By Tai–

Central America has a surprisingly mediocre array of food to eat - the fish, though astoundingly fresh, is often overcooked; potatoes are begging for butter; meat is tough and stringy. For the most part, a gourmet foodie (or even someone who has a passing interest in good eats) might starve to death when traveling through Central America. Between bad preparation, random “seasons” affecting the availability of lobster, conch, and other seafood, sometimes simple is best - and much like bacon, just about everyone likes fried chicken. Golden fried with crispy skin enclosing perfectly tender, juicy, greasy meat forces you to eat with your hands and lick them with delight. Forthwith: four of the finest fried chicken joints in Central America.

Emery’s Restaurant, Main Street, Punta Gorda, Belize: Punta Gorda is a quintessential Belizean town: 8 blocks long 3 blocks wide, and not much more to do than watch mangoes fall. While waiting for gravity to have its way, head over to Emerys on the north side of town: an open air palapa, dirt floor restaurant serving nothing fancy, just good cold beer for $2 and some of the juiciest, richest fried chicken ($5, with fries) in the entire country of Belize.

El Super Pollo, Parque Central, Tilaran: Costa Rica Tilaran is a busy ranching town near Lake Arenal, and likely to be somewhere on your trip if you are heading between Arenal and the west coast. Ignore the fancy new steam-table restaurant on the edge of town and come right to the heart of the matter at El Super Pollo. The golden-fried, crispy skinned chicken that comes oozing grease onto the fries below is an epiphany, incredibly affordable at only $3 for half a chicken. The little dogs waiting for the rare scrap under the tables will tell you - this is THE best fried chicken in Costa Rica.

Soda El Rio, La Fortuna, Costa Rica: La Fortuna is at the east end of Volcano Arenal, and loaded with overpriced tourist joints serving mediocre food at high prices. Skip all that for Soda el Rio, a no-frills Costa Rican version of the US diner. Your $2 beer will complement the fried chicken nicely here: it comes as a complete meal with super crispy double-fried fries and a small salad for $5. Eat your heart out, then order more - the grease dribbling down your chin is worth it.

The Open-Air No Name Restaurants in Managua, Nicaragua: Apparently there’s a rivalry amongst the local Nicaraguan ladies for the title of “Queen of Fried.” The delightful smell of frying chicken and the ubiquitous side of fries and cabbage salad wafts out from every open-air cafe lining these small streets - pick the one with the most locals and order up. Your meal will come with rice-n-beans, fries, plantains and some damn fiery peppers for about $2. Add a buck for a cold brew - mmmmm.

And one to avoid: the ubiquitous Pollo Campero, scattered between Mayan ruins and surfing beaches from Guatemala to Costa Rica. Modeled after America’s finest Colonel, Pollo Campero almost gets it right - they have sporks, and big photos of fried chicken plastering the wall, and a big soda machine too. They offer 3 different types of fried chicken: Regular, Crispy and Extra Crispy. When I ordered the Crispy, they informed me that they didn’t have it. So I ordered the Extra Crispy - again, not available. When pressed, the clerk confirmed that in fact, they DO have Crispy, and Extra Crispy in the freezer -but it takes too long to prepare, so they simply leave it frozen and don’t bother serving it.

Aaaah Central America - it’s trying so hard to be capitalist, but sometimes they just miss the mark…..