Tropical Selva Guapiles, Costa Rica

Guest blog from Baje

Here is my review of a roadside restaurant that we ate in on Easter Day in Costa Rica.  The restaurant is called Tropical Selva, and it is in Guapiles, on the road between San Jose and Tortuguero.  As well as good food, the restaurant has a great butterfly house in the rear.

The meal consisted of traditional Costa Rican food.  Every breakfast, lunch, and dinner that we ate in Costa Rica for over two weeks included black beans and rice.  The beans here rated a solid 3/5 star rating.

The first vegetable counterclockwise from the beans and rice is cassava, the root of a good size shrub with many "tubers" (see photo).  We were surprised to learn that cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics.  However, this cassava was pretty tasteless and measly, for a 1/5 stars.

The next vegetable is chayote, a type of squash.  This chayote was sautéed with bell peppers and cilantro.  It’s hard to go wrong with cilantro!  Overall, the chayote rated a tasty 3.5/5 stars.

The next item was an excellent beef stew with tomatoes and a variety of other flavors.  An outstanding 4/5 stars!

 

The dessert was traditional Costa Rican prestinos, a sweet crepe covered with cane sugar.  This rated an amazing 4.5/5 star rating!