Costa Rica: Soda la Hormiga

After two days in Monteverde, Abby and I boarded a shuttle followed by a boat to get to La Fortuna.  The plan was to explore the town a bit once we checked into our hotel, but the weather had other ideas.  The pouring rain didn't stop us though.  We just grabbed umbrellas and headed to Soda La Hormiga for a late lunch: 

I immediate flipped the menu to the drink section.  I ordered a glass of pineapple juice while Abby got tamarind (₡500 or $0.77 each):

There were many different rice and beans plates or casados to choose from.  All of them came with rice, beans, salad, and picadillo.  We got one with pollo en salsa or chicken in tomato sauce (₡2500 or around $3.80):

And one with carne en salsa or beef in tomato sauce (₡2500):

While it doesn't look like a lot of meat, the portion sizes were perfect for us.  Everything mixed so well with rice.  For a rice lover like me, it was heaven.

The meal wasn't complete without a side of fried plantains (₡500) though:

I couldn't get enough of the stuff while in Costa Rica.  Everyone who knows me knows that I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but for some reason, I really loved that sticky caramelized sweetness of the plantains.

Costa Ricans call local restaurants sodas.  They are typically mom and pop restaurants that serve traditional Costa Rican fare.  Soda la Hormiga was everything that we were looking for.  Local spot, dirt cheap prices, and most importantly, delicious food with zero fuss.  

We left Soda la Hormiga full and still a little wet.  Luckily, the rain lightened by the time our of night walk tour.  Completely unrelated to food, but if you want to see sloths in the Arenal area, the Bogarin Trail is the way to go.  We saw seven sloths on our tour.  

SEVEN.  Yup.

Soda la Hormiga

Contiguo al Mega Super La Fortuna La Fortuna, San Carlos, Provincia de Alajuela, Costa Rica

+506 8420 3661