I'm Only Here for the Food!

El Trapiche
Via Argentina
Panama City, Panama

If you have followed the last couple of post, you should have noticed a constant trend: In all meals, I had a friend along. Yes, this post is not different. This time, it was PU, another FRIEND. Unlike GN and AB, I met PU in university rather than high school; still, she is very important to me. How much? Well, when you have running jokes that only you two understand… ^_^;;; Of course, it is possible there is a bias: so far, she has been the only person who has visited me! So, after I arrived in Panama, I gave her a call and agreed to meet during my weekend in Panama for lunch. The “usual” problem popped out when she picked me up: where? I had only one criteria: Preferably, a Panamanian restaurant. Mi Ranchito, this time, was not an option (no, it was not because of yesterday’s post) but, still, we managed to visit a well known, local, Panamanian restaurant: El Trapiche.

Some quick translation: Trapiche refers to a mill, usually a horse mill, used to extract the juice from sugarcane to then product sugar or similar sweet products. I am not sure why this place is called as such and I am sure nobody cares it has such relationship. Oh, well… ^_^;;;

I apologize for the picture above. I took it hastily and did not adjust the camera to compensate for brightness (it was noon when it was taken). Still, it shows something: From the outside, you can see the motif, i.e., that of the houses/structures in Panama’s interior. Do they really built it like that? No, not really but you can “sense” it means rustic.

On a funny note, in my post on The Wine Bar, I mentioned that despite there are patios/tables outside, people seldom seats on them because it is damn hot. Unfortunately, the inside dining room (read: with AC) was full so that gave us no other option. Sure, it was in the shaded area but you could still feel the heat… Ouch… And, now, to the food:

Starting with the drinks. No, that is NOT soap-y water served in a glass or anything like that! This is sugarcane “juice”. Any relationship with the name is purely coincidental, OK! This was quite refreshing and, although sweet, it was not overly, overpowering sweet. That blurry orange-y wedge on the top is not actually orange but a green, really ugly skinned citrus similar to a lime. I wish I could have taken a picture of the whole fruit when I visited the local supermarkets… Regardless, it was a good way to start the lunch.

This is PU’s order: cow liver with plantain (two ways) and a salad. A lot of people would say the salad is more of an afterthough but that is how lettuce/tomato salads are served in Panama. No, really! As for the plantain, the first is the ripe plantain (seen at the top). It is sweet and soft – almost with a slimy texture. The second way is patacón, mentioned has been mentioned previously. Again, it is green plantain cut into chunks, fried, smashed and fried again. It has a crisp texture with a small hint of plantain flavour. However, it is savoury, unlike the ripe plantain. Finally, the centre of the dish, the liver with lots of onions. PU had no problems giving me a piece. Hmmmmm….! To anybody who has eaten liver, yes, it still has that metallic-like taste (thanks, mostly, to the iron content). Unlike the way people would cook it here in North America, since it is sliced thinly, it tends to be overcooked and, as a result, somewhat dry. We like it that way! ^_^

As for me, I ordered a “Panamanian Platter”, which contains a bit of everything. It started with a sancocho, which, as mentioned yesterday, it is a chicken soup with some typical Panamanian ingredients. As shown in the second picture above, it is thickened with a root vegetable called ñame. Yes, it was thick and had lots of chicken taste. Unfortunately, because it was hot outside, having soup did not help and, as a result, I was sweating heavily!

As mentioned, the platter had a bit of everything – Clockwise from top: patacón, tortilla de maíz (cornmeal dough, this time shaped differently), chicharrón (aka, pork rind), ripe fried plantain, ropa vieja (literally, “old rags”/”old clothes”, a flank steak stew), yuca frita (cassava), carimañola (a fritter made with boiled yuca and filled with meat), chicken stew and, in the middle, some rice. The one that I wanted to show but is somewhat difficult to see is the chicharrón:

A lot of people like this. Hmmmm… A piece of pork rind… Fried pork skin… Hmmmm… Fat! When PU realized it was chicharrón, she couldn’t help herself and ask for a piece! And, oh, at the bottom right is the carimañola (OK, I added this comment as an after-thought, I wanted to make emphasis on the chicharrón!).

And to finish the meal, we had a flan, as mentioned previously, crème caramel or egg custard or whatever you would like to call it. Unlike the one I had at The Wine Bar, this one did not have that dense texture. Instead, it was soft, with an almost silky texture. And sweet! A good way to finish the meal.

After that, PU and I started to do some catch-up. However, we had to go somewhere else really soon. No, it is not that the restaurant was kicking us out. Rather, it was too hot and I was sweating so much my shirt was starting to get drenched! Anyway, I wanted to close this post with this picture – in a way a picture most of you would be expecting by now… The infamous condiments-on-the-table picture!

However, there is something “funny” I actually wanted to note and that is the text box in the napkin dispenser: “Dear client, for your own sake, do not leave your personal belongings out of sight. We are not responsible for the loss of any personal garment (sic). Thank you“. Sometimes, things a really lost in translation!