First Time in Costa Rica!! 🇨🇷 COSTA RICAN STREET FOOD Tour in San Jose!!

Yes, I think one of the great things is you kind of just mix everything together. Oh, man, I Love it. This is like all of your essential nutritional needs all on one plate I'm in San Jose, Costa Rica And today I'm taking you on an ultimate Costa Rican food tour It's like ceviche orange juice with floating chips Hey everyone, hope you're having an amazing day. It's Mark Wiens. I'm in San Jose This is the biggest it's the capital city of Costa Rica in Central America And Costa Rica as you probably know is known for its incredible nature, but it also has incredible food That juice is so good We need this it helps with the digestion The empanada that I made my first-ever empanada Cheers Costa Rica, man And so today I'm meeting up with my friends Jason and Samantha from my ton feet and we are gonna take you on an ultimate Costa Rican food tour we're gonna eat some of the greatest foods that you don't want to miss when you visit Costa Rica Jason Hey, yes, you're doing that ready for the food tour today Samantha Yes from my ton feet, thank you guys for arranging everything Nice to meet you He's just like you he just eats a lot but still skinks So the nickname of San Jose the capital city of Costa Rica is Chepe So a lot of the San Jose citizens will call him Chepeños Or if you're like coming from Guanacaste to San Jose or say I'm going to Chepe Okay, and is it is it also people from or Costa Rican people are also called Tico's Oh, yeah, so the nickname of Costa Ricans is Tico for a man, Tica for a woman Okay, it comes from they say it's because in Costa Rica when they talk everything is like ito ita like poquitito chiquitito They talk like that. So it kind of comes from from that. Okay. Okay, great to know. Yeah We are starting in downtown San Jose this is one of the most busy walking streets in the city and We're first where we're gonna begin where we're gonna start eating is the Mercado Central in San Jose the central Market one of the most vibrant places to learn about the ingredients and also to eat traditional Costa Rican food love the colorful entrance of the market the murals the paintings and One of the things about the market is that it opens up at 9 a.m. And so we got here Just a little bit before 9 a.m So things are just starting to open now people are starting to lift up their shutters to reveal all the ingredients Well actually clothes and colorful things so far. We're here Immediately to get started eating. So this is a herb shop The interesting thing is that when you get to these herb shops in the market, right? There's no mix. There's no difference in between like a farm Occidental Amazing cooking herbs. It's like that esoteric with a natural medicine So you're gonna see a lot of different herbs around that. You may know there's you don't but all of them have a Different purpose for our ancestors a medicinal value. Yeah medicinal value Luck money love So is this a is this a recipe like a recipe envy? Okay, you meet seven herbs, uh-huh and you bathe with them I Like me but I'm Terry you're gonna get what you're looking for. Okay, but that's cool. I'm assaulting my saute Oh, we're gonna drink that one. Yeah, what what benefits will we get from that one? They are pretty good for the stomach hold on all that digestive system. So what they do is that they smash The small sticks then they put it here with water and you need to wait for a few hours Usually they bought it at night. And so they are ready in the morning. They release a kind of Fluids that they say is good for your stomach Especially when you are when you have a hangover or something. They say this is great Great. So and it's good for for any kind of Problems with your stomach. This is great Can you see the texture is very it's kind of thick There we go first beverage and you can just as he's pouring it you could actually see the texture the thickness of it Mmm Yeah, it's almost jelly like a melted jelly and texture. Oh, it's really good lightly sweet nice It's not actually like very medicinal like you might think it doesn't have a bitterness to it It's just nice pleasant slightly sweet. And yeah, literally like melted jelly Really good and this is gonna kind of be the coating of our stomachs for all the food that's to come we need this It helps with the digestion Okay, yes Cheers Cheers Salud Yeah, exactly yeah like mellow sweet This is one of the most famous sodas in Central Market, especially on Fridays like today It's full in the morning because many people not only eat here But they call to deliver to their places a lot of banks, for example We're very close to Costa Rican Bank National Bank So they call and they bring the jalapeno which is what we're going to try