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Hello to all! I’ve just joined the forum and am impressed by the wealth of good information and advice here.
I’m a Vietnam veteran in my early 60’s and have been a full-time resident of Costa Rica for over ten years. I live in San Ramon de Tres Rios, northeast of downtown San Jose.
My wife is Tica and I’m pretty much immersed in the culture. We speak Spanish only at home and almost all of my friends here are Tico.
I also own a samll finca/horse ranch in the northern foothills of Volcan Turrialba and am an avid horseman and dog owner/trainer.
I’m in the process of opening Costa Rica’s first and only traditional Southern pit barbecue restaurant, All American Barbecue, near my home in San Ramon de Tres Rios. I plan to open in early November and hope to have the opportunity to meet some of you in person if you enjoy good barbecue.
I’m pleased to be a member of your online community and look forward to being an active participant.
Welcome Jim S!
With you having lived here for ten years your compliments about the good information here thanks to our VIP Members are indeed received with gratitude.
I’m assuming that you are pretty much ready to open the new restaurant at this stage are you?
Do you have your patente?
Scott Oliver
WeLoveCostaRica.comHi Scott,
I still have a lot to do before opening but it’s all coming together. I have all of my permits except the final patente from the municipalidad which I expect to receive later this week.
The restaurant is fairly small and aimed mostly at takeout and home delivery customers but I have seating for 20 to 25 people. Once everything is running smoothly (and profitably), I hope to open a second location with a larger dining room and a liquor license.
[quote=”Jim S.”]Hi Scott,
I still have a lot to do before opening but it’s all coming together. I have all of my permits except the final patente from the municipalidad which I expect to receive later this week.
The restaurant is fairly small and aimed mostly at takeout and home delivery customers but I have seating for 20 to 25 people. Once everything is running smoothly (and profitably), I hope to open a second location with a larger dining room and a liquor license.[/quote]
Mmmmmmmmmm… BBQ
I’ll be by for a sandwich sometime in 2013!
Hi Jim, best of luck with your new endeavor. Having been born in Houston and living most of my life there while eating a lot of “Texas BBQ”, and then spending a bit over 20 years between Tampa and Atlanta I have enjoyed what they called “Southern BBQ” which I always thought leaned more toward Carolina-style BBQ. Although they were all good, they were definately all different. I’m glad I am typing and not talking because my mouth is salivating just thinking of all the great brisket, sausage, ribs, etc.
So what type of “Southern BBQ” do you plan on having? I guess another way of asking that question is which region of the south will most influence your style of cooking “Southern BBQ”?
I know Scott doesn’t allow advertisements on this forum, 😀 so when you get open and have your menu nailed down perhaps you could take a few minutes to send me a PM and let me know the name of your restaurant, the location, and your specialties.
Again, best of luck with the opening and operation.
The Ticos will absolutely love it.
I too only hang out with mostly Ticos and good ole southern food always blows their mind.
I have a super easy sauerkraut recipe and have the locals up here making it now too.That and REAL pickles and brined American style hams.Congrats on the business and yes, it WILL be a success.
Great idea.I have a super easy sauerkraut recipe and have the locals up here making it now too.That and REAL pickles and brined American style hams.
Skippy: I don’t think Scott would mind if you posted your SK recipe or others so the rest of us that are interested could enjoy!!!!
8 or 9 medium heads of cabbage.Smaller is more tender
A five gallon bucket
A dinner plate.
7 teaspoons of salt.
A gallon jug full of water
A way to slice it super fine. I use a mandolin. It comes out with a better texture than using a grater.Save the outside ” throw away” leaves..
Slice or grate all of the cabbage as thin as you are able.
Put layer by layer and sprinkle each layer with salt.
Mix it in the bucket, and hammer it with your fist HARD.
You’re compacting here.
Use the end of a bat or a piece of wood if you aren’t strong.
Place the throw away leaves on top, followed by the dinner plate and gallon jug.
