www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Guys any help with the menu selection at this place. Is it Northeren,southeren Style, and what is the wine selection like here . I think some of these places should post a menu, with hours of operation, days closed if any. I will be in SJ in March and love authentic Italian food. Any help is greatly appericiated.

molti ringraziano jim

I have a site with info on some of our favorite restaurants-
Not sure if the Admins want the link up so I'll PM it to you..

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Living well is the best revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUtj_YnNoY

Glad to help out if I can.. 1st off authentic Italian is very difficult to find here in SJO, and trust me I've been everywhere. 3 favorites come to mind Ancora which I'll address, Pa Piazetta, and Il Rotorna all reviewed in this section. If Il Rotorna is not reviewed, I will do so.

Now with that said your best Italian is fairly pale in comparision to Good State side stuff, but these will surfice.

At Ancora the wine list is 100% Italian and I am not a fan of Italian Reds, I find them light and watery so I tend to order something that will go with a good Italian white they have several good whites on the list so you can't go wrong there.

By far best dish on the menu is a Pork tenderloin in a Curry reduction sauce.... YUM
He recently changed his veal parm to a nice cut of veal with a side of pasta that is quite good and don't miss the cheese platter antipasto it is to die for.

Check reviews on the other in this section.

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Was more concerened with the quality and are the chefs flexiable when customers have a rerquest ? The wines do they have chianti? I have never really had a good chianti that was watery or light.Thanks for the help guys.

OK Sorry
Ciro the owner will pretty much make WHATEVER YOU WANT. Simply ask him as he I am sure will great you when he realizes you are a CRT VIP.

Tino the water is always a good guy and he will have the chef prepare whatever you would like.

They have Chiantis, but some are a bit pricey, there are a couple of values on the red side, but again I'm a bit jaded as I don't like Italian reds.

You can't go wrong, just ask the price of the wine if they reccomend something.

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CRT gourmet, do you know the food scene well in San Jose, as the name implies. Looking to add a couple of good restaurants to the list. I eat regularly at Tin Jo and Cafe Mundo. Also like Taj Mahal alot. Haven't been there in a while but love Machu Pichu in San Pedro. There is a wine bar with great tapas in Terra mall. And Il Panino in Escazu is great for sitting, having wine and bocas, and people watching. I love ethnic food. Am thinking about opening a thai restaurant in the future only because I love the food. If it just broke even I would be happy just to have it to eat the food. And if anyone knows of a Greek restaurant I'd be in heaven. By the way, nobody really comments on the food at the New's Cafe, but I've been eating there for 6 years and really enjoy the food there.

Sorry, but I can't agree. There are some things on the menu that are OK, but I stayed at the Prez for a total of about 5 or 6 months over the years, and I thought the food was only worth doing when I didn't have the energy to do anything else. The food at Club 1930 or Mariscar is as good, and about half the price. Some things on the menu across the street were OK too, but cost as much as the Prez. Maybe eating breakfast there every day had something to do with it, along with some really awful, greasy calimari, but I avoided it for dinner. Breakfast was alright, but after that amount of time, I wanted something different. That's part of why I go where I can get a kitchen.

Thirdworld...here's a review of the Presidente's News Cafe restaurant:
https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1209

And about Thai restaurant, I was thinking about the same thing. I would like to see an authentic Thai restaurant in San Jose as I also like Thai food alot.

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Rumor on the street has it that where they shut down the Piano Blanco Bar the Balmoral is going to open an Asian restaurant. Do not know if it going to be Chinese, Thai, Korean or what, maybe kind of a mix like Tin Jo.

Now what makes this more intriguing (and the source is very reliable) is that Hartley, late of the News Café, is going to manage it.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Jim:
Had dinner last night at a new restaurant for me and for all of us there were 7 of us in the group. By far the most expensive Italian food in all of Costa Rica... You know what it was worth every phucking penny it was that good.

A full review of the place will be up tomorrow by the CRT Gourmet who was with us.

