Food Glossary: Casado

Casado is a typical Costa Rican meal available, and popular, for either lunch or dinner.  It is really yummy and a cheap meal and one of my favourite discoveries on my trip to Latin America.  The word 'casado' means 'married-one' and the dish gained this name by customers requesting a typical home cooked meal (similar to one their wife would prepare) which generally included gallo pinto, or separate rice and beans, plantain, meat, salad, possibly a tortilla or potato salad.  You MUST try!

Review: Hostel Portabello, Portabello, Panama

Portabello is on the Caribbean coast, half way between the Panama Canal and the San Blas Islands.  

We stayed one night at Hostel Portabello before taking the Darian Gapster boat to Columbia.  The hostel is small with just one dorm and one or two private rooms.  It is really cute though, the staff are really friendly and there is a great roof terrace overlooking the bay.  They have a small bar and serve a few meals so as we were tired we decided to order.  They recommended the fish soup of the day which was absolutely amazing! If you visit Portabello book ahead and eat here, you wont be disappointed!

Review: The Darien Gapster boat trip: Portabello, Panama – Sappzuro, Columbia via the San Blas Islands

An affordable and fun way of travelling from Panama to Columbia, we decided to step aboard the ‘Darien Gapster’ boat.  It took 3 days to get there, 2 nights of which we stayed on 2 different islands in the San Blas group.  One island was inhabited and we were able to interact with the local people which was interesting and great fun.  The other was a deserted island which was just stunning.

Most meals were included but we also met local fishermen on the islands who were selling fresh fish and coconuts incredibly cheaply.  The food provided was basic but there was plenty of it (except perhaps the night where we had lobster, we could have done with more for the group size!).

The guys running the trip are friendly and really helpful when you arrive in Columbia, helping you to arrange onward travel should you wish.  You arrive into Sapzurro in Columbia, a small fishing town.  We stayed for one night at Paraiso hostel where we had a nice filling dinner, however it was a little bland.

The next day we moved round the bay to Carpagena which is a great little town with a really nice feel.  This was our first experience of Columbian street food – we did not realise how much good street food was yet to come!  We sampled Arepa con queso here as well as having other small snacks.

Review: Fish Market, Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama

The fish market is definitely worth a visit in Panama City.  It is really clean and the fish looks beautiful and fresh.  I love to walk around markets and see what the locals are buying.  The great thing about this market is the ceviche on sale also.  It is a dollar for a decent sized cup and it was delicious.  If you have time or a place to cook then it would be worth coming here to buy some fresh catch.

Review: Café Havana, Panama City, Panama

Café Havana is a small corner bar which as its name suggests is very Cuban/Latin American in feel.  It is like a typical stereotypical bar in a film where locals dance and drink rum!  We loved it and went a couple of times as the mojitos here were quite moorish!  It is the only mojito I’ve ever had with a sugarcane stick served inside which is delicious!  There is a small bar snacks menu here including sandwiches which have an excellent reputation.  We ordered some deep fried mozzarella sticks with dip which were excellent.  Don’t miss this bar if you visit Panama City and soak up the latin music, pictures and drink.  

Review: The Coca Cola cafe, Panama City, Panama

The Coca Cola café is a favourite eating spot with both backpackers and locals in Panama City.  It is situated in Casco Viejo, the old part of the city and will guarantee you a big feed at cheap prices!  We went a couple of times, the first was quite successful, the second less so!  The plates of rice are huge but I didn’t rate it.  However, some of the meat is very good here.  There is always an old film on the TV and the staff don’t use any paper so they remember everything and at the end simply hold up a calculator to show you the bill!  A good experience and a chance to sit amongst locals and soak up the atmosphere.

Food Glossary: Ceviche

Ceviche is a popular cold, spicy fish or seafood dish served with salad.   The dish typically uses raw fish and the marinade is made from citrus juices and chilli’s.  It is popular in the America’s, particularly Central and South.  I first sampled it in Panama City, but it is also common in Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

Review: Aroma’s Cafe, Panama City, Panama

After spending a few days in Allejuela changing our travel plans we took a night bus down to Panama City where we stayed for a few days before setting sail to Columbia!

The American influence in Panama City is very clear, however we really enjoyed our time exploring the city and enjoyed some good food here.  Our first stop was a small café where I first tried ceviche.  It was really quite a spicy dish but the flavours were incredible and the prawns perfect.  It was just the type of dish I fancied as I love the fresh, light and healthy feel to the dish.

The café itself was small and cute.  Very friendly staff who were willing to tailor the menu to customers and a good corner spot to allow for people watching.

Review: La Mansarda, Alajuela, Costa Rica

During our time in Alajuela we stayed in a small, quiet hostel ran by a local man who was really friendly and helpful.  It was fun speaking Spanish with him and he was a good source of local knowledge.  He recommended La Mansarda to us as a decent local place to eat, with good prices.

On arrival we were given a complimentary cocktail (we showed the card from the hostel) and we ordered two casados.  This was a brilliant recommendation as it was a fantastic casado.  I particularly liked the addition of the jacket potato – a first for us on a casado, but really tasty and reminded us of home!  I had pork and despite it always tasting fabulous I was still amazed at how well cooked and tender the meat was.

Again, this place was popular with the locals and had really friendly staff and a nice feel.  You probably wouldn’t really notice it walking past so people go there deliberately – another good sign I think!

Review: Café Delicias, Alajuela, Costa Rica

After our final splash out meal at Café Mundo we were unsuccessful in leaving Costa Rica!  Our flight to Quito, Ecuador was cancelled due to the airport being closed and riots occurring in Quito.  After spending a fair portion of the day in the airport and being no clearer on when we could fly we decided to stay in Alajuela – the suburb of San Jose just next to the airport.  It is actually much nicer than staying in San Jose itself and I would recommend staying there.

We spent a fair amount of time over the next couple of days in the café decilicias where there was free wi-fi so that we could arrange our travel plans.  It also happened to be quite a good café, as was obvious by its popularity with the locals.  There were lots of groups of young women meeting up for drinks after work, or for lunch as well as families and younger people so the atmosphere was always buzzing.  The staff were very friendly and didn’t hassle us to get ordering despite the amount of time we spent there!

As you can see from the pictures we had many tasty wraps/sandwiches here with all fresh ingredients.  Also – they claimed to have the ‘world’s best coffee’ – it was pretty good but I think that’s quite a claim!

A great day time, friendly café to sit and read a paper, catch up on emails and grab a bite to eat.