Food Shopping
The best place to shop for fresh produce is at the weekly Fería or what foreigners call Farmers Market. There is a Feria in every town and in large cities in every district or Barrio. The day of the Feria differs from place to place but most are on weekends and Sundays and last for half a day or longer. Some towns have Feria that goes on for two consecutive days in the week. Not only you will find the widest variety of fruits and vegetables grown locally but the prices are so reasonable or surprising low that they will bring a smile to your face. Even if you are staying for just a week in a private villa or condo with cooking facilities, it would be worth your while to find out if there is a Feria near your lodging and what day of the week it is on. In any case, going to a Feria is a cultural experience in itself, and for the shoppers, a good opportunity to practice Spanish.
The major supermarket chains in Costa Rica are Más por Menos, Auto Mercado, Palí and MegaSuper; of these, Auto Mercado is known to be the most upscale, with home delivery as a featured service. Pali, on the other hand, is considered the most economical but it does not offer as wide a variety as what North Americans would look for in food and beverages. In any case, being near to any one of these supermarkets is certainly an advantage for those staying in vacation rentals. Otherwise, look for small neighborhood grocery stores which the locals call pulperías, they will have all the basic necessities and the basic ingredients to knock up a few simple meals.
If you get in on the late hours and no supermarkets or restaurants are open, look for 24-hour mini-markets in gas stations where you can get basic tin food and breakfast items to help you cope with the jetlag.
If you enjoy tropical fruits you will be impressed by their variety and abundance here; pineapples, mangoes, papayas and bananas can be purchased in Feria, supermarkets or sidewalk fruterías or fruit stands all over the country, and they cost about a third of what they do in the U.S.
Despite of oceans on both sides with over a thousand kilometers of coastline, prices for shrimp and lobster are exorbitant. However, a huge variety of fish, such as tuna, dorado and corvina can be purchased at very agreeable prices at any fish shop, the Pescadería. Quality of chicken and pork in this country is excellent, so are cured meats, hams and sausages. It is hard though to find premium quality beef except in specialty meat shops. Lamb is almost non-existent in supermarkets or on restaurant menus, although some specialty meat shops stock highly priced imported lamb chops, leg or cutlets.