Cover with a towel and tie the towel to the rim. I use a bungee cord.
6 days later skim off the liquid and nasty looking leaves off the top. Put in glass jars on the fridge.
You can add herbs and carrots and stuff but I like mine plain and sometimes add other things if I sauté it.It’s good for 6 months.
EZ huh !?Hi Jim,
Best wishes on your new restaurant. Be sure to let us know when you open. Having grown up in Kansas City and then lived many years in North Carolina, I have been missing good BBQ here in Costa Rica. My wife, who is Costa Rican, actually loves it, too. We live most of the year in Heredia, not all that far from Tres Rios. At least we won’t have to hop an international flight to get Southern BBQ anymore! Chuck
Thanks Chuck! I’ll let you know when I open – sometime in early November. My Costarican wife and family also love Southern barbecue. Fortunately I have all the smokers and equipment here and frequently prepare BBQ for friends and family, mostly ribs and chicken because pulled pork takes so long to cook – about 12 to 14 hours to do it right. Once or twice a year we buy a whole hog, have it butchered and I smoke all of it, usually for groups of 50 to 80 people.
San Ramon is actually much closer to Heredia than is the town of Tres Rios and we’re really closer to Sabanilla than we are to Tres Rios. There will be a map and directions on my website but it isn’t ready yet.
Skippy, Bill, Orcas – Thanks for your comments. My restaurant will feature Southern regional style pork barbecue – what many people think of as North Carolina style, but with a wider variety of sauces than traditional NC vinegar sauce. I’ll have pulled pork, ribs, chicken and and a few other items. I don’t have any beef BBQ on the menu but will try out Texas style BBQ brisket and maybe beef ribs as specials and if they sell well I may add them to the menu later.
I have to train the butchers here to cut the meat the way I need it, particularly brisket because it normally isn’t sold as a cut here. They grind it up for hamburger. I’m working directly with Montecillos in Alajuela to supply my meat and don’t expect to have any real problem getting the cuts and quality I need. They are pretty experienced and are the largest slaughterhouse and meat packer in the country.
Skippy, thanks for the sauerkraut recipe. Unfortunately I really don’t have space or crocks to do fermented pickles. I make my own fresh-pack cucumber pickles and sometimes green tomato pickles, when green tomatos are available, but they aren’t fermented. They’re refrigerator pickles. They’re super crispy and not as salty or vinegary as fermented pickles. I’ll be giving them away in the restaurant with all food orders.
I don’t want to cross the line and use this forum for commercial purposes so I won’t say any more. With Scott’s permission, I’ll will post a link to my website when it’s up and running. If that isn’t allowable, you can always send me a PM after November 1st and I’ll give you the info.
I guess Perez Zeledon is outside of your delivery area. It’s not fair to talk about all this good barbeque and not have it available where I live. Well I hope you’re successful enough to become a chain. Put your next restaurant in the Southern Zone, please.
When you’re ready – send me an article about your new BBQ restaurant with some photographs and biographical information about yourself – and I’ll be happy to publish it here for you …
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comare you going to do the rotisserie style chicken?
their was A resturaunt in the mountain area called castillo,outside of SJ.in 1992
whe I was ther with my friend we went there.they had this humongous stand up unit.they had A log standing upright with 2-3″ limbs sticking out,arranged about 5 around and about 6-8 high.it looked like the did about 100 chickens at A time.
it really impressed me,and being A miamian with all cuban friends for the most part my palate is latin.I couldn’t imagine them soaked in Mojo then roasted.
anyway,you’ll see me there.
I’m gonna bring my tea bags to make A big pitcher of steeped carolina iced tea.
I’ve often thought of doing a calabash style seafood and fried chicken.that good, 3 dippedand floured batter fried chicken.mommas cole slaw and the baked beans from he!!.
I love me some kitchen.
i did fried shrimp and fried chicken and homemade marinara for a big recovery bash in Hermossa.45 people,man,I’m hungry now.
hope you do well.
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