Name of the Place was
Cafe DiBartolo
In Escazu More details to follow.

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You're probably right about the News Cafe. There are just a couple of things on the menu I always eat and stick to them. Ate some good Peruvian food at the Inka Grill the other day. I keep wanting to check out the Lebanese place on Paseo Colon. I hear that is really good. Somebody told me the other day there is a good Thai restaurant in San Jose. I'll try to get some info. Headed for happy hour sushi at Tsunami in just a few minutes. Always top quality there.

I had dinner there on a Friday with Amigo and two chicas. Food was excellent, Veal Parm was very good. Someone asked about Chianti, they have Ruffino Classico Reserve which is one of my favorites (at $60, it is a little overpriced) It is in Barrio Escalante not too much of a cab ride from SL.

BKTUNA

Jim,
Its mostly southern Italian, and the wine menu is average at best. Beware of this restaurant, I've had problems in the past. below is a cut-and-paste of a prior experience that happened awhile back. Obviously YMMV, but something to be aware of when dinning there.

Took a favorita to this restaurant last Friday evening. Walked in about 8:30. We were the only customers in the place. Showed the waiter my CRT VIP card up front before we even sat at the table. He asked if we wanted wine. I Looked at my date and said si. He reccomended a bottle, I said si again, (know a little about wine, and believe me, it was nothing special) he uncorked and poured, then put into ice bucket. We ordered appetizers of prossuto, cheese and salami.

Waiter came to table and mentioned evening specials. I specifically said that I wasn't in mood for seafood, but wanted pasta. I ordered a pasta off the menu and my Tica date ordered pasta as well.

About this time another bottle of unopened wine finds its way into the ice bucket. It was NEVER requested, just magicaly appears. Dinner was taking forever -more than an hour. Conversation with my Tica friend was very enjoyable and after the first bottle of wine, we're both fairly wasted. By this time, there are four other tables of customers in the restaurant, so it's still rather empty for prime time Friday evening.

Inquired about dinner, and about fifteen minutes later it appears. Somehow, the second bottle of wine in the ice bucket is open. and poured into our glasses. I never requested a second bottle and never saw the waiter uncork it. Hmmm. My Tica friends meal of pasta arrives. My meal is NOT what I ordered. It was a Filet of beef, about as tough as the infamous Lucy's face and full of gristle. My steak knife wont even cut it and i'm not exagerating. Three small shrimp split in half are also sharing the plate.

I request the bill (I've saved it and will post a copy in VIP section) and, to my suprise its for 64,083 colones or $143! They have added everything but the kitchen sink to the bill. I again pull out my CRT VIP card along with my credit card and the waiter disappears. A few minutes later the owner comes back and tells me the discount is only good if paying with cash. So their is no discount. My Tica friend is furious at how they took advantage of me and starts to pick the bill apart, at which time the staff conveniently dissapears from the empty dinning room.

What grabs my ass is they knew before we even sat down that I was a VIP member and had also been there before (same waiter as last time) and they still ripped me off. While waiting for the cab back to the gulch, we walked across the street to the steak house and noticed a full house with no empty tables, while we we're the last customers to leave L'Ancora.
Wonder if they are having cash flow problems and needed a gringo to provide a dinaro infusion?

Anyhow, won't be going back anytime soon.

Papa Nut

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What was the name of the Steak House???

Fish,
Don't recall the restaurant name, but have eaten there several times. It's an Argentinian steakhouse thats a little above average (would be great if they didn't smother the food with sauce).
Funny thing last trip. My wingman and I took dates there. halfway thru the meal, I excused myself to the mens room which was thru the small kitchen and next to the back door- a small room not unlike my bathroom at home. After finishing business, I tried to open the door, but it was stuck. A few shoulder pushes and the door still wont open. My wingman, who had the same urge, arrived at the door, pulls on the handle and it comes off in his hand. Thankfully, after a few minutes we were able to open door. We gave the door handle to the owner who apologized and sent a round of after-dinner drinks on the house.

Papa Nut

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The best revenge is living the good life!