Should one feel like traveling to Plaza Itskatzu out towards Multiplaza way one avails themselves of many of the better dining establishments in San Jose.  Since it really bums a brother out to have to write a negative review everytime I go out to eat on the weekends I am happy to write that Terruño is indeed one of these better dining establishments.  I have not (as ofyet) tasted the other various Argentinean places around so I can’t provide a comparison, but I can say that in my two meals at Terruño I have been quite satisfied, especially with the Swordfish entree and an appetizer whose exact name escapes me but is a dish of grilled provolone with various vegetables in it and lots of olive oil.

Address: Plaza Itskatzu, Escazu (across the highway from CIMA), In the back next to La Guagua (the cuban restaurant)

Price: About 8,000/person

San Pellegrino? Yes

First off, as you would expect, Tony Romas is expensive.  I suspect it might even be more expensive than it is in the states, which is silly, but I can’t know for sure as I haven’t been to one since my mommy was buying my dinners (and boy did she love the onion loaf).  But it’s nothing ridiculous, and if you’re after something cheap you might as well drop a g-note or two (of the local currency) on a casado somewhere with a chalkboard and a hairnet.  They offer two dishes of meat Imported from the US — a ribeye and a NY strip for those of you sick of that local twang touching your tongue everytime you bite into a steak, a variety of fish that’s pretty darn acceptable (which says a LOT for my experience ordering seafood in the city — why is no one bringing the delicious fish they have at the beach here?), a lot of sandwiches and a suprising amount of lunch-salads (like, five).  In my opinion, Tony Romas has the largest number of selections which I’d actually want to order, though that could be a result of nothing standing out as super-duper awesome (at least that I’ve tried so far).  Except for the Onion Loaf, of course.  That shit is awesome.

As far as a plate by plate review, here’s what I ordered this time: NY Strip (imported), double veggies — nothing special, but no complaints, which probably should make it special since it was my first meal after spending two weeks in the US and eating like a king and this managed not to sink me into a culinary depression.  My companion had the popcorn shrimp in the appetizer section and complained it was greasy and flavorless.  Dodge the popcorn shrimp, I suppose, is the lesson here.  I suggest the Onion Loaf.  Don’t forget to ask for BBQ sauce on the side because they give you something else here.

Address: San Rafael de Escazu, across from the HiperMas and next door to the TGI Fridays.

Price: 7000 a person or so without drinks.  Lots of variation in the menu, some dishes are less, imported steak runs you ~15000

More Lebanese food. More problems. It really was my own fault. I have heard from a very good source that this restaurant’s owner always tries to screw people by overcharging. Having eaten here in the past and winning credit card roulette, it never really crossed my mine. We ordered an appetizer plate, a Lebanese sampler for four. It ended up costing us $80 for humus, spinach turnover, tabbouleh, rice wrapped in grape leaves and a few other items. I tried to complain but the owner dismissed us with that’s the price kind of answer.

I will never eat here again due to his greed and dishonest behaviour.

Location: 200 Mts North of Rosti Pollo in Sabana Norte.

Price: An arm and a leg. c20,000 per person with no alcohol.

They have a green hot sauce and a red very hot sauce that both go extremely well with the Corvina ceviche. The mixture of tangy and spicy makes your mouth salivate and burn up in perfect harmony. Unfortunately, there was no red sauce available on our last visit.

The breaded seafood plate was a little greasy and tasteless. They promised 2 sauces for this dish but it only came with a very poorly flavoured tartar sauce. Most of the seafood was calamari and it was obviously from a frozen source. Some of the pieces (dark and chewy) could not be pinpointed to an exact species.

We also had a Papa Rellena (pure de papa, rellena de carne molida y especies) that was tasty and moist without being soggy.

There were table signs all over the restaurant stating that all cash purchases would receive a 10% discount. The only problem was that after we paid for our meal in cash they had not given us the rebate. When we asked about it, they stated that, yes it was available to us and that it could be applied now that we asked for it. What the fuck…this made no sense to me. Although, the ceviche is very good, I am not sure I will be able to eat here again due to this “oversight.”