to the to the bank I mean when you think about Costa Rican food This might be one of the most famous dishes one of the national dishes of Costa Rica And is it typically eaten for breakfast or any time of the day? Well my case I eat it I can eat it three times three times a day Morning lunch dinner coffee time or dinner. Yeah. Awesome This Place is absolutely incredible. I love I mean you just look at the aunties in the kitchen and you Immediately know you can trust them with all your Costa Rican food needs the experience the look on their faces They know what they're doing. This place is incredible. They kind of they're cooking everything on spot. There's a bar counter there's a seating section behind and just They're serving up a lot of food and this is where we're gonna try our first dish gallo pinto To prepare it assemble it the gallo pinto starts with I think it's their unique version is where they start with an omelet as The base on the banana leaf that's incredible an omelet then goes on the classic Costa Rican rice and beans then there's a type of stew and then I think you can kind of maybe customize a little bit There's some sausages Then finally goes on fried plantain and a tortilla all the way on top and then they wrap it in a packet the banana leaf Oh, thank you Yes So it has arrived. This is absolutely beautiful I love the action in here the energy just people all around Shouting all about the food all about the gallo pinto so you can get all these different toppings on it There's probably like half a dozen different toppings that you can choose from but but what makes a real gallo pinto What is what are the essentials just the rice and beans for sure you get the rice and beans you get the eggs And then a tortilla or bread for me. That was the that's the basic gallo pinto from there Especially this place you can get yeah You can ask for more toppings, but you can see this one this is a traditional This is a more of a simple. Yeah simpler version. Okay, and what we put on top is the chilera because we like spicy Okay, so that's a pickle With chili, okay, okay the reveal the tortilla on top the lid on top. I love the base The omelet the tomato with beef the the sausages What I did oh, and this is actually That's cheese. Okay. Okay. I think I just want to go in for some of that rice first The rice and beans and the saltiness of that and the beefiness of that beef Tomatoes do yeah, it's so good. Oh, that's like ultimate comfort food. Oh man, I Love it. I'm gonna add some of this chilera over here. Oh Yeah, this looks incredible. I do want to try some of that fried cheese. I Think one of the great things is you kind of just mix everything together all of the sauces Oh even the base omelet on the bottom Wow, what a dish That cheese has an incredible Springiness to it and I love it with that that sauce the acidity the flavor of the maybe habanero or the chili in there the fruitiness oh man, this is like all of your Essential nutritional needs all on one plate. This is not very normal for breakfast. Okay, but I Sure. Okay, and that's potatoes mixed into a kind of like half mashed Yeah, potatoes with some little squares and they just season it we have mmm, okay, okay use the like chop so the vegetables okay, I Think like they don't work. Oh, man, so good And then the sausage It's what we call it. Thank you. So Cheechon. Yeah, there is always so popular is because it's not that expensive Okay, so it's very affordable and everyone can eat And it looks like it's fried I don't like it up a little bit kind of crispy kind of like soft and tender hmm That kind of like wraps it all together. I love it with that sprinkle of chileta that chileta just like Really brings out the flavor Hmm Absolutely delicious comforting home-cooked so good the most popular drink here is costs and this is a Costa Rican guava Mmm-hmm Has a perfect sourness sweetness. Mmm, it's really refreshing One of those dishes where the sum of everything together, yeah This is what really makes it all coming together. Yeah, all of those flavors mingling together I mean you can find a harmony different versions of gallo pinto a different part of the country Like this is I would say that this is an excellent representation of the San Jose gallo pinto. Okay We might take you later to different places so you can try it. But yeah, this is You know, it's like a mix of different flavors a lot of energy Definitely Man, that guy up into was so good. What a dish what a way to get started on this Costa Rican food tour and Washing it down With this juice the cost the cost is it's so this is one of the most refreshing juices. I think you could possibly drink What a combination In the past Costa Ricans didn't have like a lot of Candies that came to the