Affordable Food
Nicaragua produces a wide variety of fresh tropical fruits, meats and nuts not found anywhere else in the region.
Fresh bananas, papaya, watermelon, pineapples, mandarins, avocados, and jocote are all available for sale on street corners and in downtown markets, for a fraction of what they cost in North America or Europe. Mangos grow wild on public trees in the park and along the shores of Lake Nicaragua; throw a stick and knock one down to eat if you are so uninhibited. Just make sure to wash all fruit before eating it.
Nicaragua also is the only country in the region to produce peanuts and cashews, which can be bought from children in the park or on the street.
Supermarkets are much like markets in the world north, except product selection is sparser and more inconsistent. Nicaragugua’s major supermarket chains are, Palí, La Unión Supermercados and La Colonía Supermercados.
Palí is the most abundant and cheapest chain, with some 20 markets spread across the country. La Unión and La Colonia, located in Managua, are larger grocery stores with better selection and quality food products.
Some private grocery stores, such as Lacayo in Granada, offer harder-to-find imported products to target the expat community.
For your full-on gringo fix, PriceMart in Managua has everything you would expect it to have, including imported U.S.-grade meats and all the brand-name junk foods you can think of.
In addition, every neighborhood has its small, independent corner store, called pulperías, which usually have a hodgepodge of basic food items, cooking oil, junk food and beer.
Modern U.S.-style supermarkets abound in Nicaragua
Shell gas stations also have mini-markets, featuring sweaty hotdogs, Gatorade and curious deli meats.
In most stores, brand name imports from the United States are upwards of 30% more expensive than similar Central American products. You can dramatically reduce your grocery bill if you substitute Cheetos for Quesitos (different wrapper, same yellow, sticky fingers afterwards).
Nicaragua also has good local meats from cattle raising up north. A famous local plate is carne asada (grilled steak strips) with fried plantain chips and a chile coleslaw. Comedor Doña Emeliña in Masaya has, dare say, the best carne asada in the universe. Eat it with beer.
With oceans on both sides, Nicaragua also has excellent ceviche and seafood plates, prepared with garlic or a spicy Creole sauce on the Caribbean coast.
American Fast food is available in Nicaragua
Typical Nicaraguan food is similar to that of Mexico and other Central American countries. Tortillas often, but not always, are eaten with a meal of rice, beans, fruit, eggs, vegetables and a little meat. Gallo pinto, a typical Nicaraguan dish, is made with rice and red beans as a base and fried with red bell peppers and cilantro. Nacatamales are a combination of meat, tomatoes, rice and condiments inside of a rectangular piece of corn meal. It is wrapped in banana leaves for cooking purposes.
Ceviche is raw fish marinated in lemon juice, onion and other spices (Please see the recipe we’ve included on the previous page). Plátano Frito are fried green plantains. Vigorón is a popular dish of boiled yucca (cassava) topped with coleslaw salad and pork or chicharrón (fried pork skins), served in a banana leaf. The locals sometimes call the latter toreja. Bajo is another typical dish that has green plantains, yucca, meat and other vegetables. Fritangas are strips of fried vegetables.
Natural fruit juice drinks, or liquados, are available in many breakfast places, usually a combination of banana or melon with milk or water. Tiste, Pinolillo and Cacao are three typical Nicaraguan drinks. Nicaraguans often refer to themselves as Pinoleros, a word that comes from the drink Pinolillo.
Rostipollos has the best chicken in Nicaragua
Typical Nicaraguan food can be found throughout the country. Just ask around.
Nicaragua also has its share of decent foreign foods. For good Argentine meats, check out Hary’s Grill in Managua. For Irish fare, the Shannon Bar in Managua’s Barrio Bolonia has Irish pub food.
Nuestra Casa (known locally as Three-Fingered Jimmy’s) in Granada, has the best ribs, fried shrimp and chicken fingers in the country.
Nicaragua also has its share of restaurant chains, everything from TGI Fridays to McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, Pollo Campero, and so forth.
In Granada, the famous breakfast haunts are Nica Buffet and Kathy’s Waffle House. |