Location: Plaza Atlantis, Escazu

Price: c8,000 per person

They have recently renovated and moved the kitchen/counter in the front to the back and added more tables. The decor remains similar but somehow not as cozy. Lots of coloured material draped and hung in various fashion.

Our favourite dish, humus especial (humus with milled lamb meat and olive oil) was a little dry, although there appeared to be extra minced lamb. The lamb ribs (old family recipe) were also dry and tough. This was a real mystery as we have had both of these dishes at least 4 other times and it has always been excellent. The owner soon dispelled the mystery and it appears that they got delivery of an older larger than usual lamb this week. Baby lamb is so much more tender and tastier without a doubt.

The service was quick but they forgot to refill our pita bread. We will make our way out there again but will make sure to get the age of the lamb before ordering. Maybe ordering the Mesa Lebanese, a sampler of all the delicious meats, salads and vegetables would have not gotten this written up.

Type: Lebanese

Drinks: San Pellegrino or Perrier not available.

Address: Rohrmoser, 200 Mts. South of Plaza Major

Price: 10000 colones per person

I was immediately disappointed when I showed up as there was some sort of function (the best I could guess is a rave, but as this isn’t 1994 I was not too confident in my estimation) going on in the building above, and a line of “young adults” in front of all the restaurants in the block drinking, smoking, and talking.  I realize this is not really the restaurants fault if the police won’t do something, but I certainly prefer to dine in ambiences other than frat parties and be I a restauranteur witnessing such a display out my window I would be standing outside with a hose since hey, if the cops won’t come by to clear a bunch of kids out from in front of a restaurant they’re probably not going to come by because some crazy dude is spraying them all with a hose.

Anyway the place is not very upscale in decor, there is a few tables outside, a few inside downstairs and a few upstairs.  There was a projection screen with a european football match playing and a static-y radio playing.  We requested to sit upstairs to try and avoid the situation noted above as much as possible, and were promptly forgotten about after receiving our menus for about 10 minutes (no drink order).  At one point the waiter who seated us stood outside in front of the restaurant looking about aimlessly at the crowd of kids.  I eventually walked downstairs, told him we were ready, and someone came to take our drink and food orders.  Our drinks came, our appetizer came, our food came, and that was it service-wise.  We walked downstairs to pay the check.

For an appetizer we had a dish involving eggplant stuffed with mozzarella, topped with pesto and olive oil.  It tasted about as you’d expect, good but unimpressive.  One entree was the tenderloin kabab (traditionally called Chelo Kabab Barg for those of you familiar with persian cuisine) featuring pieces of tenderloin with persian rice, salad, and roasted tomato.  The meat, aside from being rather plain tasting and only featuring a glimmer of farsi taste, ranged from rare to inedibly undercooked and the tomato seemed like it was microwaved.  My dining partner, unfamiliar with persian cuisine, asked if the rice tasted authentic.  ”Yes,” I replied, “in the way that if Rice-a-Roni made an Iranian flavor, it would taste like this.”  The other entree was the Mahi Mahi Kabab, which isn’t even fairly described as undercooked because undercooked might insinuate that it was halfway there.  Only the thinnest pieces were edible, and they made a very bold statement: you’re not missing out.

I’ve never sent food back in my entire life (since who wants their food redux with a side of spittle), nor have I ever bothered complaining merely chalking up my bad word of mouth and loss of future patronage as punishment enough, however this was one of the most ridiculous meals of my life.  We mentioned our dissatisfaction to the woman at the register and she offered a pretty uninterested apology and didn’t seem bothered to check on other food or look in on her kitchen staff.  If news of this ever reaches the owner: you should be embarrassed as an Iranian and a restauranteur.

Address: Centro Comercial Plaza Real Cariari, Behind the McDonalds

Price: ~8000 per person not counting drinks, emotional distress