New Costa Rican to replace Ambassador

While Chicago has zero restaurants serving Portuguese food and any number of other fine cuisines, it is about to get another restaurant serving a cuisine that practically does not exist, Costa Rican. Obviously, the appeal is there, due to lots of folks' vacations to the relatively safe and wealthy Central American country, and Irazu might be the best Costa Rican restaurant anywhere, despite its burrito-heavy menu.

Despite my cynicism, I'm looking forward to Palmito, the other CR restaurant. Ashland and Addison.

Don't like losing Ambassador. Always did like that place, although it has been years since I went there.

I never made the cut for membership in the confraternity of Irazu admirers despite lots of visits there over the years. I spent a week in Costa Rica last month (at surf camp in Nosara, my winter-in-Chicago pallor left me distinguishable from a cadaver only by the lack of any detectable odor of phenol about me) and the food evoked memories of Irazu, no matter how much Salsa Lizano I dumped on it. On the plane home, I found myself wondering, just how many days in a row can one eat gallo pinto without losing the will to live? The Ticos I met were so completely charming I'll gladly visit the new Palmito, but I think I share your pessimism about the likelihood it will win our approbation.

Grommet,

Costa Rica, I've said before, is proof that there are worthwhile places that do not have decent food. It's a bit comical that we have only a smattering of (if any) Salvadoran, Honduran, Panamanian, Belizian, Nicaraguan, and Guatemalan places around town, when the one Latin American country that is almost totally lacking in an indigenous, recognizable food will soon be represented by two spots.

For me, Costa Rican means just caught fish cooked simply. That's about it. Gallo Pinto is usually awful, and it really stinks when compared to the similar dishes of any number of surrounding C. American and Caribbean countries. I do like Lizano's "Tabasco" brand hot sauce, though.

What a great place, Costa Rica. (Except for San Jose, which is a dump.)

On the topic of Central American foods, I just went to La Unica. If you want to know what's new in the non-Mexican latino community in Chicago, La Unica's a good spot. They are quick to react to immigration patterns.

Somewhat suddenly, La Unica has begun to stock a significant number of Honduran and Salvadoran items, particularly frozen pupusas and tamales -- some hand made, others not. I believe one of the cooks, a woman, may be from Honduras. At this point, the cafe menu is one of the most PanAm I have seen anywhere, including LA and Miami. There's chicken in two kinds of mole, the usual Cuban and Colombian/Ecuadoran, and now more and more Central American.

PS, my statement that Irazu is the best CR anywhere should not be taken as a sign that I think it is a great restaurant. I hardly ever eat burritos.

JeffB - I'm curious as to what is tastier about Belizean food than Costa Rican? I've been to both Belize and Costa Rica, and I couldn't say that either have that much to recommend them. in fact, I was told by several Belizeans on my trip there that "we have two national dishes: beans and rice and rice and beans." That about sums it up. Anywhere that had anything else - including fresh fruits, or fresh fish - catered to tourists and not locals. Local food was uninspiring at best.

Fair enough; damnation by faint praise. Belizian is more interesting, to me, because of the caribbean/African influences. But to be honest, I mostly included it because it is a Central American country. I won't rank them, but I think it's easy to put CR and Belize at the bottom.

So, has anyone actually been to Palmito? I drove by yesterday and was reminded of this thread.

I have to say that on my one trip to Costa Rica, the place we stayed had a "Noche Tipica" that featured tico food and it was really pretty good. I don't know if that says more about the chef than the cuisine -- I don't find myself longing for that food, but I enjoyed it on that night. The picadillo was really delicious.

We also had some great food at a little restaurant called Los Corrales. I didn't take any pictures of the food, but here's the owner.



The food was not necessarily great in its uniqueness, which I guess is the point of most of the comments here. A year later, I definitely don't remember the details. I'm sure it was at least somewhat flavored with traveller's sentiment.

Los Corrales
Pueblo Nuevo
Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
(no idea of phone or exact address, but here's a pretty good map of the area.

Ambassador was Cuban, right? Well, for those smarting that absence, there's a new Cuban opening up in the old Playa de Sol spot near Flo and across from Cafe Central. Between Cuban on one side of the street, and Puerto Rican on the other, how would you choose? (Assuming the new Cuban restaurant is any good.)

germuska wrote:So, has anyone actually been to Palmito? I drove by yesterday and was reminded of this thread.

Yes. Based on a single visit (but sharing from the plates of three other diners) I liked some of Palmito a lot, some not so much, but on balance it was a good meal. The pork was outstanding and the coffee (and the coffee service) were very good, too.

I went to Palmito on a scorching hot night when their tiny dining room was filled with three loud, drunken dining parties and still managed to have a nice meal.

I had the ceviche, which came in the usual martini glass treatment with a handful of tortilla chips. It's been a while since I've done anything but dig into ceviche with a fork; but it was a nice change of pace. The mixture had some hefty pieces of tilapia that even my non-seafoodie boyfriend enjoyed.

The kitchen ran out of Seth's choice--empanadas with potatoes and chorizo--but quickly offered up the plantain turnovers filled with ground beef instead. A wise substitute; it probably tasted even better than the empanadas.

Since we sat at the bar, we had nothing but time to bond with the two-man waitstaff. One man told me the night was their most crowded in months. Of course, that's the night I come in for dinner. Three large groups of loud, drunk people made the tiny place a little annoying and extremely hot.

But they were very attentive to our BYOB needs--constantly getting cold classes and opening up another bottle of the wheat bear we brought.

Seth's main was the casado con carne--a thin steak topped with onions, black beans, plaintains, the works. It's simple, but very well executed. The onion mixture tasted amazing, and made Seth overlook the fact that the "ensalada" was iceburg lettuce with roughly one-eighth of a tomato as adornment.



I had the tres gallos--steak; potato and pork, and plantain and beef chorizo. The beef and pork ones were excellent, the plantain/chorizo grew on me, although it wasn't in the same league.



At that point there was no room at the inn for dessert, but Seth powered through a chocolate tart and praised it immensely. The inside was soft, but not ooze-y, and the staff gave it to us on the house to make up for the heat and the crappy seats.

I liked the old Ambassador Caffe, but this is a nice change of pace. I actually went because I love the namesake, hearts of palm, but I think they're more prevalent at brunch. Prices are good though--our bill was just over $40.

Palmito
3605 N. Ashland

JeffB wrote:Grommet,

Costa Rica, I've said before, is proof that there are worthwhile places that do not have decent food. It's a bit comical that we have only a smattering of (if any) Salvadoran, Honduran, Panamanian, Belizian, Nicaraguan, and Guatemalan places around town, when the one Latin American country that is almost totally lacking in an indigenous, recognizable food will soon be represented by two spots.

Dont be so hard on Costa Rican food there... it is far better than the food from the Dominican Republic. I lived down there for a while and besides the delicious Dominican oil drum BBQ chicken the food was a perfect example of the the "3B's" (bland, boiled, and boring). Despite this I have seen a number of Dominican places around... far more than Costa Rican spots. I think alot of it really comes down the whether or not the cuisine of a particular country has a population large enough to support the eatery rather than the inherent value of the cuisine to begin with.