country so they made most of the candies and one it's like this It's like grapefruit and they like confit a okay bake it with sugar. Okay, so this is what we've got a great fruit. Nice It's a very traditional candy Mmm Sweet and it has that bitterness of the skin as well that gives it a nice contrast. Oh Yes, you love it Same one but well with condensed milk Mmm this one is crunchier you taste the The creaminess of the milk powder. This is a coconut. Yep Okay, and then the final one is a coconut coconut sweet Mmm, that's just straight-up like desiccated dried coconut candied sweet coconut II mmm Yeah, all very good We're at the next place to eat a special type of ceviche, but this is going to be a totally unique version American say it's a little more like a little sweeter. So it has something we add sometime orange juice We use lemon that are sweeter from the area. Okay, and something even ginger ale and you so it's really real Yeah, I know there's the beaches. Okay, we are gonna eat one that it's called caldosa It's like we put it in the bag of chips So the thing is that in Palmares that it's an area of a lauela around the airport There were some Children that they wanted ceviche, but didn't have any money So I buy that a bag of chips and they asked the guy from our bar restaurant that I called a 45 To put like the stock of the ceviche in the chief. Oh, that's how Caldosa's were made I'll just share guys. Yes. Oh Wow, you can just feel how heavy it is because you added in so much of that juice, it's cold Feels like soup in a bag. This is such a cool story how it was invented And I mean kids with a bag of chips couldn't afford the full ceviche So they just wanted that juice the juice of the ceviche at the bottom to cover the chips What a what a genius invention and when he hands it to you, it's so cold because the ceviche is on ice It's so cold. It feels like a bag of feels like a waterbed. It's just bloated with all of that juice What do you try to do here? Samantha? Do you try to get some of the ceviche and some of those chips exactly? I'm gonna reach down. Yep. I got a good deep deep deep. Oh, here we go All right, all right Mm-hmm That's a good ceviche. That's awesome It's so cold So refreshing and even though the chips have been sitting in this The ceviche juice for a minute or so. It's still crunchy Yeah, they're still crunchy. It's such a great crunch The flavor is nice like a nice compliment to the ceviche It is, it is. The ceviche, you taste a lot of onions in there the fish a lot of onion some cilantro some like red peppers Yes, so the chips give such a good contrast in the flavor, right? Definitely and then this type of fish in the ceviche is mahi-mahi Mm-hmm as they call here. It tastes so fresh So fresh so clean So refreshing I think you can drink it right out of that. Oh, yeah So good, okay, but we need to season a little bit pickles. Oh, there's even cauliflower in here nice go in This one is more of it. Just a straight chili chili water Hmm The most refreshing Bag of chips you'll ever eat. Oh, it's so I mean, it's actually could be a beverage you can drink it. It's a snack This is genius I mean, it's like ceviche orange juice with floating chips Love it Okay, and From here, we're gonna try another delicacy. I mean, it's something extremely unique. Oh check it out Have a basket going up There's so many turtles come there's so many so what I could so the turtles, uh-huh. So what the community do is They found a way to legalize the sale and consumption of turtle eggs So you have a bunch of professionals doing all these studies. So they said, okay, we're gonna have let's say like a thousand eggs It's more than that. But the 500 eggs are gonna be destroyed. Uh-huh. So the law allowed them to You know to sell 500 to local consumer So many turtles it's called mass nesting This beach is one of seven in the world where the all of releasing turtle come to mass and it's literally like 50,000 turtles all in like one day So the first wave of turtles their nests always get dig like dug up destroyed by dogs vultures or whatever So that's why the community found a way to you know, make some income from it And it's also something that's probably been eaten for a long time in this area, right? Indigenous diet in Costa Rica probably correct Okay, every place they have their own recipe He'll crack it into it, oh he's taking it They're like little ping-pong balls Okay, they are gonna get destroyed So here it is sir The turtle eggs, which again, this is totally sustainable and these eggs would actually just be destroyed. They wouldn't make it anyways So it's a totally sustainable practice and it's legal. It's And it's a delicacy here. And so he mixes in this kind of tomato juice the lemon spices they have their