South Caribbean Adventures: Caribeans Coffee and Chocolate Factory & Mighty Rivers Ice Cream & CoffeeShop

NOTE: I scheduled this post to go up... We are settling into our new home in Honduras right now, please keep us in your prayers. Head over to our RO4Y blog and read about the awesome things that have happened! Enjoy and thank you!

Green coffee beans freshly roasted, handmade chocolates, raw ice cream, natural peanut butter, raw honey, locally-made coconut oil, homemade Colloidal Silver and Kombucha... Caribeans Coffee & Chocolate Factory  and Mighty Rivers Ice Cream Shop has it all!

With the ocean right across the street... this is the place where you can relax, enjoy the smells of coffee and chocolate wafting through ocean breeze and find good company. This casual & hippy spot is owned by Paul (met him at the market!) and his wife who love the Lord and are very involved with the local community. Everything in their shop are from local, organic sources and fair-trade... totally my kind of place! I think I mentioned before that I used to work at a local coffee shop in Des Moines for about 3 years. I LOVED that job, they roast their beans several times a week and Julie (owner) was the coolest boss ever (and still is!). If you are in the area... stop by and enjoy some delicious coffee made with real cocoa, local milk and fair-trade coffee!

Anyway, while we were there... they were making bars of their baker's chocolate right in the back and the smell was HEAVENLY! I totally forgot that you CAN buy real chocolate with 100% cocoa butter fat from these guys (but not from CHOCORART). You can also purchase their delicious, organic & fair-trade coffee which they roast right in the back along with their chocolates. Purchasing their coffee & chocolate will help them support the local people and their work.

Now, the ice cream they serve is made locally at Mighty Rivers Farm which we stayed at overnight on the way to Puerto Viejo. We also stayed there on the way back and enjoy our time there. I will be writing up a post about their farm soon! Meanwhile, I stuffed myself with their ice cream... made with their own fresh milk and local ingredients. They really go far to bring the best, freshest & natural ice cream on the Caribbean-side of Costa Rica. You won't find this kind of ice cream anywhere else in Costa Rica!

From the left: Colloidal silver (They made it!), organic raw honey, organic raw banana vinegar and locally-made coconut oil.

This is where they roast their beans and make their chocolates. Tabi decided to check out their roaster  :o)

LOVE their coffee bags... totally COOL!

They brew their own Kombucha and on the sign lists all the benefits of drinking 'bucha. Love that stuff! Its a buck for a 1oz shot...

Paul & his wife and their handmade chocolates. So GOOD!

The menus... they serve 14 different flavors of ice cream and have a breakfast/lunch menu that is very simple. We had breakfast there, but the chocolates, coffee and ice cream are the main focus there!

Daddy kissing his baby girl  :o)

Naomi getting a bite out of Grandpa's ice cream... I think he got Maracuya (Passionfruit)

Caught Dave (my father-in-law) attacking his ice cream... yeah its so good! Jon ordered the Black Beach  Shake... which had their coffee, vanilla ice cream and fresh chocolate all whipped in there and topped with more chocolate sauce. VERY similar to what I had at Bread & Chocolate, but I thought B&C was better  ;o)

After breakfast... Here I am eating THREE scoops of ice cream. Yeah, I love ice cream and I loved it even more that it is made with fresh raw milk! Many of you might be wondering if I gained some weight after eating all that good food and ice cream... nope, I did not gain a single pound. Honestly, cross my heart! We were riding our bikes the whole time and that burned everything off! Besides, when we eat good REAL food... weight-gain is very unlikely to happen  :o)

Top: Chocolate Macadamia  Middle: Coconut  Bottom: Mango

I ate every bite, felt no guilt and loved it!! LOL! My all-time favorite is the coconut. I gotta figure out HOW to make coconut ice cream in my kitchen! I tried once, but it wasn't the same... need to keep trying  :o)

While we were enjoying ourselves... I saw 3 horses walking along the beach. It was a beautiful sight! They had no halters or ropes on them... made me wondered if anybody owned them. The dark bay horse (middle) let me approach him and I gave him some love. He was a real sweetie... the gray was a stand-offish, but she did smell me a little. I also got to love on the little guy and he was adorable! I was surprised that he let me touch him and rub his back. Obviously someone has been working with him and lets the horses roam freely.


I had to share this with you... how often does that happen?!


Anyway, sorry if I'm starting to sound like a broken record here... but if you are ever in the area, this place is worth stopping by. Enjoy some fresh coffee, chocolate or ice cream right on the beach! Maybe you'll even see those horses again  :o)

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South Caribbean Adventures: Café Viejo Italian Restaurant

NOTE: I scheduled this post to go up... We are traveling to Honduras right now, please keep us in your prayers. Head over to our RO4Y blog and read about the awesome things that have happened! Enjoy and thank you!


