Food
Even after visiting Nicaragua for years, upon moving here we thought we would be eating more rice and beans. We eat better here, on the average, than we ever did in the USA and I have lost over 20 pounds since my arrival with my wife losing even more though she contends she was always that slim. The skeptics among you will think the weight loss is due to malnutrition and occasional starvation. It’s not that we just eat better but because we rarely have an opportunity to eat junk food which was a fair amount of our diet in the USA.
Rice is a staple here along with beans. The most common Nica breakfast is gallo pinto which is rice and beans, sometimes mixed with various vegetables. At first I really liked gallo pinto but after weeks of it, I grew tired of it then I had it with cheese or a minced, fried egg so I liked it again. Like any food, it is all in how you prepare it and you need variety.
Why are we eating better now? They grow almost everything you could want here and with the constant good weather the growing seasons are longer and often there are two seasons in one year. Unfortunately grapes and apples do not grow here so they are very expensive. With the vendors coming to our door each day, we have access to fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood. We could get it even cheaper at the market but the convenience is nice. And you can buy any quantity you wish such as one banana and one orange. The market in Granada is a feast for the stomach and the eyes. After years, we still are not familiar with many of the fruits and vegetables.
A second reason we are eating better is that we discovered we could live on less than first expected. That means we could spend more on food when we felt we needed to buy steak or other more expensive dishes. I do have the advantage of a spouse that is a very good cook.
Another reason is that the Nica food better is better than we expected. Some of it is a little strange looking but it tastes great. Many of the common Nica dishes are under COUNTRY - UNIQUE TO NICARAGUA. The Nica restaurants are excellent from the street vendors with a small grill to the larger establishments.
Fruits
We mentioned the daily vendors coming to the door but the fruits here are truly amazing in quantity, quality and price. Mango trees are everywhere so you do not have to buy the fruit. The ground beneath these trees are strewn with the fruit in quantities difficult to imagine. We visited one island near here that had quite a few mango trees and we were up to our ankles in mangos. A neighbor often offers a hubcap full of mangos. If there were only licorice trees!
All of the various tropical fruits are here, from papaya to bananas though plantains are extremely popular for all meals. The green plantain is like a large, hard banana and is our equivalent of a potato since it is a common supplement to the Nica meal from chips to being mashed. If you let it ripen, and I mean really ripe, you can slice it and fry it which is my personal favorite. I can eat them for every meal though it is especially good for breakfast. Apples are available but rarer than in the USA and are considered more of a delicacy. The watermelons and canteloupes come in all sizes from smaller than the USA version to mammoth. They are so sweet and seem to be available many months of the year. There are delicious pineapples, avocados, juice oranges, limes (no lemons) and quince, guava and other assorted things in a variety of colors and textures. The papayas can be as big as a large dog. We eat a lot of fruit here.
Vegetables
Almost very vegetable is available here though many are used in different manners. For example, cabbage is more popular as the base for salads even though lettuce is readily available. Refrigeration is the most likely reason since cabbage lasts longer and does not have to be refrigerated. Actually they do not refrigerate lettuce here like we do but I like it cold and crisp. Many meals are served over a bed of cabbage or even mixed with meat and plantain chips. Carrots are so large that they would gag Bugs Bunny. A typical salad is cabbage, beets, tomatoes, carrots and onions with the dressing being oil and vinegar. It is normally served with the meal instead of before the meal. Potatoes and onions are very popular. Many of the common herbs and spices are not as common here though many of the expats have their own herb gardens.
No sweet corn here that I have found other than imported. They eat what I call field corn here.
Meat
Chicken is immensely popular here in all forms from fried to baked. It is so good! I’m not sure why it tastes so much better here. Probably something to do with their diet since there are few grain foods here, especially for animals. The pork and beef is very good here also though it tends to be tougher. The Nicas love to serve it BBQ style since it is usually cooked over an open fire. All types of meat are commonly served in strips, skewered shish-ka-bob style or minced with other foods. Shrimp, lobster and fish are readily available. Steaks, chops and ground beef are now becoming more available in Granada. For the larger meats, we usually went to the PriceSmart in Managua to get USDA meat but now we are starting to buy more fresh meat from the vendors near our home in Granada. Real sausage is starting to appear and a friend has started making sage sausage. And don’t forget turtle and turtle eggs.
