Street Food Guanacaste, Costa Rica

On a recent trip to Costa Rica, I had some of the street food which is the topic of this post. Foodwise, I was excited about this trip. Earlier in the year I went to Panama, and was really impressed with the food scene. I could see the strong passion for food people and establishments had. I was hoping Costa Rica would be the same. The trip started off well. My first stop was an empanada food truck on the side of the road in Liberia. Its off the main road where the airport is; its called Bendita Empanada.

I tried the beef, chicken and pork (chicharron). The beef was phenomenal. The crust was crunchy like a Dorito, and very well seasoned. The beef was extremely tender and also well seasoned. The chicken was a bit dry and just ok. The pork was my least favorite and was mixed with mushed beans. I definitely recommend you get a beef empanada from this place.

After the empanada truck, I passed and stopped at another side of the road type food place called Ruta 21 Latin American Street Food. It was on the same street at the empanada truck. Here I tried something I was so excited to try prior to going to Costa Rica – caldosas. Caldosas are bags of tortilla or corn chips, filled with ceviche!

You get to pick your chips, I chose Jalapeno.

…and then they open the bag and fill it with ceviche. They also suggested I add a bit of ketchup and mayo. A bit weird but it was SO delicious. I also highly recommend you try this in Costa Rica.

On another day we hit up the night market in Tamarindo. I did not like the market or the city. Its basically a town filled with a lot of North American tourists and has a very “Cancun” like vibe. If you are looking for an authentic cultural experience, stay away from this place. Also, the prices of the street food are not “street food level” and I believe are adjusted to take advantage of all the tourists. The first place I tried was an empanada stand. They were not bad, but not as good as the food truck.

I also tried an arepa chicken sandwich which is a Venezuelan dish. It was ok but it was basically chicken salad, and shredded cheese in an arepa. I don’t know if this was authentic or not.

Lastly, I tried some bbq chicken. The chicken was ok, but the sauce it came with could be better. The arepa it came with was too dense and the coleslaw was very bitter.

Overall, I would advise you to avoid the Tamarindo night market. However, there was an ice cream shop I visited in Tamarindo which WAS good. I had the dulce de leche which is a very popular flavor in Latin America (its like a caramel).

Overall, as you will see in future posts, eating in Costa Rica was hit or miss. It wasn’t like Panama where almost every place I ate was amazing and people really had a strong passion for food. A little disappointing.