I have a confession to make… Italian food is my comfort food and I know good Italian food when I taste it. This was the best I’ve ever had… seriously.


Puerto Viejo has a large Italian population and several Italian restaurants to choose from. We decided to go to Café Viejo because they have a large menu of fresh pizzas, handmade pasta, good prices and a great reputation. I went for the handmade pasta while my hubby went for a pizza. My in-laws each got handmade pasta too and we ate every single noodle & pizza on our plates. The food portions were very generous and it was above and beyond our expectations... even my in-laws couldn't believe how good it was and they live near Chicago!


We were served fresh italian bread along with olive oil & balsamic vinegar throughout our meal. Our salads topped with mangos was very refreshing, but I have to talk about the handmade pasta. It was thick, chewy and extremely tasty. I don’t usually get homemade pasta because it would often taste starchy and unappealing, but these were nothing but the best! They make their pasta fresh everyday and use the freshest ingredients! I was thrilled to learn that the owners, 3 brothers, learned to cook at the knee of their Italian grandmother back in Rimini. We all know how important it is to preserve our grandmothers' & great-grandmothers' cooking! Everything they make is 100% authentic with a few Caribbean twists thrown in here & there.


I chose handmade pasta tossed with fresh veggies, fresh basil and olive oil with a touch of freshly ground black pepper and parmesan cheese. It was deliciously moist and full of flavor. I was VERY happy with the pasta and literally at the whole plate. My past experience with this kind of dish usually came out to me dry and not very flavorful, but these guys made it perfetto e delizioso!

Next, Jon ordered the Caribbean Pizza and it was very unusual, but delicious! I MUST make this for you all sometime, but that means I have to keep the ingredients a secret for now… he he :o)

My in-laws each order handmade pasta with different sauces. I can't remember what they were, but I do remember them eating every bite till their plates were clean. They live in a very Italian neighborhood and have been to plenty of italian restaurants around Chicago area that claim to be the best. They said Cafe Viejo was the best they've ever had!


If you are anywhere near Puerto Viejo... I HIGHLY recommend stopping by this place. You will experience a little bit of Italy right in the small Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo! They do not serve lunch, only dinner and they are close on Tuesdays.

Here I am eating the last few bites of my pasta and pizza... I STUFFED myself! Both girls were wiped out on my lap. We were at the beach earlier that afternoon and they missed their naps... how can they nap when they have too much to do at the beach?!  LOL!

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South Caribbean Adventures: Loco Natural World Fusion Cuisine

Now, here’s another delicious place using fresh, organic, real food ingredients. Remember, this is a hippie's paradise! If you haven't, make sure to read about Bread & Chocolate!

So, we decided to walk to the restaurant thinking it was only short distance away... yeah right! We ended up walking for about 15-20 minutes in the darkness to get there. Much safer to ride the bikes! But it was good exercise and yes, we walked all the way back to our cabin afterwards. What more can I say? It was a South Caribbean adventure! LOL!


Anyway, we got there and loved the place. The décor, mood & feel of the place was very colorful, artistic and yet pleasantly mellow. Unfortunely, I wasn’t able to get good pictures of the food because it was too dark. They are only open in the evenings and the lighting wasn’t the greatest for taking pictures, but believe me... the food was very good!

Their menu is very simple yet creative. You choose 7 different sauces: Tandoori Coconut Sauce, Tamarind Sweet & Spicy, Thai Citrus Peanut Sauce, Caribbean Madras Curry, Mexican Smoked Chipotle, Malaysian Guayaba Green Curry or Garlic Butter Sauce served over chicken, fish or veggie stir fry or shrimp. They all are served with brown rice and a fresh, delicious tropical salad. There are other choices, but this is their signature stuff  :o)


We all chose different sauces and it was great to try them all. Everything was fresh and served with a gourmet flare. I had the Caribbean Madras Curry while my hubby got the Malaysian Guayaba Green Curry... both with chicken. My in-laws ordered the Mexican Smoked Chipotle and Thai Citrus Peanut Sauce. My favorite was my hubby's sauce... it was deliciously sweet with a nice kick and made my mouth dance!

Next we ordered dessert... of course! Their selections of dessert that night was Coconut Cake, Brownie and Passion Fruit Cheesecake. We got all three and shared them... the winner was the Passion Fruit Cheesecake... OH. MY. SWEET. GOODNESS! I must find a way to make it in my kitchen!


