Feliz Cumpleanos Erin!!

Costa Rica was the country next on the list as we were preparing to celebrate Erin's birthday. We decided to celebrate in style with a few good friends by serving several traditional Costa Rican "bocas" or small dishes similar to tapas. After a solid and almost-successful day of house hunting (found a house, only to have the owners decide they didn't actually want to sell it), we began prepping around 4:00PM with guests expected around 5:30.

For the three bocas, we chose marinated "Rica Pica" wings, papas y chorizo, gallo pinto, and fresh guacamole.

Folks started arriving at 5:30 and by 6:30 we had a good crew and the party was in full swing, with Henry and Jack doing their best to tire each other out.

We were able to get the gallo pinto and papas y chorizo going ahead of time, so when we were ready, we just popped the wings in the oven for about 30 minutes. The rica pica wings were marinated in a spicy, tangy marinade that gave them a unique and tasty flavor.

The gallo pinto is apparently a very common dish and, as much as I do not like beans (which Erin has mentioned before), this dish was actually quite tasty. The beans, combined with the worcestershire and spices made it sweet and tasty.

Chorizo y papas was well received, with good flavor and a little kick that came through from the chorizo. This could have used a bit more spice, perhaps some cilantro or maybe a little kick from Tabasco, but was otherwise very good.

I've actually been to Costa Rica and do remember enjoying similar bocas after a day at the beach. The only thing missing from the meal were several ice-cold Imperials (and a great sunset on the ocean).

Overall, it was a fun night and a great way to celebrate the birth of my beautiful wife. We give Costa Rica a 3.5