Someone posted about confusion with the meat cuts here. Here is a chart:
Rice is a staple here along with beans. The most common Nica breakfast is gallo pinto which is rice and beans, sometimes mixed with various vegetables. At first I really liked gallo pinto but after weeks of it, I grew tired of it then I had it with cheese or a minced, fried egg so I liked it again. Like any food, it is all in how you prepare it and you need variety.
Why are we eating better now? They grow almost everything you could want here and with the constant good weather the growing seasons are longer and often there are two seasons in one year. Unfortunately grapes and apples do not grow here so they are very expensive. With the vendors coming to our door each day, we have access to fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood. We could get it even cheaper at the market but the convenience is nice. And you can buy any quantity you wish such as one banana and one orange. The market in Granada is a feast for the stomach and the eyes. After years, we still are not familiar with many of the fruits and vegetables.
A second reason we are eating better is that we discovered we could live on less than first expected. That means we could spend more on food when we felt we needed to buy steak or other more expensive dishes. I do have the advantage of a spouse that is a very good cook.
Another reason is that the Nica food better is better than we expected. Some of it is a little strange looking but it tastes great. Many of the common Nica dishes are under COUNTRY - UNIQUE TO NICARAGUA. The Nica restaurants are excellent from the street vendors with a small grill to the larger establishments.
Fruits
We mentioned the daily vendors coming to the door but the fruits here are truly amazing in quantity, quality and price. Mango trees are everywhere so you do not have to buy the fruit. The ground beneath these trees are strewn with the fruit in quantities difficult to imagine. We visited one island near here that had quite a few mango trees and we were up to our ankles in mangos. A neighbor often offers a hubcap full of mangos. If there were only licorice trees!
All of the various tropical fruits are here, from papaya to bananas though plantains are extremely popular for all meals. The green plantain is like a large, hard banana and is our equivalent of a potato since it is a common supplement to the Nica meal from chips to being mashed. If you let it ripen, and I mean really ripe, you can slice it and fry it which is my personal favorite. I can eat them for every meal though it is especially good for breakfast. Apples are available but rarer than in the USA and are considered more of a delicacy. The watermelons and canteloupes come in all sizes from smaller than the USA version to mammoth. They are so sweet and seem to be available many months of the year. There are delicious pineapples, avocados, juice oranges, limes (no lemons) and quince, guava and other assorted things in a variety of colors and textures. The papayas can be as big as a large dog. We eat a lot of fruit here.
Vegetables
Almost very vegetable is available here though many are used in different manners. For example, cabbage is more popular as the base for salads even though lettuce is readily available. Refrigeration is the most likely reason since cabbage lasts longer and does not have to be refrigerated. Actually they do not refrigerate lettuce here like we do but I like it cold and crisp. Many meals are served over a bed of cabbage or even mixed with meat and plantain chips. Carrots are so large that they would gag Bugs Bunny. A typical salad is cabbage, beets, tomatoes, carrots and onions with the dressing being oil and vinegar. It is normally served with the meal instead of before the meal. Potatoes and onions are very popular. Many of the common herbs and spices are not as common here though many of the expats have their own herb gardens.
No sweet corn here that I have found other than imported. They eat what I call field corn here.
Meat
Chicken is immensely popular here in all forms from fried to baked. It is so good! I’m not sure why it tastes so much better here. Probably something to do with their diet since there are few grain foods here, especially for animals. The pork and beef is very good here also though it tends to be tougher. The Nicas love to serve it BBQ style since it is usually cooked over an open fire. All types of meat are commonly served in strips, skewered shish-ka-bob style or minced with other foods. Shrimp, lobster and fish are readily available. Steaks, chops and ground beef are now becoming more available in Granada. For the larger meats, we usually went to the PriceSmart in Managua to get USDA meat but now we are starting to buy more fresh meat from the vendors near our home in Granada. Real sausage is starting to appear and a friend has started making sage sausage. And don’t forget turtle and turtle eggs.
