A Vegetarian Gustatory Tour of Jalapa

This post has been long simmering, and was inspired by PCV Noel's brilliant blog entry early into her service about the incredibly delicious-looking food of her site in Indonesia. Nicaragua's is quite bland and repetitive, in contrast to Indonesia's spiciness and variety of fruits and veggies (and soy products!!!), but nonetheless there are treasures to be found, even in Jalapa, if you know where to look:

Breakfast: Pan con Café


Coffee and Bread. This is my breakfast. Every day. And sometimes a snack at school. Some of the breads are sugary-er than others, but most look similar to those pictured, and have a little cheese and sugar baked inside of them. Delicious! Afterwards I feel like this, especially with my Spiderman Mug:


(Happy and Caffeinated)

Snacks:

Maní con Enchiladas de Frijoles (peanuts with bean enchiladas)


I used to get this all the time at school when I’d be there for whole mornings at a time, and needed sustenance to get me through. The “enchiladas” are sadly plain when sold at school for seven cents a piece, and the maní is just spicy enough to annoy me. This year, I managed to give myself a nice break in the middle of both of my busy mornings, so I go home, and have fallen into the habit of eating peanut butter with a spoon while I wait for my ramen noodles to cook, and having that be lunch.

Eskimo!


“Eskimo” is what people call ice cream here. Carla the Eskimo Lady is one of my favorite people in town, and always attends me with a smile, and gives me a more generous portion than other Eskimo franchises in other parts of Nicaragua. I used to get a lot of Neapolitan and Cookies and Cream, but now I’m going through a big Choco-Banano (banana ice cream covered by a chocolate shell on a stick) phase. Mmmmm!

Lunch:

The Carb Special – Gallo Pinto con Espagetti, Yuca, y Cuajada


It is truly a treat when this is available. My two favorite comedores in Jalapa, La Mama Chunga and Sonia’s Refresqueria, only sometimes have spaghetti available. Sonia’s can serve it with yucca, which is very filling, and Mama Chunga’s usually serves it with toast, which is tastier. The beans and cheese assist with a little bit of protein to at least partially balance out the triple-threat of carbs.

The Mama Chunga – Gallo Pinto on Toast


Sometimes all Mama Chunga has to serve me is rice and beans and toast. Somedays, like the day this picture was taken, they can also provide some veggies in the form of chismol, which is kinda like pico de gallo (tomatoes + onion + green peppers), which certainly adds a bit of flavor to the meal.

Tostones con Queso


A sad, nearly-tasteless dish that is often about all I can order at traditional Nica restaurants. Luz de Luna, the only Restaurant/Karaoke Bar/Swimming Pool in town, makes decent ones, usually with a fair helping of refried beans, which is the only source of flavor for the meal.

The Allison – Guacamole with Chips, Refried Beans, and Fresh Cuajada


In memory of my visit to Allison about a year ago now, when we made lunch together after an epic search of her town for ingredients. It was delicious! And much more nutritious and excellent than my typical lunch in Jalapa.

Dinner:

The Somoteño - Gallo Pinto, Chismol, y Tajadas


The Somoteño is probably my favorite fritanga in town. I can get my dinner there for 20 cords, which is now less than a dollar. They always have rice and beans and chismol, and when I’m super lucky, they have potato chips to spread them on. My second choice is Malanga, a root vegetable like yucca, but more purple, which they have much more often. If I’m unlucky, all they have that night are tajadas (fried, salted banana chips), which I ate voraciously at the beginning of my service, but which I am now quite tired of.

Pupusas!




We have Pupusas (corn dough filled with cheese, then fried) in Jalapa, but sadly they do not measure up to the Pupusas Salvadoreñas they have in several towns down south, which are available with both beans and cheese in the filling, something that no matter how I try, I cannot convince my Pupusa lady to try. But! She is sweet, and the just-cheese pupusas with rice is nice every now and again. Beans would make it sooo much better for me though! :(

Nacatamales!


