Off the eaten path

Salt Traders doesn’t always have food. As their name implies, their main trade is peddling salt. They also sell some of the best burgers in the country.

In late September of 2016, the D’Angelo family moved from Naples, Italy to Playas del Coco, Costa Rica. Now they’re pumping out some of the best pizza in Costa Rica.

As its name implies, La Deportiva Charlie’s Bar is a sports bar. But it’s not one of the many copy-and-paste American sports bars all around Costa Rica.

For more than 20 years, there’s been a fire burning nearly every day in Escazú. To find it, look for a smokestack towering up in the sky and follow the smell of delicious roast chicken.

While Don Doner is named after the doners it sells, the french fries here are quite possibly the best in the country.

For the last 20 years, La Cebolla Verde has been an icon along the calle vieja – or old road – that winds its way up and down between Santa Ana and Escazu. You might’ve noticed something different in the past six months though.

Lidia's Place has turned into a must-stop in Puerto Viejo.

We debuted a lot of things in 2018 and one of our favorites was our new dining and nightlife column “Off the Eaten Path.”

Growing up in Vancouver, Canada, a world-class sushi city and so I can confidently claim to know the difference between the real deal and the not-so-authentic. With that in mind, I’m just going to go right out and say it: if this isn’t the best sushi in Costa Rica, it’s definitely the best affordable sushi in Costa Rica.

Admittedly I have never eaten Egyptian food, so I have no reference point for good Egyption food. But I do know food, and the food at Al Masri is good. I’m pretty sure it’s authentic too since the owner, Mohammed Hussien, only moved to Costa Rica from his native Egypt six years ago.