Did you miss me at the last DC Vegan Drinks? Oh, I apologize I couldn’t be there– I was in Costa Rica!

Hardly a concern to most DC-area Vegans, but I just had to write a bit about eating and traveling as a vegan in Costa Rica. This country is not only lovely and environmentally-conscious, but I found it supremely easy to follow my vegan lifestyle here.  I’ve traveled many places where vegan means steamed/boiled vegetables (often with butter, d’oh!!) or bread and cheese (I’m sorry, you didn’t understand that vegan means NO CHEESE?!), but there was no shortage of fresh and tasty things to eat in Costa Rica. Que sabroso! Some highlights:

1) Vishnu, San Jose
Cheap and cheerful! Not fancy, and I wouldn’t call it anything terribly special, but it was just what I needed after a day of airport food. Be sure to ask for soy cheese (queso de soja) if it doesn’t specify, and also beware of honey (miel), which they use in some desserts. You can get jugos or batidos made with water or milk, although I didn’t ask about soy milk. There’s also a sister restaurant called Shakti, although I didn’t get a chance to go there.

2) Trio, Santa Elena
This place was a little pricey (for Costa Rica… certainly not by DC standards), but definitely worth it after a day of hiking and ziplining. I couldn’t find a web address because it’s quite new, but Santa Elena is teeny tiny, so you’ll find it (around the corner from the grocery store). The cocktails are better than you’ll find at Chi Cha or Ceiba, probably because of the availability of fresh fruit and varied liquors (Posoa– passionfruit rum, anyone? *droooool*), and the trendy cuisine was killer (omni, but lots of veg options). I ate with two friends, and with gazpacho, appetizers, dinner, and cocktails, I think it came to $60-some.

3) Jungle Foods, Quepos
Right on the main drag perpendicular to the beach, this open cafe has nice healthy vegetarian and vegan options. I had some sauteed Asian-style veggies with spiced soy squares (huh? just turned out to be TVP chunks) and cous-cous.

4) Casados and comida tipica
Costa Rican food is quite simple, but they have some good basic options for everyone. Desayunos (breakfast) are often comprised of gallo pinto (rice and beans), plantains, toast, maybe some fruit, and scrambled eggs. I asked for this many times minus the eggs and was quite satisfied– but be sure to ask for your toast sin mantequilla (without butter). As I mentioned, it’s a pretty simple breakfast, so if you are looking for wild spices, you will be disappointed– ask for hot sauce! Casados are combination lunches or dinners, usually with similar components to breakfast: rice, beans, plantains, a salad, and an entree. In lieu of chicken or another meat, I just asked for additional vegetables. Sometimes that was boiled/steamed veggies, sure, but I scored big time one day with a plate of spiced summer squash with toasted cumin seed. Mmmmm!

5) Go to the grocery store!
There were only three things I set out to do in CR: 1) enjoy hot weather, 2) speak Spanish, and 3) eat fresh fruits! The tropical climate means there is no shortage of delicious produce like mangos, bananas, guavas, guavas, avocados, passionfruit, starfruit, melons, tomatoes, cucumbers etc. If you have access to a kitchen and can cook a little, you’ll probably also enjoy ayotes (basically a big fat zucchini), plantains, yucca, pineapple, and other things that require a little preparation. To my surprise, the health food sections of the grocery store were often really good, with vegan cookies and soy alternatives. And of course, there were plenty of portable snacks, like nuts, dried fruit, and cereals.

6) Go forage!
Freegans will love this one even more. Every chance I could, I pilfered some oranges off a tree, collected coconuts from the beach, and grabbed a bunch of bananas that grow everywhere like weeds. Even more exotic fruit trees grow all over the place in public spaces, like the starfruit that grew next to the airport in Palmar Sur, the mangos I could reach from my seat on a bus at one particular bus-stop, and the guavas that littered the path to my cabina in La Florida. There aren’t as many concerns in CR with contaminated soil and water as there are in countries like Mexico, so give your treasures a good rinse and chow down!

My other travel tips:
As always check out Happy Cow before you go to get a few ideas.
If you don’t speak the language, learn a few phrases like “Soy vegetariano/a” and “No como… carne, pollo, leche, huevos, etc.”
If you’re really feeling unsure, pack a couple snacks for the road. I took a few Clif bars, some seitan jerky, and a packet of trail mix, although to be honest, I didn’t need it.