Food In Granada

We found the food in Costa Rica to be good and inexpensive, in the rest of Central America it’s downright cheap.

In most places the selection is limited (fish at the coast, beef in the mountains, fruit and rice everywhere). Granada has more variety than most; french, italian and tourist-california are common.

I had a great meal last night at the Hotel Gran Frances; french onion soup, ceasar salad, bread and filet mignon and two glasses of wine. (Yes, I had two glass of wine.) Cost $9.

My usual meal is a rice beans combination known as gallo pinto, accompanied by filet of fresh sea bass and garlic and a couple of beers. Cost $4.

Tonight I had Vigoron in the park. The park is a peaceful place surrounded by a couple of old churches. On each of its four corners there are Vigoron stands. Vigoron is the tradional dish of Granda. Its served on a banana leaf and consists of some vegetable that tastes quite a bit like potatoes, on top of this is piled a bunch of cabbage and on top of that a pieces of fried pork. The stands all serve various juices, all of strange fruits and some very good. I’ve been drinking this sweet juice the color of the purple dye from sea slugs. Cost $1 for the Vigoron and $1 for the juice.

We got lots of great fruit plates in Costa Rica, this doesn’t seem to be an option here. At breakfast yesterday I asked for a fruit plate and the girl gave me a funny look and suggested I go to the corner fruit stand and buy some fruit. She wasn’t being a wiseass either, she thought a fruit plate a reasonable breakfast she just didn’t understand why you’d go to a restuarant to get it.