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What restaurant do you condisder to have the best food..5 star? Also, who has the best steak? I have not had a great cut of meat in CR. Has anyone tried Cafe Mundo?

OK before anyone else gives you the stock answer I will. "Do a search" There are many posts on this topic here on the restaurant section. However I will say that Cafe Mundo,though certainly NOT a 5 star restaurant is a nice place with good food. The topic of "best steak" has been discussed here quite frequently.My personal favorite for consistancy is La Parilla Argentina in Escazu. (Auto Pista to first Escazu exit. Turn left at lights and go about 1/2 mile on the right for the restaurant...across from Ceretto's market)

DO A Search! HE HE HE

All kidding aside ALL STEAK IN CR are well not really any good , compared to US quality.... and US Steakhouse preperation....

Simply stated find the best cut of meat you can find and let them prepare it with some sort of sauce and your better for your troubles..

My Top 5 IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
1. Cafe De Bartolo (Prepared table side various sauces expensive for CR standards $29.00 US Ala carte, probably your best quality steak available.

2. La Argentian Buenos Aires.. down the street from Tin jo... 3 trips always consistent good quality steak in expensive great green peppercorn sauce... VIP discount. (Note their garlic chicken is fantastic too)

3. Jurgens.. Uses Omaha steaks i've been in the kitchen.. 24 - 28 $ with salad and potatoe.. great ambiance good pure steak.... (San pedro Area)

4. Donde Carlos... Mushroom sauce Tenderloin is as good as it gets inexpensive great ambiance vip discount...

5. Escazu San Telmo.. pricey, same quality steak as Donde & LABA but more expensive.. atmoshere is really good, some nice Escazu Eye candy... Peppercorn steak and mushrooms sauces and their chimimchri dips are good too...

IMHO.

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The Boss of All Bosses!!! Hey I'm a drunk alcoholics go to meetings!

My first visit to Cafe Mundo was in September 2004. It was wonderful, a solid 8.5 on a scale of 1 (inedible) - 10 (culinary Nirvana)

I visited Cafe Mundo again last September. Service quality was not as good as the previous year, but the food still rated a solid 8.5 on my scale.

This is by no means a 5 star restaurant, put it at a 3 star by U.S. standards, a 4 star by San Jose standards...maybe.

Their pizzas kick ass; different from the U.S., but really excellent. The ham & mushroom pizza blew my mind.

If the weather is nice, ask to be seated on the large patio at the rear of the restaurant.

A word of warning: If you have difficulty climbing stairs, this might not be the dining spot for you. The restaurant is located at the crest of a fairly high hill (isn't it located in Barrio Escalante?). I don't know if the restaurant is accessible via the gate at the rear of the property, although we did notice employees coming and going by this route, so it may be possible.

Cafe Mundo has a fairly good wine list for C.R., but it is pricey. Desfrute.

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Capo,
I don't mean to be anal-retentive, but we want to be accurate. The name of the Argentinian steakhouse is La Esquina de Buenos Aires.

I agree with your assessment of the restaurant. I like it too. I've never had the chicken, but I know the tenderloin is really good.

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to try a few of your suggestions next week and I'll report back.

I hope I don't get flamed too badly for this, but I'm the type of guy who has been all over italy and still finds the Chicken Parmesian at Olive Garden to be my favorite italian meal. I will take a Lonestar steak (Well-done) over almost any fancy steak house (w/ the exception of Ruth's Chris). That said, after trying Donde Carlos, Outback, and lots of small steakhouses, the best steak I've had in CR is the imported ribeye at the Skybox upstairs at the Presidente.

Cranky bastards@!!!! Ok, I'll join in.. Do a search...

Fogo Brazil is a wonderful place with some wonderful meats...

Enjoy

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I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

I have noticed various postings of the "quality" of "Omaha Steaks" as related to the quality of restaurants serving them.

As much as I dislike bursting anyone's bubble who believes that the more you pay, the higher the satisfaction, I will state without fear of contradiction that "Omaha Steaks" are among the poorest quality of beef available. They have an incredible marketing plan that has been successful in creating the myth that paying over $14.00 a pound for sirloin is an incredible deal. Newspaper and magazine ads offer (6) 6oz Top Sirloins for ONLY $32.50 . This is 36oz of meat, or 2.25 pounds, bringing your cost per pound to $14.44. Add in shipping and you've got a real deal.

Omaha used to be second only to Chicago, famed for their meat packing industry. It currently is just a memory of it's former self. You can get FANTASIC steaks in Omaha at great restuarants like Johnny's, but the highest quality goes to the high market areas like New York, L.A. Los Vegas etc. "Omaha Steaks" buys some of the lowest quality meat available from the local packers. BUT they employ an only recently disclosed technique of adding "Carbon Monoxide" to "color" the meat to a wonderful red color.

Should any of you be interested in learning more about this process, check out the following website.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01101.html

Sorry for taking up your time, but the "Omaha Steaks" myth is one of my pet peeves. I think Senor Witling will back up my statements on this.

Enough of the talk about steak.

EAT SALMON, THE OTHER PINK MEAT

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69 isn't just a number, it's a way of life

El Lamero,

While I agree about the Omaha product being overpriced, I must heartily disagree with you on its quality.

The point of mentioning Omaha steaks in this thread is to point out that most steak in Costa Rica doesn't taste like USDA Choice beefsteak. The meat in Costa Rica has an earthy taste to it; I personally do not find the flavor offensive, but it is different.

For those who refuse to adapt their palates to local cuisine, the availability of Omaha Steaks at Jergen's in San Pedro is worth a mention. While it may not be as fine a steak as one can find in Chicago, Atlanta or New York, it is probably the best authentic American beefsteak one can find in Costa Rica.

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

I acknowledge your comments and as always respect your opinions. Last year I ate at one of the Agentinian steak houses, and while you say, it was different in both texture and taste, I still preferred it to an "Omaha Steaks" product. But as is usually the case, YMMV.

I occasionally enjoy a good pizza, but find I derive much more pleasure in eating the box that Pizza Hut delivers it's pizza in to the actual pizza inside. Then again, I've always been fond of eating boxes.

We can continue privately, our respective tastes in meat in our forthcoming conference call

I still maintain that all the best diets should include:

Quote:

EAT SALMON - THE OTHER PINK MEAT

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69 isn't just a number, it's a way of life

El Lamero,
Thanks for the tip, too bad it's a week late. I just received my order of 8 6 oz. filets and 8 baked potatoes. I think the total including shpping came to $62. It was a "50% OFF" special. What a deal!

Since I only cook for one it will last me quite a while.
Gotta keep the homies employed!

Wit
ps. I also just LOVE Pizza Hut Meat Lover's pizza.
YMMV

went to some place close to the gulch with a chica on my very first night in CR. The place was small, nice and had a charcoal grill in the kitchen. The meal was fine but the quality of the steak wasn't great.

I think I might rather try the Outback on my next trip. Had same "to die for" trout somewhere up by the waterfalls. It would be worth the trip just to return there.

the best thing to do is eat your steak before you come down. the two best places to eat Mariscar and Resteraunt Wing on cheap and good, plus 2 for 1 imperials at Mariscar do not forget to try there pizza purra gatitas

Scottp1063 wrote:



There are a number of trout farms in the Orsi Valley. You fish for your trout in a pond and then they cook at their on-site restaurant. Can not get any fresher than that.

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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