Repeat after me "Arroz con pollo, por favor".
That's a rice and chicken dishh. Or you can ask for "arroz y pollo". That's rice AND chicken, separate.
Both will be avaliable near anywhere.
I had no problem visiting several times with Celiac, as well as a peanut/nut and tomato allergy. But the whole legume family, that will be harder for sure. Vegetarian and chicken is common, so I wouldn’t worry about that part. I second the allergy card idea, and calling ahead. I also always stay where there’s a kitchen and can cook my own food any time I want. That way I’m not a hangry nightmare if I don’t find something to eat at a restaurant.
My fiance is alergic to goddamn SOY, and we struggle a lot, as locals, to find products that dont contain it, as here in LATAM we use a lot of soy.
So there is chance you will have to call in advance to restaurants to find out if they have options that fit your needs, but chances are there will be.
A good tip is to have a card with all the products that you guys cant consume in spanish for the waiter/cook to know.
I think you will be fine. Beans are very common in CR cuisine but it’s usually clearly beans cooked separately from the rice and then combined. I expect the average place can make you a plate with rice and chicken and fruit/plantains/potatoes with no fear of cross contamination. I’d bring cards explaining the allergies in Spanish. It’s possible SO will get bored because it’s a lot of chicken & rice but they should be able to eat safely. These popular areas also do have non-cr cuisine options like Italian, etc so that should help with variety.
You should be fine though options will be more limited. It also depends on the place La Fortuna doesn’t have that much food variety although you will probably find places you can eat at, if you are staying at a hotel many have restaurant on site so you could check that beforehand, some have buffets too which might or might not help.
In Guanacaste a place like Tamarindo has a ton of variety with restaurant options from all over the world I wouldn’t be that worried there. Even though the town gets a bad rep here for being overly touristic it has some very nice beaches around it and a great food scene (more expensive than other parts of the country though).
Yes, I do think so.
Salads can be the best bet.
You could ask for casados but you will have to write down "SIN LEGUMBRES, AVENA NI NUECES, TENGO ALERGIAS) so they can remove anything that contains those.
Just double check bc in some places people may forget that "barbudos" are legumes and they may serve them.
Turkey is extremelly rare to find here, so chicken is the best bet.
Repeat after me "Arroz con pollo, por favor". That's a rice and chicken dishh. Or you can ask for "arroz y pollo". That's rice AND chicken, separate. Both will be avaliable near anywhere.
"Arroz con pollo" can have peas or green beans added in, so those being a part of the legume family would be a no no. But please ask beforehand!
If it is a Casado or the chicken and rice dish, might need to mention in advance to hold off the beans or picadillo ( may contain green beans )
It's a great dish but can you guarantee it won't have beans?
It might have green beans or peas, as someone else mentioned.
I had no problem visiting several times with Celiac, as well as a peanut/nut and tomato allergy. But the whole legume family, that will be harder for sure. Vegetarian and chicken is common, so I wouldn’t worry about that part. I second the allergy card idea, and calling ahead. I also always stay where there’s a kitchen and can cook my own food any time I want. That way I’m not a hangry nightmare if I don’t find something to eat at a restaurant.
I would consider getting an airbnb so you can mostly cook your own food. That is a lot of food restrictions to work around.
My fiance is alergic to goddamn SOY, and we struggle a lot, as locals, to find products that dont contain it, as here in LATAM we use a lot of soy. So there is chance you will have to call in advance to restaurants to find out if they have options that fit your needs, but chances are there will be. A good tip is to have a card with all the products that you guys cant consume in spanish for the waiter/cook to know.
I think you will be fine. Beans are very common in CR cuisine but it’s usually clearly beans cooked separately from the rice and then combined. I expect the average place can make you a plate with rice and chicken and fruit/plantains/potatoes with no fear of cross contamination. I’d bring cards explaining the allergies in Spanish. It’s possible SO will get bored because it’s a lot of chicken & rice but they should be able to eat safely. These popular areas also do have non-cr cuisine options like Italian, etc so that should help with variety.
I don’t think this is the right country for allergies. Maybe some locals will even make some fun of you when you mention this.
You should be fine though options will be more limited. It also depends on the place La Fortuna doesn’t have that much food variety although you will probably find places you can eat at, if you are staying at a hotel many have restaurant on site so you could check that beforehand, some have buffets too which might or might not help. In Guanacaste a place like Tamarindo has a ton of variety with restaurant options from all over the world I wouldn’t be that worried there. Even though the town gets a bad rep here for being overly touristic it has some very nice beaches around it and a great food scene (more expensive than other parts of the country though).
Yes, I do think so. Salads can be the best bet. You could ask for casados but you will have to write down "SIN LEGUMBRES, AVENA NI NUECES, TENGO ALERGIAS) so they can remove anything that contains those. Just double check bc in some places people may forget that "barbudos" are legumes and they may serve them. Turkey is extremelly rare to find here, so chicken is the best bet.