FAQ: Where Do You Shop For Groceries?

Once upon a time long long ago (or maybe about 25 years), there was a tiny fishing village called Tamarindo, located in Guanacaste Costa Rica.  It sat in the exact same spot as the center of what is now a world-famous vacation destination with the exact same name.  If you were to compare a photo of the old Tamarindo village with the new Tamarindo resort town, you would see why, although they are located in the same place, they really aren’t the same place at all. 

The original Tamarindo was a cluster of homes, a few hotels, and a few stores at the end of a very long bumpy drive down a winding dirt road that was covered either in moon dust or in mud.  Depending on the time of year.  There weren’t that many people here back then.  There weren’t that many cars.  There were a few phones, but not many.  In the mid 90s, if you wanted to make a phone call in Tamarindo you needed to wait in line at the public phone in the rotunda.

Tamarindo, at that time, had one grocery store.  Count them: one.  An American ex-pat named Valerie owned the grocery store, called El Pelicano, that stood between shade trees roughly where Longboards Restaurant is now.  It was a tiny store, and Tamarindo was a tiny town. 

El Pelicano stocked dry goods, toiletries, staples like rice and beans, and received deliveries of produce once or twice a week.  I don’t remember which day was produce day at El Pelicano, but I used to!  If you didn’t make it there in time, you could pretty much forget it until the next produce day.  El Pelicano was not air conditioned because nothing was air conditioned back then, and it was closed on Sunday.  This was not due to any type of religious persuasion, it was so that Valerie could have a day off.  Saturday was a very bad day to forget something at the store because you would be doing without it until Monday.  

Fast forward to 2022 and BOOM BABY!!  The little village has exploded into a city, the shade trees have turned into bikini stores, and we have grocery stores by the dozens!  And we Grill Master chefs spend a lot of time in them!  To make excellent food, having excellent ingredients is just as important has having the best recipes. 

People ask us all the time, “Where do you guys do your shopping?”  We look at each other, laugh, and say, “Exactly!”  It’s a multi-level answer!  

Every morning, Hernan, armed with a credit card and a shopping list, takes off in the truck.  I go with him too, if I can, but most often I’m sitting at a computer.  Hernan’s got his eye peeled for The Fish Guy who will also be making his delivery rounds through Tamarindo’s hotels and restaurants.  They’ll cross paths somewhere along the way, but you never can be sure where.  The Fish Guy has the best fish, but we can never be sure if we’ll find him or if he’ll have what you’ve ordered for dinner. 

Hernan’s first stop of the day is La Carniceria in Villareal.  That’s where he’ll choose and purchase the cuts of meat for your meal.  Hernan loves cooking meat, and he can get amusingly excited about what he finds in the Carniceria.  I don’t really like the Carniceria, myself, so I’m glad he does.  I don’t like hanging out with all the chopped up flesh in there, and my favorite part about the Carneceria stop is when we leave. 

If you’ve ordered artesian ice cream for dessert, the nice French people who make it have their little store right along the main road, so that’s the next stop.  

Then comes the Fruit and Vegetable Market.  We have a favorite one where the guys who stock the displays know us and are happy to lead us into the back where we get to pick from the tomatoes, mangos, pineapples, and avocados that are better than what’s up front.  The prices there are the best ones we’ve found and the quality of the produce is consistent.  It’s also a great place to get a good deal on olive oil, eggs, butter, and other things that aren’t fruits or vegetables.  

The third stop is The Fish Store.  The Fish Guy doesn’t always have everything, but the fish store does.  So if we haven’t been able to come up with the type of fish you ordered, or if we need shrimp, or if you’re going all out and having lobster, The Fish Store saves the day every time!

An American-Style Supermarket is often the last stop.  This is the catch-all stop where we can finish off the list.  If we forgot the chicken wings at the Carniceria or the limes at the Fruit and Vegetable Market were less than amazing, the Supermarket will have them.  If we need fresh mozzarella for a Caprese Pearl Salad or fancy lettuce for a Green Salad, if we need cream cheese to make icing or good bacon for wrapping tenderloin, this is the place for it.  This is the only place in Tamarindo to buy decent dinner napkins, the little cups we serve ceviche in, and the amazing Mango Ginger sauce that I would make myself  if I thought I could top what someone else is already making. 

Then we’re done.  Unless you’re having some of our incredibly delicious Argentinian wine.  If that’s on the list, we will be making one more stop at a Wine Storage Room.  Believe me it’s not that wine is hard to find in Tamarindo, but good wine is another story!  Luckily, Hernan discovered an Argentinian wine distributor that sells great wine at very reasonable prices and we are always pleased with the product. We haven’t sampled them all yet, but we’re working on it!

Buying groceries for one dinner takes all morning here in the jungle, and that’s if we don’t forget the ice cream, and if we find the mushrooms we need on the first (or second) try.  We love using your money to support local businesses as much as possible, even if it does lengthen the shopping process.  We believe you get better food that way, and we love sharing the love.