com/property/propertyPage.mi?marshaCode=SJOLS

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

We stayed in Quepos at Hotel El Byblos. The place is in the cloud forest very close to the ocean. We walked everywhere. The hotel restaurant served great seafood and made the best caeser salad on earth. The place is laid back, clean, with excellent service. Don’t miss the white water rafting trip with Rios Tropicales. http://www.riostropicales.com

Can’t think of any actual NAMES of places off-hand, but I can give some ideas of what to look for.

We’ve had great luck at just trying places that look good (and places where there are lots of locals eating). There are many small little places called sodas all around San Jose. Ask locals for advice, but you can go in and get a good meal (something like arroz con pollo) for real cheap.

There’s lots of roadside open-air places when you’re traveling there. Most everywhere offers a plate called a casado. This will usually contain about 6 items or so; some kind of meat, black beans, plaintains, rice, etc. Never had one I didn’t LOVE!!! [:p]

Hearts of Palm salad is very popular there, as they grow tons of palm trees. This is called palmito, and it’s a MUST.

For breakfast, you’ll find gallo pinto everywhere, a dish made with black beans, rice, and spices.

These are just some of my favorites, but fresh, local food is abundant. Because they have a perfect growing environment, you’ll find fresh fruits and veggies all over. Just experiment, and you’ll enjoy some of the best food around. I love that place…

I stayed in the rainforest at "Bosque De Paz" for several days a couple of years ago on a birdwatching trip. I can personally attest that the hospitality by the Gonzalez family and particularly Frederico Jr. was outstanding and the three gourmet meals were prepared fresh for you at each meal. Wonderful Wonderful food. They own several thousand acres on top of a mountain. Heard the Arenal and Poas Volcano popping off several times. Hummingbirds everywhere and wildlife was abundant. I went on three hikes everyday just birding. I added 75 new species to my list.

While in San Jose, I stayed at the Marriott and I can tell you that their breakfast was outta sight. The fruit table had to be 50 feet long and the juice bar was almost the same. The hotel is on a coffee plantation and the scenery around it was super.

They have a group that does perfect Yanni music at night.

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Please enjoy.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN