Eating in Nicaragua
Monday, February 11th, 2008Breakfast in Nicaragua is one of two options.
1) A pastry from the panederia or street corner
2) ¨Desayuno¨ which means gallopinto (rice and beans), eggs, queso, tortillas, and optional meat, served with a sugary sweet black coffee.
If we opt for #2, we wouldn´t need anything else until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Otherwise, we line up with the Nicas promptly at 12:30PM for the freshest steaming buffet, an overflowing plate of rice, beans, plantains (sweet or green), a starchy casserole option, salad, and chicken or beef, fried, grilled, or sauced up with spiceless jalapeños.
Weekends are a special treat of ¨nacatamales¨ for breakfast/lunch, a jumbo banana-leaf wrapped tamale with mushy cornmeal holding together potatoes, pork, and a slice of tomato.
Another specialty is Monday mondongo soup. For those that are aware this is tripe, you may not have been as excited to order it as we were on our third Monday in Nicaragua. Still, it tastes better than you would guess, and really is enough to satisfy even Adam for a whole day.
The night-time options are buffet leftovers, a fancy restaurant, or what the locals eat, food from the street vendors. Hamburgers and hot dogs are the most popular amongst the locals – both redeemed by their tasty rolls and ridiculous amount of pickled condiments. Mostly, we rely on the more traditional street vendors grilling up fried tacos, enchiladas, and meat.
All meals, even breakfast, are served up with a jar of the local ¨chile¨, ranging from mildly spiced pickled onions to habañero puree to generic tabasco.
Lastly, the best part of Nicaraguan cuisine is the beverages. Refrescos Naturales come in an endless variety of fresh fruit and spice mixtures, tasty, cheap, and excellently refreshing on a hot day. Our favorite is orange/carrot. When we can find real coffee, the coffee is to die for. The beer is mediocre, but hits the spot after a day of hiking. The Nicaraguan rum is so deliciously sippable that we weren´t even tempted to buy 1.5 liters of Bacardi for $5.
Adam