www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Just read about this place in the restaurant section seems like a great way to kill some time I will be in town Feb 5-7 and feb 19 -24 I would like to try this place out anyone want to go? How long is the bus ride? just where do you get the bus? Lunch and dinner every day? do they take third party personal checks
gracias

Bus ride is about 40 minutes for a cost of less than $2 each way. The name of the restaurant is Donde Alcides and it is in Tarbaca. That's a mountain hamlet south of SJ. Take cash, I don't remember if they take Credit cards or not.

Sorry, but I can't tell you where to catch the bus, but a taxi driver could take you to the down town bus stop.

When you get to Tarbaca, get off the bus at the little coffee factory/coffee shop. Continue walking in the direction of the departing bus for about 300 yards. Donde Alcides is on the right.

After lunch retrace your steps back to the bus stop. Allow time for a coffee opposite the bus stop on your return. Buses run about every hour in both directions.

I particularly recommend the grilled local onions, fire roasted plantains an the large pork chop. Week days are best as weekends are crowded. It makes for a great day trip at minimal cost.

_________________
Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.

Here is the bus listing with where to pick up the bus and its full schedule. That bus stop is not really near any of our usual points of reference but just to give you a rough idea it is in the southwest section of downtown roughly near the Pirate's Bar or 3 blocks past the Parque Central and about 5-6 blocks south of Avenida 2. As El V has said unless you enjoy walking around downtown during the day you might want to take a cab to the bus stop and definitely will want to take a cab from the bus stop if you come back on the late bus after dinner.

157 SAN IGNACIO DE ACOSTA from San José - DEP. ev. day, ev. hr. from A.12/14,C.8 in front of Baptist Church from 5:30 to 22:30; RET. from 4:30 to 21:00; 29 km; 1:00 hrs. This bus goes to Ram Luna restaurant in Tarbaca (and also Don Alcides shortly after that)

Isn't the Ram Luna in Asseri?

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Apparently not. Or at least that was a direct copy and paste off of the official bus itinerary website. Maybe they have it wrong or maybe we've just seen it listed as Aserri in other places since that is a more notable town? I don't really know. I just work here.

Ram Luna is south of Asseri and north of Acosta in Tarbaca. Tarbaca in the vernacular of the south is just a wide place in the road.

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

The Acosta bus stop has been moved to Calle 7 ave 10-12. I noticed this last summer while staying at Sudamer which is only 2 blocks south of the bus stop.

_________________
NON ILLEGITIMI CARBORUNDUM

DG

Pork Chop Hill is past Ram Luna when coming from San Jose. Basically you start going back down the hill. I recommend using a driver.

Bring you appetite and enjoy. I love Ram Luna but Pork Chop Hill is better if you want to pig out. (pun intended) If you bring a bunch of people realize that what you order is for the whole table / everybody there.

Boudman, me and quite few others were there in Sept. and had a blast.

_________________
Patriot: Ice Road Trucking through the Bearing Sea to recovery

I finally tried Donde Alcides this past Monday with Charlie Brown.

ID is correct, Ram Luna is well PAST the town of Asseri and actually probably closer to Donde Alcides and Tabarca than it is to the Aserri. As for Tabarca itself, ID is probably also correct. I can't really be sure because we didn't take the bus any further than the restaurant. There may have been more to Tabarca beyond that point but it did not appear to be so and the "cluster" of development that appeared to be the town of Tabarca was little more than a few buildings stretched out over a few hundred meters of roadway.

DG is also right or at least there is also a bus stop around the location that he gave. Curiously, the ICT Bus Itinerary pamphlet that I have lists BOTH locations - the one DG gave for San Ignacio de Acosta on Calle 7 (actually it says Calle 8 but I think that is a misprint) between Ave 10 y 12 leaving every 15 to 30 minutes and the one I gave for just plain Acosta on Calle 8 between Ave 12 y 14 leaving every 30 minutes. Since Charlie and I went on Monday, I can definitely confirm the latter bus stop which is actually on Calle 7 near the NW corner with Ave 12. That is actually just over a block north of Sudamer which is on the SE corner of Calle 7 and Ave 14. For those who don't know the streets or where Sudamer is located, this is just about 7 blocks down from the HDR/BM and 1 block to the right (turn right after the Ilusiones MP). Obviously, this is much more conveniently located for us mongers (Charlie and I took a slightly different route detouring past Relax, Eros, Sans and the Mansion along the way).

As far as where to get off, we confirmed with the bus driver that it stopped at Donde Alcides en Tabarca when we first got on the bus and he let us off right in front of the place. For those with less faith that the driver will remember to let you know where to get off, it is still pretty foolproof. Ram Luna is on the right just before the crest of the mountain ridge. Once the bus starts to go downhill it is not that far before you start to pass through Tabarca. The first stop is near the coffee shop that El V was talking about, but unless you spot it first and push the stop button or someone else is getting off there, the bus won't stop there. In any event there are other "official" bus stops (ie with benches) closer to the restaurant. If you fail to see the coffee shop in time or it doesn't stop there and you want to be let off closer to the restaurant, look for a small beige colored church with a pyramidic shaped steeple on the left and ask to get off there if not at the restaurant itself which is located less than 100 yds past that on the right hand side of the road.

The coffee shop is about 200 yds back up the hill from the church on the opposite side of the road. It is actually one of the larger buildings in the area though still fairly small. Even thought the shop seemed geared for tourists, the prices there seemed quite reasonable. A bag of Tarrazu coffee there cost 2100 colones, while I later priced a similar bag at Mas x Menos in SJ at 3450, so the Tabarca shop imight be a good place to stock up.

If you don't go to the coffee shop first and decide to walk back up the hill for some dessert coffee, you can pick up the return bus across the road next to a small colombiano restaurant. If you elect to do your coffee shopping first and then walk down the hill to the restaurant, you can save youself from walking all the way back up the hill by catching the bus from the stop next to the church.

BTW, I think the servings really are meant to split up amongst your table. The smallest serving is 600 grams (almost 1 1/3 lbs) and really is more than enough for 2 people along with sides. Charlie and I each got our own plates and split 4 sides (came out to 7350 colones each) and neither of us could quite finish our plates though we gave it our best.

I'm in town mid February, and I will try to make it out there. I've been meaning to go the last couple of trips.

Given that the hold time for personal checks by banks in CR range from 45 working days (BN) to 10 working days (Scotia) I doubt that any private business in CR would accept any kind of foreign check. Surprisingly INS accepts my US bank personal check for payment of my car insurance.

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

I always get off the bus at the church, and walk a short distance down the hill to the restaurant.

NOTE: The Colombiano restaurant beside the bus stop that Prolijo mentioned, is a good place to get a meal of rotisserie chicken that has been done over coffee wood.

Zebra, I can't believe you had room for roast chicken after all that pork!

......Well, actually, we had been to the pork chop place a couple of times that week, and just decided to try the chicken place. After thinking more about it, the place may have had charcoal broiled chicken instead of coffee wood. It seems to me there was something special about it. Are you sure they are Colombians?....I didn't get that impression.

We always stop at the coffee shop across the street for cake and coffee. I always purchase several bags of the shade grown coffee to take home. It's a nice place with nice people working there.

I must be a pig, I can order the medium sized pork chop and eat the whole thing plus the side dishes. But, I only get to go there a couple of times each year.

_________________
Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.