My favorite of Nicaragua’s traditional dishes! It is corn dough, rice, veggies, and traditionally chunks of beef boiled inside a banana leaf until they are all soft and sticky and delicious! I tend to eat around the beef and take it home for La Maravilla to eat when I get them in Jalapa; the one in this picture with the Mickey Mouse Lime Garnish, was fancily prepared for me at the Holiday Inn in Managua without meat while I was there with Donna for a Small Business fundraiser; the best are prepared at a place called Ananda in Estelí, which serves only vegetarian fare, and packs their nacatamales with lots of veggies, soy meat (!!!), and raisins, and serves them with wheat bread.

Eggplant Parmesan (???!!!)


El Mojito is a new Gourmet restaurant that just opened in Jalapa (that Edgard, one of my counterparts, is a part-owner of). And when I say “Gourmet,” I don’t mean that in a disparaging “Gourmet for Nicaragua” way. This is food I would expect to find in Paris, or New York, food that no restaurant in Livonia can touch, food of a quality I have rarely been served in my life. The chef (they have a chef!) worked previously in Montelimar, the best hotel/resort in Nicaragua, before deciding to come to Jalapa and start El Mojito closer to his family. The eggplant is succulent, the sauce an amazing explosion of flavors based in tomato and cream; it often comes with sautéed broccoli, cauliflower, and celery, and is always served with this adorable crust-less garlic bread. A must-see for any visitor to Jalapa!

Drinks:

Yogur


Yoplait makes this drinkable yogurt that the Eskimo place sells down here; I prefer strawberry and apple, finding all the other flavors (nancite, tropical fruits, pineapple, peach) completely unpalatable. Available in a convenient normal size, and a gigantic one, for when you want to feel awful after drinking so much yogurt.

Fresco


“Fresco” can be used to refer to a wide variety of Nicaraguan drinks. The one in the picture is actually Chicha, which is made from fermented corn, and usually only available for a week or two in September, when Jalapa collectively gets drunk off it and celebrates its corn harvest. It looks identical to my favorite fresco from Sonia’s, Cebada, which is actually based on barley, and looks and kinda tastes like Strawberry Quick. Other excellent frescoes include Cacao (like a gritty chocolate milk) and Pinol (cacao served warm and thick). Ones I avoid: Tamarindo (based on tamarind, a super-sweet brown fruit), and Pitaya (a purple drink based on dragonfruit).

Squiz!


My favorite orange juice inspired drink I’ve ever had. I don’t drink it much anymore, but especially when I first got to site and still didn’t have a reliable system for getting clean water, I’d drink one or two a day. This one is hanging out by the pool in Luz de Luna.

Toña


The national beer. Similar-tasting to the previous national beer, Victoria, but somewhat better, in my opinion (I’ve met several, mostly older gringos who would fervently disagree with me on this point). In Nicaragua, every night is dollar beer night, since as long as you’re not in Managua, you can always get a Toña for 20 cords or less. This picture was taken as Laura, Donna and I were celebrating the successful end of our dual summer camps in Ocotal and Jalapa last year.

Lola Pan’s Licuados


If there is a God, I would imagine He drinks these milkshakes. There is no tastier beverage I have encountered thus far in my time on this earth than Lola Pan’s strawberry-banana-chocolate milkshakes, which are somehow the perfect combination of all of those flavors at their most delectable, and are topped off with a swirl of chocolate syrup. They just barely edge out on taste Buen Provecho’s milkshakes down in Jinotepe, which win on price, since they give you about twice as much for only five cords more than Lola Pan charges. Another not-to-be-missed Jalapa destination!

That’s all! Those are pretty much all my options for eating out in Jalapa. But worry not, family members concerned for my health and nutrition! I often cook dinner for myself, and shall, perhaps, chronicle the things I’ve made in upcoming entries! Stay tuned!

* All pictures are mine this time!