own secret recipe for this kind of like a Tomato juice with spices and then he cracks in two eggs, which is mostly just yolk Whoa, it's a big mouthful That juice is so good Tomatoey, you taste some pepper in there the lime juice and then those eggs and they kind of have this membrane around them So they kind of like they're kind of like jelly and then they kind of like pop and kind of like Ooze out with the yolkiness. They have a really nutty flavor to them as well that's really good and within that almost like a tomato juice soup that just That's refreshing. That was that was an experience. Oh That was good this place. It's called Brigitte named after their daughter. They're so friendly. They're so nice They wouldn't even charge us for that incredible food. So come check them out when you're in the market here ceviche turtle eggs another variety of salads and pickles and things like that, but they're Extremely friendly highly recommended. That was a unique experience. That was delicious And is it so they only have one flavor only one flavor, yeah, that's really interesting more than a hundred years and only one flavor They serve this amazing sorbet one flavor that stood the test of time You don't need to make any decisions here. You come in here you get it. It's always busy and It's a recipe that has proven its success spices Mmm. Oh Well, that's so good. Oh It has this Vanilla taste to it. Maybe a hint of clove and nutmeg in there almost tasting banana II the fruitiness of it Despite kind of tasting almost banana. There's no bananas. All it is is just cream and all the spices But just perfect Harmonious blend of spices. It's not overly sweet. It's icy. It's creamy. It's refreshing It sort of starts to melt. This is one of those things that on your first bite I mean you can just realize why it's so popular why it brings back so many memories. It's so distinct its flavor It's so distinct. Oh, is it like a milk powder? Yeah, I suppose powder milk powder. Yeah Condensed milk. Oh, yes another thing that they make here. I mean the ice cream It's just one flavor or the sorbet is just one flavor But they do also have some other things and one of the things is called a copo copo and he wanted me to just taste a little bit Ice goes in shaved hand shaved ice some kind of a syrup then milk powder and a lot of condensed milk You're gonna kind of stir it around Wow, that's sweet But it is refreshing oh and you've got the Powdered milk which kind of like mixes creaminess into the ice as it starts to melt Giving us a richness to it and all that condensed milk. That is sweet, but refreshing From here we are we still have a lot more to eat. We're continuing on with this Costa Rican food tour and we're going to another market And we are emerging from the market and a different exit that we came into The busy streets of San Jose. This is a real Business market area even I mean outside of the market. You can pretty much buy anything you're looking for We're coming to the wholesale the fruit and vegetable market and then he has a nice selection a beautiful selection They have amazing fruits in Costa Rica. So we're going to try a couple of seasonal fruits. Okay. Okay. Gracias Just coming into the bottom of the market here, this is the wholesale fruits and vegetables so many colors so many ingredients natural produce and Well, I love the chilies which they call Chile, Panamania the Panamanian chili, but then also the cost that's that Remember that green juice. We had a an hour ago with the the gallo pinto That is the fruit. That's the Costa Rican guava that makes that juice Type of water apple or similar to a rose apple seasonal in Costa Rica Delicious sour sweet it is really watery so much juice comes out a little bit chalky almost cottony in your mouth as well And then we also got some of the cocktail Okay, so here it is This fruit is called cocoa day and you can eat them green. You can eat them yellow ripe into different stages I have had them green before but I don't think I've ever had the right one Green with with salt and chili on it, but this one is the right version. Oh That's so good, oh man almost a similar flavor to mango but more Milky more milky with a hint of a bitterness. It literally is so sweet and creamy. It almost tastes like candy It is natural candy Wow, that's mind-blowing flavor Straight-up sweet almost has a caramel taste to it So this is like the paradise of beans Really? I haven't seen Yes and Roberto Called him the king of beans we have arrived this is the perfect place to just understand the importance of beans in Costa Rica and Let me tell you he can fulfill all of your bean dreams And I do love beans every bean you could possibly want is available here So the next part of the central market or the