Posted on

Best of Panamanian Food: Touristy Eats

Scroll down to see more content

Every city, state, or country has its culinary mainstays. Think beignets in New Orleans or paella in Spain. A lot of times, these foods have to be eaten at specific places, because they’ve earned a reputation. Panamá is similar and different.

Geisha coffee helped Panamá enter the coffee game fifteen years ago. You can read about the history here. As of today, it is one of the most expensive coffees in the world; the local market near us sells it for $35 a pound.

Café Unido is one place you can enjoy Geisha coffee (for $10 a cup). This café has all of the markings of a trendy, upscale place required for gentrifying a neighborhood: open concept, upstairs seating for digital nomads, access to the barista. In fact, the most impressive part of Café Unido is watching the barista prepare your pour-over coffee. If you enjoy a fruity, light-bodied roast, then Geisha coffee is for you.

TOTAL BREAKAST: $30 (2 people)

Empanadas, as I mentioned before, originated in Spain, and as a Latin country, you can find this inexpensive meal anywhere in Panamá. Initially, I had one at a place called Benissimo (which is primarily an ice cream parlor). It was okay.

A few days later, I tried one at Super Gourmet. One of the co-owners is a white guy from Mississippi; however, the cooks are Panamanian. Each day, they make fresh empanadas with gluten-free flour, and if there’s any meat involved, it’s grass-fed beef or hormone-free chicken. The other co-owner, a Panamanian woman, gave me their WhatsApp number so I could check to see which ones they’d made that day. That’s how frequently we visited.

We also tried a traditional corn empanada at El Trapiche. I have to say that I really like the flour ones better. Corn empanadas give off a tamale vibe, and I absolutely do not enjoy tamales.

TOTAL: $1-2.50 (You shouldn’t pay more than $2.50 for an empanada of any kind).

@kwotedbykegarland

Panamanian breakfast typically includes eggs; however, if you see the word “sausage,” be aware that it is not referring to pork, turkey, or vegan. Instead, you’ll receive chopped up hot dogs. During our first week, I made this mistake. Although my huevos al pesto salchica was flavorful and satisfying, sliced wieners were a bit of a surprise.

Because of Panamá’s Spanish and African roots, you will be able to enjoy a decent Shakshuka. This dish begins with a sautéed tomato base, with vegetables. Usually, you create little pockets in the sauce and then drop eggs, one-by-one into them to cook your eggs over easy. It may sound like a weird combination, but trust me, you’ll thank me for introducing it to you. You can find a traditional Panamanian breakfast at any worthwhile restaurant.

TOTAL: $8

From what I can tell, that’s about it. You can read about ceviche here, and I’ll give an honorable mention to the whole fried sea bass. I’d had this dish in Costa Rica, and it was too much food for one person, so I didn’t try it here. I did see it on someone’s plate at El Trapiche, though, and it looked fabulous. I also heard that it is divine at one of the nearby beaches. If you’re interested, it’s called filete de corvina.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my “Best of Panamá Food” series! I’ll be back next year with more eats from another part of the country.

7 thoughts on “Best of Panamanian Food: Touristy Eats”

      3. Definitely near New Mexico , but I don’t usually drive that way . But there’s a lot of variety here in the city when it comes to food . I just need to go out and try some places .

        Liked by 1 person

    1. lol yes it was quite an unwelcome surprise. I thought it was just that restaurant, but then we went somewhere else, and it was the same thing.

      Like

Comments are closed.