A Delicious Welcome!

What better way to be welcomed into Costa Rica than by a delicious meal at Restaurante Nuestra Tierra located right in San Jose? Nuestra Tierra, which literally translates to "Our Land" in English, serves authentic and fresh Costa Rican Cuisine, which is commonly referred to as "comida tica". (Tica being a word that Costa Ricans use to refer to themselves). Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by an unbelievably friendly and hospitable wait staff who sat us at long wooden benches. Once sitting down you can get the feel of a typical Costa Rican kitchen with onions, cups and plantains hanging from the ceiling, the strong smell of fresh coffee and other delicious aromas.

For lunch,the restaurant was serving chicken, fish or pork chops, all served with a salad, fried plaintain and "casados" (rice and beans). Fun fact: Costa Ricans typically served rice and beans with almost every meal, it is why they are called "casados", which means married in Spanish.

Once we ordered our meals, the wait staff began to bring out a variety of different natural juices for us to drink. We drank passion fruit, guava, strawberry, and the like. Some of us even felt brave enough to mix a few of them together. All in all, I think its safe to say it was definitely a new lunch experience for all of us.

Once we had our fun with the variety of different juices, our food came served over banana leaves. I ordered the chicken, and it was completely satisfying (and I'm not just saying that because I hadn't eaten after traveling for over nine hours). I think I can speak for everyone when I say the food was delicious and one of the highlights of the day.

After we finished our meals, they brought out a typical Tico dessert, arroz con leche or rice pudding. Personally, I love arroz con leche. When I studied abroad in Spain last year, my host mom would make it for us in the winter, and being able to enjoy it again really brought those memories back.

Needless to say, I definitely enjoyed typical Tico cuisine and I am excited to continue to try new food while we are here!

-Tayla Benoit (@TaylaBenoit)

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