distribution market here is the plantains the bananas again hugely important in Costa Rica from the Caribbean coast bananas of all sorts are just incredibly Widespread huge part of the of the local food. Whoa My god, the banana is huge Whoa This one is called a banana crayola it is might as well we'll try it right here in the in the banana distribution. Oh Yeah, that's a great banana actually a perfect banana sweet and creamy great texture hint of sourness So this is super cholo gigante it started as a super gigante because he used to be like a grocery store Then they decided to start selling some drinks and at the end they switch from a grocery store to a bar and restaurant So they have a lot of bocas, you know bocas is like tapas or snacks They are famous here here. You can come for a karaoke night on weekends Sometime they have dancing. I don't know. It's a very unique place and now it's called super cholo gigante because cholo is the owner That's how that's why they changed the name Mucho gusto. Yeah, check out all these Surrounded by mirrors and it's such a cool environment. So friendly and it's just like bar counter after bar counter lining this entire place people like Get rubbed shoulders hang out with friends meet new people Socialize here we go. All right, man, Jason first beer Cheers Costa Rica, man. All right. Salud. Salud Very cold crisp. Oh, it's so refreshing. Oh, it's so good. Oh, yeah Mmm Excellent. Okay, we're gonna go into the kitchen. We're gonna see some of those dishes being prepared before we eat them I wish put too much effort in what I want the people and that's the more traditional dishes here All right, the cow talk. I had that the pig feet. Okay cow tongue pig feet Tripe tripe, I think our stomach stomach stomach Okay This is a great kitchen they have some incredible I mean Costa Rican comfort food home cooked like dishes so they have a bunch of stews going they have a tongue stew Which he said is the owner said is one of the most popular dishes here. One of the best sellers They have a pig's foot stew. They have a stomach stew. Then there's a variety of bean dishes There's a variety of soups and then one of the main dishes that they're known for is that chief Rico and it's a Costa Rican dish invention Combination that starts off with rice then she adds a scoop of beans Then she adds some fried pork Then she adds a scoop of tomatoes Kind of like a pico de gallo with tomatoes with onions with I think there's some cilantro I think there's some lime juice in it scoops that on top with avocado on the top and she puts some chips around it What a dish she free looks Okay, can papa Okay The name Costa Rica I got you because you put the tortilla you put the trunk and it's mashed potato Put it all together in the turkeys. Okay, you need to to eat with your hands and I need like like this because it's like a guy you and all of the flavor in your mouth are incredible Awesome. Thank you very much Okay, I think we're ready to go eat We're here for the different Bocas Really it looks so good. Okay, Steve. Let's show us how to do that guy. Oh, so you put the mashed potatoes You put some of the tongue Okay, there you go Yes, you add in some smashed mashed potatoes You add in a piece of a piece of tongue some of the juices the sauces you dig in chairs Cheers Good Wow Mm-hmm. Oh man. No, no. Why I mean, I don't understand why they sell it so much, right? It's an experience Yeah, there's an experience in your mouth. Yes It's so tender the mashed potato just give you that special coach I was I was not expecting Yeah, amazingly the mashed potatoes, you know mashed potatoes can be starchy and heavy, but these are really like Actually creamy. Yeah Yeah, that's very you got that Like the tongue has just been braised for so long that it's just melt in your mouth It's kind of a sweet and sour sauce. It's so good Mmm delicious Mmm That's what a dish rice on the bottom beans tomato onions avocado Let's go in fried pork all the fried pork And do you remember the beans that we just saw in the market? Yeah Yeah, that's some of that you later gracias Hmm Oh What a dish oh Man, the limey part is yes the fried crispy pork the creamy beans the rice The acid of the lime juice the onions all of that together in your mouth. Oh, it's so good And you can even eat it with chips the juices the crispy pork That is delicious And there's something that's very common. Yeah, man, you have to Always yeah do it with a beer Yeah So this is super common and every bar restaurant that you go. Okay I love that contrast of the acidity of the lime juice and the tomatoes with the rich Fried pork the beans the rice and the juiciness of it. Okay, so we have some deep-fried chorizo here Oh, I love how it's like popping out kind of like