Someone posted about confusion with the meat cuts here. Here is a chart:
Desserts and Sweet Stuff
My wife loves to bake so we have plenty of cookies, cakes, brownies and fudge. Desserts are relatively rare here except in the gringo restaurants. They do have their famous tres leches (three milks) cakes but their cookies are not as sweet. They do have many bakeries here though mostly for the various kinds of breads but some do produce the birthday and wedding cakes. My opinion is that most of those are not quite up to the par of what you expect back home unless you are from England. Surprisingly they make a mean carrot cake here.
Most of the locals do not bake assuming they have access to a stove. The neighbors go crazy for my wife’s cakes, cookies and especially for the fudge. Donut shops are starting to pop up and are quite good though not cheap, at least for here. In Managua we can actually get apple fritters and cinnamon buns. The typical Nica pastry is much less sweet and has very little fruit filling but it is probably more healthy for you.
Restaurants
We try not to eat out too often but the restaurants are excellent. In Granada alone we have everything from the Nicaraguan typical food to steak houses to hamburger joints to street vendors. Prices can range from $2 to over $20 for a great meal though street vendors serve excellent dishes for less than $3. Yes, we have good cheeseburgers and the place that serves them is almost like the Appleby’s and TGIFs back home. In fact, we have TGIFs in Managua. There are excellent pizza places here as well.
In Managua, Granada, San Juan del Sur and Esteli you have almost every type of restaurant. The smaller towns have much less though pizza is very popular everywhere. Even the smallest restaurants often have excellent dishes though there are a few restaurants I’m not sure how they stay in business. In Granada we have three Chinese restaurants, an Irish bar, sports bars, numerous steak houses, Thai food, two sushi places, smoothies and much more. One food establishment we do not have is a sandwich place with thick meaty deli sandwiches. I’m thinking hot pastrami with mustard on rye but it will come. Besides I do not want to lose my boyish figure!
Many of the locals supplement their income by selling Nacatamales for breakfast, Vigarón for lunch and BBQs for dinner. For $3you get a choice of grilled chicken, pork or beef with cabbage and plaintain chips. You can ask for fried maduras (sweet fried bananas). All of this is wrapped in a banana leaf. These are often called fritangas.
Stores-Supermarkets
This is where you define if you can live on $500 a month or $1500 a month. The cheapest food is going to the market where vendors sell everything you can imagine and some you can’t. It’s fresh, it’s good and it’s cheap. You will have to handle seeing fresh meat out in the open but it’s worth it. Do not take your wallet or camera with you. It is usually crowded and this is where the best pickpockets work. Many of the expats just send their maid down to buy everything.
Second cheapest is to buy from the vendors coming to your door or the little fruit stalls that exist on most streets. The problem is you may have to visit several places to find everything you need. Less selection and somewhat higher prices.
Then there are the supermarkets of which there are four major chains. Pali’s is the cheapest but is in most cities and towns. It is majority owned by WalMart (what a surprise) and goods are displayed warehouse style. Pali’s has the least variety but the lowest prices yet have a meat, dairy and frozen section. Next are the Colonias and La Unións (also owned by WalMart) with higher prices but these stores are comparable to the supermarkets in the states or Europe. They have everything you would expect and many of the brand names you are familiar with. Imported items are expensive. Excellent service and many of them have the extras such as pharmacies, dry cleaners, basic clothing, school supplies, etc. The latter supermarkets accept credit and debit cards.
At the top of the list is PriceSmart in Managua which is comparable to Costco or Sam’s Mart in the states. You have to buy many of the goods in bulk and prices are high but this is the only place you can get some of the goods. Actually buying in bulk brings the price back down in many cases. Many things are available in Nicaragua but not always of the same quality you expect but at PriceSmart you can buy USDA meat, durable file cabinets, good water hoses, computers, potato chips and much more. I hold them dear to my heart because they sell corn dogs which I thought I would never see again. You have to pay with cash, American Express or the PriceSmart card.
Rumor is that WalMart is opening a SuperCenter in Nicaragua and other Central American countries within a year. There are also a lot of little specialty shops which have those special items expats crave. At the Stop N Go in Managua we found blue cheese dressing which we had given up on. In Rivas, of all places, there is a little shop next to the Texaco station which sells many of items you need from time to time.
