Sunset from Monteverde

Sabor Espanol Restaurant, While you contemplate the tasty menu, complimentary delicious passion fruit sangria is brought to you.  To start a relaxing evening after a day of adventure (This is not the ideal restaurant to grab a quick bite). Our guests Andria & Gabe from Oregon insist that the stuffed avocado with tuna is not to miss (Be careful if you are a light eater as this dish alone can fill you up!)  For seafood lovers, the clams are great, and the Barcelona specialty (a toast to Mark & Jane from Colorado!) – Fideua of seafood easily tops the paella.  Fideua is seafood paella with the rice replaced by angel hair pasta, which soaks up all the essence and the flavor of the seafood mix.  If you’ve had enough of seafood, all the red meat dishes are equally tasty and well done.  For something more unique, go for the chicken w curry & anise serve with couscous and home fried yucca chips.  Vegetarian?  The tropical salad (with 9 ingredients!) alone serves as a hearty meal, and you can always have the ice cream topped pineapple flamed with coco rum to fill the void.  To wrap it up, what makes everyone rave about this restaurant is not only the delicious food, but the very reasonable prices, the homey ambiance with a touch of romance, and, best of all, the very warm and passionate hostess & chef.  We are very fortunate to have Sabor Español here in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Caburé Café Chocolate Tour, Many coffee tour companies in Monteverde begin to include ‘chocolate tour’ as part of their tour to compete with other rival companies.  While these companies main focus is still on coffee and or sugar mill, the cacao bean processing is only touched on briefly.  If you have more time to spare in Monteverde, and are genuinely curious about the history and science behind the creation of chocolate, then I strongly recommend a couple hours spent at the Caburé Argentine Café, where Bob invites you into his beautiful work shop and demonstrates the entire process, from fermentation to roasting, grinding to temping then dipping the chocolate liquid.  Bob’s chocolate tour is as through and interesting as watching Alton Brown on Food Network, but even better, because you’re there in person!

Bob’s chocolate tour usually runs 2:00 pm or 4:00pm / $10 per person. 
For more inquiry or reservation write to us at:  info@hotelelviandante.com

Tamales, the traditional Christmas food in Costa Rica, For almost all Costa Rican families a Christmas season without tamales is just not complete. This delicious typical dish — prepared almost exclusively in December to eat during the year-end parties and celebrations — comes from a millennial tradition. It is also believed that tamales are a part of our ancestors' heritage. The truth is, all Costa Ricans will remember having eaten them since they were small children.

The base of a tamal is corn, or maize, a crop cultivated by the Meso-american Indians since pre-Columbian times. Corn has always been an essential element in their diet and it is used to prepare an endless number of tasty dishes, such as the well-known tortillas and atole, plus, even, alcoholic drinks like chicha.

Making and cooking tamales is generally an activity which involves the participation of all family members. It is a slow, careful and laborious process. As some family members prepare the corn dough, others will be chopping and mincing additional ingredients and yet others will be preparing the plantain leaves and strings that will be used to wrap the tamales for boiling. Grandmothers and mothers will teach granddaughters and daughters how to make tamales; making sure the tradition is kept alive.
All through the month of December no Costa Rican home will be found without tamales. It might seem as if they don't get tired of eating them; some, even three or four times a day! They are eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner and they are absolutely fundamental for coffee break time. During the season, invitations to eat tamales at friends' and relatives' homes are common. Whoever does not make them can buy them ready to eat from commercial producers. The fact is, for Christmas, tamales cannot be missing from the kitchen!