oozed out of that's wrapping deep-fried you say the tortilla I think this should be so now just And is it is it a certain type of chorizo pretty much this is 45% Meat and the rest this is fat You can add tomatoes and stuff to though if you want yeah, okay I think I might add some of these tomatoes to it. I'm at the tomatoes and cabbage So this is like their own special chorizo sausage blend Oh, man That's so good It's so crispy. I love it with that squeeze of citrus that kind of has a That's the one we cross between a lime and a tangerine. Yeah, so it has a sweetness to it, but a real sourness as well mmm, oh man It's really garlicky garlicky you get the garlic in that chorizo Yeah, and the reason why it gets so crispy is because it's the real intestines, right? Okay. Yeah That's why when they deep-fry it kind of pops open correct Yeah, kind of squirts out the meat kind of squirts out of the casing. Yeah, no with the fat. Yeah the ratio 60% fat Wow So good chorizo is amazing next dish This is the pork knuckle kind of like a soup or a stew. Oh You can see already the collagen starting to form at the top. This is very rich in collagen Look at that. The whole hoof is in here I'll take this one right here. I'm gonna gnaw on that hoof All the collagen All the fat good. Yeah, it's really good. Really tender really jiggly really good Really like pure tasting served with rice. Oh, and it's also served with some of those. Yeah, you have the lemons Hmm It's thick like a gravy and that's all natural just from the collagen and the fat Coming out as it's stewed down and boiled for hours and hours until it becomes tender like this Rich it's really rich, but they do add a little bit of cilantro or something to kind of like Yeah, the broth is break that break that porkiness broth is really good. Oh Man, that is insanely tender This is like as porky as you can get There's few things porkier in life than pig knuckle the next dish pork skin in a bean soup Well, he's beans like oh, make sure you get a piece of pork skin some of the bean the beans Wow That's like thick bacon. Cheers, man Mmm the texture of the beans as the classes means they're so creamy And I had a piece of that pork skin fat that just melts in your mouth man It disintegrates it liquefies. You don't need to chew it. Oh, it's so good so much flavor Actually softer than butter. Yeah. Yeah, they are Like butter beans. Yeah. Wow. Oh man, and I love beans We met the king of beans and this is the king of beans in a bowl actually served with rice Which also that mean if it makes the perfect complement the perfect Costa Rican marriage of beans and rice The texture is so good These beans just melt in your mouth. Well, those are Prized beans. Oh, yeah And add some of that you later. Well, this is some of the biggest to that I we've seen Yeah, whole pieces of cauliflower carrots and cucumber. Yeah, that's cucumber. Yeah So big yeah, I'm gonna get some more beans and I put some piece of man So up until this point, we've seen a lot of chilera. That's really like quite fine like small pieces shredded That's why the name is a cholo a gigante. I mean used to be gigante. So probably that's why the giant everything's giant Mmm-hmm Wow Really nice. Yeah, really vinegary sour acidic. Oh, yeah, that's delicious teeny bottom chili water Okay, salute. Oh Yes Excellent. Yeah, like it tomato II a little bit spicy salty Oh, very nice very nice almost like a Bloody Mary. Yeah, exactly like a Bloody Mary. Yeah, very very excellent. Excellent Okay, so this is the same drink that we had earlier at that with a guy up into it's a guava Okay, I recorded a sugarcane some spice I think okay. Thank you. Okay. What a day what a day what a day salute enjoy Try it refreshing and salty Great. Yeah, they know it's our yes. Oh man that seemed like really ripe guava flavor to it So when do people eat empanadas in the pub the whole day? But especially after they leave job and when they are going to take a public transportation, okay Yes, they before before taking the bus It's very common to go to to for an empanada and in the morning also before going to the job This is some of the best empanadas in San Jose It's very common when you go to an empanada place you you ask for an empanada a regla a regla It's in Costa Rica. It's they put some Also, also exactly coleslaw and sauce like ketchup and mayonnaise on some other things So if you like we can try that and you can see how they prepare that So this place serves more than empanadas, but we got the special empanada fully loaded Costa Rican style We also got some corn chips fully loaded again with ketchup and mayonnaise squirted all over them And then we also got a plantain which it's like formed into a boat and with melted cheese in the center. So Alex