My wife loves to bake so we have plenty of cookies, cakes, brownies and fudge. Desserts are relatively rare here except in the gringo restaurants. They do have their famous tres leches (three milks) cakes but their cookies are not as sweet. They do have many bakeries here though mostly for the various kinds of breads but some do produce the birthday and wedding cakes. My opinion is that most of those are not quite up to the par of what you expect back home unless you are from England. Surprisingly they make a mean carrot cake here.
Most of the locals do not bake assuming they have access to a stove. The neighbors go crazy for my wife’s cakes, cookies and especially for the fudge. Donut shops are starting to pop up and are quite good though not cheap, at least for here. In Managua we can actually get apple fritters and cinnamon buns. The typical Nica pastry is much less sweet and has very little fruit filling but it is probably more healthy for you.
Restaurants
We try not to eat out too often but the restaurants are excellent. In Granada alone we have everything from the Nicaraguan typical food to steak houses to hamburger joints to street vendors. Prices can range from $2 to over $20 for a great meal though street vendors serve excellent dishes for less than $3. Yes, we have good cheeseburgers and the place that serves them is almost like the Appleby’s and TGIFs back home. In fact, we have TGIFs in Managua. There are excellent pizza places here as well.
In Managua, Granada, San Juan del Sur and Esteli you have almost every type of restaurant. The smaller towns have much less though pizza is very popular everywhere. Even the smallest restaurants often have excellent dishes though there are a few restaurants I’m not sure how they stay in business. In Granada we have three Chinese restaurants, an Irish bar, sports bars, numerous steak houses, Thai food, two sushi places, smoothies and much more. One food establishment we do not have is a sandwich place with thick meaty deli sandwiches. I’m thinking hot pastrami with mustard on rye but it will come. Besides I do not want to lose my boyish figure!
Many of the locals supplement their income by selling Nacatamales for breakfast, Vigarón for lunch and BBQs for dinner. For $3you get a choice of grilled chicken, pork or beef with cabbage and plaintain chips. You can ask for fried maduras (sweet fried bananas). All of this is wrapped in a banana leaf. These are often called fritangas.
Stores-Supermarkets
This is where you define if you can live on $500 a month or $1500 a month. The cheapest food is going to the market where vendors sell everything you can imagine and some you can’t. It’s fresh, it’s good and it’s cheap. You will have to handle seeing fresh meat out in the open but it’s worth it. Do not take your wallet or camera with you. It is usually crowded and this is where the best pickpockets work. Many of the expats just send their maid down to buy everything.
Second cheapest is to buy from the vendors coming to your door or the little fruit stalls that exist on most streets. The problem is you may have to visit several places to find everything you need. Less selection and somewhat higher prices.
Then there are the supermarkets of which there are four major chains. Pali’s is the cheapest but is in most cities and towns. It is majority owned by WalMart (what a surprise) and goods are displayed warehouse style. Pali’s has the least variety but the lowest prices yet have a meat, dairy and frozen section. Next are the Colonias and La Unións (also owned by WalMart) with higher prices but these stores are comparable to the supermarkets in the states or Europe. They have everything you would expect and many of the brand names you are familiar with. Imported items are expensive. Excellent service and many of them have the extras such as pharmacies, dry cleaners, basic clothing, school supplies, etc. The latter supermarkets accept credit and debit cards.
At the top of the list is PriceSmart in Managua which is comparable to Costco or Sam’s Mart in the states. You have to buy many of the goods in bulk and prices are high but this is the only place you can get some of the goods. Actually buying in bulk brings the price back down in many cases. Many things are available in Nicaragua but not always of the same quality you expect but at PriceSmart you can buy USDA meat, durable file cabinets, good water hoses, computers, potato chips and much more. I hold them dear to my heart because they sell corn dogs which I thought I would never see again. You have to pay with cash, American Express or the PriceSmart card.
Rumor is that WalMart is opening a SuperCenter in Nicaragua and other Central American countries within a year. There are also a lot of little specialty shops which have those special items expats crave. At the Stop N Go in Managua we found blue cheese dressing which we had given up on. In Rivas, of all places, there is a little shop next to the Texaco station which sells many of items you need from time to time.