Overall, it was a pleasant evening with a wonderful ocean breeze. We all highly recommend this place and go early... the place fills up fast!

Naomi enjoying her fresh fruit smoothie... it was bigger than her and she slurped it all up!

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South Caribbean Adventures: Bread & Chocolate

First, I want to start off by sharing that it is not easy to find a restaurant in Costa Rica that serves fresh, wholesome, delicious food at a low cost. Good food comes with a very high price in Costa Rica… which is why we rarely eat out. If you want a cheap meal… go to a “soda” where you can get beans, rice, meat, fried plaintain & potato salad for less than $6 a person but it is usually cooked with margarine, MSG and refined oils. Not worth it.


But for $5 a person, this place is totally worth it... 

Bread & Chocolate is a deliciously relaxing place that serves fresh, local, organic food at low prices. They really live up to their name perfectly… this place is dripping with the freshest ingredients of bread and chocolate… plus a fantastic breakfast menu using local, free-ranged, organic eggs.


Literally, everything is made from scratch using local and organic ingredients as much as possible… whole wheat bread made daily, locally made raw ice cream, homemade strawberry sauce, locally grown organic coffee and homemade chocolate sauce using local cacao, handmade truffles & peanut butter cups (to die for!!) and it continues all the way down to the mayo! They even confessed on their menu that they are pretty much obsessed with using the freshest ingredients possible and making everything from scratch. That is something to be proud of... I love that kind of obsession!

the awesome kitchen of Bread & Chocolate

One big obsession they have is their brownies… I’m not joking… they have the best brownies in town. I used (remember, past tense…) to love TGI Friday’s Brownie Obsession, but now I am obsessed with Bread & Chocolate's  brownies! You can taste the love and all the real food ingredients... especially the chocolate & butter in these moist, rich squares.

You can get walnut or mint… I loved the walnut, but you can see that the mint is the favorite. The mint was a little too strong for me, but my hubby loved it. They both were delicious… so get both!


Here’s the wonderful feast that we had. We were so full yet felt great afterwards! Shows that real food gives the real fuel to your body needs to feel great.

I had a fantastic coffee ice cream milkshake... it was so good that I forgot to take a picture before I sucked it down. I don't normally drink coffee, but I love coffee drinks like this once in a while. This wonderful drink had raw vanilla ice cream & espresso blended together and topped with real (fresh) whipped cream & homemade chocolate sauce... now you understand why it was so good!

My in-laws enjoyed some french-press coffee... 

My hubby ordered a fantastic breakfast of roasted herb potatoes, homemade biscuit topped with scrambled eggs & homemade mayo with a side of avocados. The biscuit was flaky, delicious and... made with butter. The roasted potatoes were perfect... soft flesh, crispy skin & tossed with herbs, sweet pepper and more butter. Of course, can't skip the eggs... they were soft & delicious. The mayo had a great golden color (egg yolks) and the flavor was so smooth & rich!

I had their French Toast. I had to have it! Made with their whole wheat bread freshly baked everyday. It sounded too good to past up and... it was! First, I couldn't believe how thick the slices were when they put that plate in front of me. Second, I was concern that it would be dry or doughy. It was neither... this French Toast was the best I've ever had (besides my own). They were perfectly moist, crispy and bursting with flavor. It comes with homemade strawberry jam and whipped butter, but you could also get a side of their homemade chocolate sauce... which I did ask for. Why would I past that up?! I devoured every bite and licked up everything. It was so good. So so good!

Next, we order the simple breakfast plate for the girls to share. It had fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and a homemade biscuit. The girls loved it, but they also loved my French Toast  :o)

Lastly, my in-laws shared a huge waffle with strawberry jam and whipped butter. Made with real ingredients and made fresh to order... they were fluffy and had a great flavor, but I loved my French Toast.

So that was our feast! We were all fat and happy... really we felt great.

While we were hanging out and finishing off the fantastic meal we had a great chat with the owner of the place, Tom Franklin, and asked how he got this place going. Tom first came down to Puerto Viejo from Maryland for a change of pace and bought Bread & Chocolate from a young couple who wanted to move back to the states. Since then the focus has remained the same because he loved what they started. Tom has been successfully running this awesome place for over 4 years now! Please stop by and tell Tom how you found out about Bread & Chocolate.

Meet the cool kitchen crew.

Now, I wish I could say that we went back there everyday... but sadly they are closed on Mondays & Tuesdays. I am thrilled that I went at least once and got to enjoy it so much! Thank you Tom and keep up the awesome work!

I seriously didn't want to leave!

This is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted at Cheeseslave!

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