How do we how do we dig into the empanada? What's the strategy? It's gonna be yours, right? Okay, grab it. Okay, grab it. Okay, so you it's gonna open it up Oh, so it's like a half a bag So it conveniently opens up and so it is what's what's unique about the empanada here is it's made from corn It's deep-fried with your choice of filling on the inside. We got the pork because it was ready cooked And then when you order it, they slice it in half. He adds in coleslaw Ketchup mayonnaise, so this is like ultimate snack food on-the-go fast food easy to eat filling and tasty in Costa Rica Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, that's tasty Wow, that's a lot of mayonnaise and ketchup It's crispy, yeah, it's crispy. It's hearty. You got the freshness of the cabbage in there Definitely needs some chalero. Amen. How much? That's good. Yes Okay, you like spice. There we go With that added vinegar that acidity Really good. Okay. Let's try the next thing grab a chip Ketchup and mayonnaise. So what's the story behind? It's more like this a snack for the children's like They buy them pretty cheaply and they gave you them to doing like paperback Okay, I was like the chips I make it to buy in your neighborhood Awesome, that's why I shouldn't crispy already does that much actually this is a plantain So they usually bake it. Okay, say beautiful name day Sometimes living with the skin. They just open it in half and put a lot of cheese Awesome times we even put a camera caramelized sugar. Oh, wait, okay With a little cinnamon on it. Okay, so it's almost can be sweet and savory. It's like an insert for us. Okay All right Let's go in That's a lot of cheese. Yeah, the plantain you can see like sugar coming out of it. It's so sweet and ripe All right with the cheese in the center Yeah, oh man It's so sweet Gooey cheesy that contrast between sweet and savory Okay, and then the root beer Cheers Ellic It's like a new refreshing yeah, yeah, these are some of the ultimate snacks They're gonna allow me to make my own empanada, let's see how this goes, okay, I think we're good to go All right, so you have the ball of masa Then you smash it Smash it into a circular tortilla shape. Oh, they have a probably a dozen different toppings that you could add And mozzarella, okay, okay Okay, it's up to me up to me, okay, let's see Okay, gracias. I'm gonna go for some of the I think this is some of the Mexicana which I think is a beef beef. Yeah, it's beef mixture. I'm gonna go for this. Okay. Okay All right, stick it right in the center there Okay, I guess I'll go for some of the chicharron as well All right a little bit of the beans am I overfilling it a Little bit of cheese Okay, there we go. I think we're good Fold it over all squeezing in the toppings and then close the edges Okay, you press it down, okay, so just press it down and then Okay, this goes this goes directly into the deep fryer Okay, so take six to eight minutes now to deep fry until it's crispy, okay Wow, it's a whole mixed platter man, if you were hungry just in case you are hungry They they kindly gave us another platter a huge platter again just layered with it's like a centimeter thick with ketchup This is the Costa Rican chalupa Okay, here we go Well, I think it's beef shredded beef on the inside lettuce on top Just huge amounts of creamy sauces on top the ketchup the mayonnaise the mustard I can't even tell if that's mustard or cheese But just a lot of crunchy gooey sauces all on a crunchy deep-fried wrapper. I mean, there's a straight-up like party food Calorie-rich And on that bite the empanada that I made my first ever empanada is ready hot out of the oil Well, that's hot. I Think we should crack it open to see all those insides. Oh I mixed a combination of Mexican style beef with pork chicharron and beans and cheese Wow Oh man right out of the oil So good. The cheese is melted the bean sauce the beef with the spices The pork all wrapped in its crunchy crispy corn masa. Oh, yeah, that is tasty. Very tasty Eat with caution, but it's so good Make it me No problem, no problem And we are moving on to I think Drink some Costa Rican coffee. Yeah. Yeah Costa Rican coffee and a specialty coffee shop. That is called La Mancha It's a really beautiful architectural building dating back to the early 1900s by an Italian architect and now it looks like there's a lot of specialty. There's a brewery. There's a some kind of shops and restaurants for ingredients but specialty and I mean mainly we came in here for La Mancha specialty Costa Rican coffee Probably the most well-known coffee region in Costa Rica Located about two hours from here to the south very beautiful region. Not not touristy, but very beautiful mostly mountains filled with coffee plantations brewing method