 Brunching, a favorite activity amongst many expats and travelers has been difficult to accomplish in downtown San Jose.
Aside from the occasional breakfast buffets inside hotels, you'd come up with nothing more than the traditional gallo pinto available on morning menus. Recently, however, two restaurants are taking the plunge to open on Saturdays for mostly brunch hours. And the good news you can leave full for a reasonable amount of money. Jardín del Parque, situated on the northeast corner of Parque Nacional is now open from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. on Satudrdays. This is a fantastic vegetarian restaurant with a combination of breakfast and lunch menu options on Saturdays. Fruit parfaits, egg skillets and homemade pancakes with homemade jams will make for a nice first meal of the day. They do not have a liquor license however so you'll have to hold on the mimosas. Prices range from $5 - $10. Restaurante Kalu, a restaurant and art gallery with a delightful eclectic menu is opening its doors 8 a.m. - 11:30 only for brunch, changing to a regular menu at noon, which kind of misses the point of leisurely brunch hours but at least it's a start for greater Saturday breakfast options. Kalu has chosen to provide an extensive and creative menu with only breakfast dishes. One can choose from homemade chocolate bread pancakes to homemade bread topped with egg and toppings of your choice. We had the smoked salmon (another hard to find dish) which was well prepared but would have been wonderful with capers. Again, prices were reasonable between $5 and $10 for most plates. The arrival of brunch to downtown San Jose rounds out a variety of options for urban fun. I would recommend the following agenda: 8:30a - 10a Organic Farmer's Market at Feria Verde 11a - 12p Free Yoga in Parque Espana Brunch before or the farmer's market or after yoga, whatever works well for you! Remember, if you like a new effort from a business be sure to support it. I guarantee these brunch options won't last long if clients don't stop by! **This Saturday June 29 you can also participate in a bike ride with Chepe Cletas and showing of The Triplets of Belleville at the Historic Cine Magaly. The ride will start from the National Monument in Parque Nacional at 8:30.
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 We are very happy to announce an expansion of our services -- city tours in Spanish! Mariel is joining our team as a fluent English and Spanish speaking guide.
Native to Costa Rica, Mariel not only is able to provide city tours in Spanish, but also chat with our clients about life growing up in Costa Rica and wildlife. Get ready to hear some new stories! Mariel graduated from the program of Biology and Sustainable Development at Universidad Latina, Costa Rica. She then pursued the field of Tropical Forest Conservation and management at the Higher Education and Research Center CATIE, where she became interested in the social aspects of natural resource management. Her work experiences are broad and include tourism, experiential education, rural conservation programs, research and community-based workshops. She is also passionate about nature, Thai massage, teaching Spanish and reading! Interested in taking a tour with Mariel? Reserve a San Jose walking tour!  I hope you got in your rest during winter and the holiday season because this is the time of year to come out and play and there is no rest for the weary as back-to-back festivals and cultural events carry us through to Semana Santa.
Here's a quick summary of what's to come in the next few weeks,we'll be covering some of these in more detail soon. FILM - Jan. 28 - Final film in Chaplin series at Teatro Variedades_, EL GRAN DICTADOR (The Great Dictator) 1940. THEATER - The English-speaking Little Theatre Group will kick off the 2013 season with a Cabaret Night, theater and musical performances will be the highlight of this Jam at the Bar. 7:30 on Feb. 8, 2.500 entrance fee at Sala Garbo. ROCK - Festival del Rock en el Farolito, 11a - 8p Feb. 16 and 17. This is a free concert featuring prominent Costa Rican rock bands in Parque Morazan. Full line-up schedules will appear on the facebook page. ELECTRONIC - ChepeJoven is an annual event that opens up international electronic music for free to Costa Ricans while closing Paseo Colon for a Sun. As the name implies, this will be an event mostly attended by teenagers and then electronic fans of all ages. Hosted also on Feb. 17 you can listen to music ALL DAY downtown. This festival runs 8a - 3p. DJs spinning include: - Jeff Brenes - Monik Zdan - Hector Moran (El Salvador) - Erik Prestinary - ¿? - Lawrence Casal - Huba&Silica INNOVATION - TEDxPuraVida is an independently organized event with the same spirit of 'ideas worth sharing'. Presentations are in Spanish but that's a good opportunity to practice and a great chance to meet some of the nation's thought leaders. Tickets are $150, the event will be hosted at the Children's Museum. A full schedule of presenters is available. To explore of the exciting places and activities in San Jose, Costa Rica Book a City Tour.
 The English editorial, Phaidon Press Limited, has just honored the Museo del Oro/Numastic Museum in its recently released list of most important buildings of the 20th century.
Serendipitously, the museum has been celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and has finished a remodel that includes handicap access, new electrical system and interior upgrades. The building is unique in that it is the only underground building in Costa Rica and is also an inverted pyramid. The 'roof' is the famous Plaza de la Cultura which is home to many cultural events througout the year and is next to the National Theater. The museum has also improved its cultural outreach over the past two years hosting coin collector fairs, concerts on the plaza entrance, and new art exhibits inside. An exhibit on the buildings creation and construction will open next Fri. Nov. 23rd. We visit the most interesting architectural sites in San Jose on our Walking Tours $22 - $25. |
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