called Bandola the Bandola was created in 2016 by a Costa Rican barista and it's very similar to other drip coffee methods like the chemex or the b6 Always is we're gonna rinse the filter with some hot water to take out the papery flavor. Discard this water Now we're we're ready to start brewing and we're gonna put here 48 grams of coffee Doing something we call the brewing. We're gonna pour enough water to moisten all the coffee Without drowning it too much and we're gonna let it Be gasified coffee absorbs a lot of co2 in the roasting process. So we wanted to Release that co2 and bloom is beautiful and in the aromas, right? Amazing. Yeah, I really love this Bandera is called a bandera Bandola Bandola Bandola Costa Rican made coffee maker it's like a filter plus a Coffee pot on the bottom smells so good Cheers Thank you very much Okay. Oh Man, I mean and Costa Rican coffee is some of the most famous coffee in the world natural process Yes, oh That's that's incredible natural process. So it's fermented with the cherry on the bean that Typically, I believe makes it fruity which you can taste the fruitiness of it, but then it's followed by dark chocolate man fruity and dark chocolate Next up we had a little bit of a drive and we're on the outskirts of town I think near to the big Savannah Park, but we're going to a place that's famous for ice cream But very unique flavors and it's called quiero corazon contento. I want your heart to be content You make a lot of interesting flavors. How do you get ideas for different flavors? It depends the inspiration depends Sometimes it's just like going to the fruit market and seeing what's in season and that inspires our gelato or our creations in general Sometimes it's just something that occurs when you wake up with with an idea and bring it to the team and we try to work it out together Great something we try to do is to celebrate fruits that grow here in Costa Rica. Okay Oh, so you're gonna pour the prosecco and this is mango mango gelato. This is mango. So on the bottom we have Which is like a more green smaller and dark Really Gourmet ice cream shop like taking it to the next level with ingredients with style with presentation. So this one at first is the there's Pumpkin and orange I think in here with with pumpkin seeds. It's very unique and very interesting So delicate and balanced and nutty and you taste the orange and the sweetness of the pumpkin Oh Amazing actually and the roasted pumpkin seeds. Okay. This one is a combination of Yellow ripe mango and green unripe mango with prosecco Three times three. Oh, really a gelato separate me and then joined with prosecco. Oh Oh, man Really cold and amazing balance of sweet mango Sour mango and the contrast of the prosecco Next one. This one is a hot pot day and we've had this fruit already But what's interesting is the one the bottom is the yellow cocoa tape the top is the green cocoa day on the top Oh like a shredded almost topping Oh, yeah, hmm Amazing sweet and sour and next up for the shiitake mushroom That amazing Savoriness of the mushroom the umami of the shiitake really comes in nicely I kind of you don't taste it at first and it keeps on building in your mouth Caramelized onion caramelized charred onion powder and then you break some of this on top There we go Well, yeah that onion I mean you really taste the sugars the sweetness coming out of that caramelized onion Then with the onion powder that char then with the and the ice cream itself is or the gelato is not that sweet But then when you break that brittle that onion brittle that balance definitely unique interesting flavors Man what an incredible day it's been in San Jose people are friendly I love the colors the vibrancy the natural ingredients that guy up into it. What a dish thoroughly enjoyed it I'll have all the information everywhere that we ate in the description box below and also I mean Huge thank you to Roberto and Alex for showing us around they're so knowledgeable about the local food in San Jose and promoting their culture and Some of the best things to eat in San Jose and then also my good friends Jason and Samantha They have an incredible travel blog called mytonfeet.com Which you definitely check it out in the description box below, but they offer great travel information useful tips practical information about traveling in Costa Rica and Yeah, they're just amazing to hang out with so thank you to everyone and I want to say also a big Thank you to you for watching this video Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it leave a comment below I'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed make sure you subscribe now for lots more food and travel videos Goodbye from San Jose Costa Rica. I'll see you on the next video