You are here: Home / Archives for David panama

Ciudad de David, lunch worth a trip

August 17, 2012 by 2 Comments

I listened to some legal advice, my lawyer said try lunch at the Ciudad de David, he was right.

20120817-124713.jpg

I can now recommend three high quality restaurants for lunch in David. Add the Hotel Ciudad David to the list that was Mosto Bistro and Cuatro. What makes it different is that Hotel Ciudad David is a high quality buffet. You can enjoy salads, soup, a choice or all of several entrees and desert, with a beverage. Today they had green salad, seafood salad, salad Nicoise, bean soup with ham, grouper, chicken cordon blu, chicken lasagna and toxic deserts.

Lunch Buffet Hotel Ciudad David

David is evolving, there are now restaurants far beyond the typicos. Yes you can still have lunch for $2.75 in numerous place but if you want more than Arroz con Pollo, (Chicken and Rice) there are an increasing number of options. I rarely eat in a typico, more often Chinese or pollo a lena (wood roasted chicken)  but for a treat I am finding myself enjoying better food, better service and more relaxing atmosphere.

You do pay for quality, it is $12 less the jubilado discount plus tax, $9.63 total and well worth it for a relaxing hour


Filed Under: David, Featured, Restaurants Tagged With: , ,

Flip Flopping

May 14, 2012 by 7 Comments

Nope, not about gay marriage nor other political issues, just the my latest drive back from David to Boquete. For those who are not here I am post three videos of the trip from David to Alto Boquete. You can see the progress using the new road flip flopping from one to four lanes and from one side to the other depending upon the state of construction. Much is almost completed, but not everything.

It is clear that once done the trip between Boquete and David will be a better, safer, faster experience.


Filed Under: Chiriqui, Travel in Panama Tagged With: , ,

Boquete to David, a game of chance

March 10, 2012 by 3 Comments

We are half way through the three year David to Boquete highway expansion project and it is becoming a more interesting drive every week. In fact each day is different, sometimes the old road, sometimes the new, sometimes with traffic control, most times not. Depending upon where you enter the road you might not know which road is the road du jour.

At times the road is blocked for construction and rerouted into unknown unmarked detours. At times there are indigenous on the road blocking it or just relaxing, last week it was closed and rerouted near David due to a “We have no water” protest.

What was a forty minute drive and will be a thirty minute drive is now an hour or more depending upon what excitement is scheduled for the day. The problem is no one knows where the schedule might be posted.

The following video is thirty two minutes of the ride from Alto Boquete down the new road, until moved to the old road to avoid a unmoved power substation, then back to the new until once again rerouted. Then a detour in Dolega, the entrance to the detour marked by a policeman, then an exit, I made a good guess about where to return to the highway because there was no indicator. You get the picture and if you really want to be bored you can watch the video.


Filed Under: Constuction, General Interest, Survival Kit Items Tagged With: , ,

Foodie Alert: Dim Sum

January 18, 2012 by 4 Comments

If you are one of those who love DIm Sum, Chinese breakfast, it has until now required a trip to Panama City to scratch the culinary itch. We have been saved!

Dim Sum

You can now eat Dim Sun for breakfast at the Nuevo Futuro Chinese restaurant in David, it is across from the Nissan Dealer, or better yet at home. Casa Lisa now has an inventory of frozen Dim Sum you can buy by the sack, take home and steam the lovely morsels. I love Dim Sum with a good Black Bean hot sauce you can also get at Casa Lisa. They also sell mustard greens and some other fresh Chinese vegetables.

To find Casa Lisa go to David turn down the newly redone four land road, a left at the KFC; you have my permission to scowl at the image of Coronel Sanders as you turn. Drive until the road become one way heading toward you. Park and walk a bit further, just across from the empty lot, formerly the Municipal Market you will see a red sign, CASA LISA.

It is a good place to buy goodies and practice your Mandarin.

 


Filed Under: Featured, Food Tagged With: , ,

A Foodie Quickie: Pizza Pit Mall in David, not a place for Vegans

November 17, 2011 by 1 Comment

It is not often I toss in a food quickie, but I read about the Pizza Pit in Chiriqui Mall in a Yahoo group, Gringos in David. I ended up in Chiriqui Mall this week and then hunger struck as did my total recall. The Pizza Pit Mall is located in the food court right across from Super Baru and was easy to find.

pizza pit MAll David Panama

The post in the Yahoo group said try the Cheese Steak, since I do lust a good cheese Steak, I did.

Cheese Steak

Cheese Steak

It looked like a the real thing, it was excellent. A real Cheese Steak in David for $3.99. I spoke with Patricia, the owner. They have only been open two weeks and she is hoping people find out about the place.

The hours are Monday – Saturday Noon – 9pm and Sunday 1PM – 8:30PM

I am motivated to convince you to give them a try. My interest is simple, this is the best Cheese Steak I have eaten since my last time in Philadelphia and I want them to stay open and keep on cooking. So vegans beware the best thing about Philadelphia next to the soft pretzel has made it to Chiriqui Mall in David Panama.


Filed Under: David, Featured, Restaurants Tagged With:

The seven percent solution

November 14, 2011 by 14 Comments

[GTranslate]
We had lunch in David on Saturday, we ate at the New China restaurant directly across from the Nissan dealer. We have eaten there before, they have a pretty good lunch that was $3.99 two weeks ago and is now $4.25. In addition to the price increase they have a new sign. I saw the same sign in Sugar and Spice today and I suspect we will see it all over Panama. The government believes businesses are cheating on their point of sale taxes and they have a new way to enforce compliance.

The summary of this new law is that you, the patron, has responsibility to ensure the restaurant provides you a printed receipt from a special cash register mandated by the government. These registers are designed so a government agent can come in a collect tax data automatically.

There have been protests by merchants nationally about the need to spend hundreds of dollars on these machines. The next round of protests might come from the price increases these are forcing on consumers from merchants who collected the taxes and in the past failed to report the revenue; those businesses just lost 7% of their income.

There might also be some consumer backlash to what the sign states. You, the consumer, need to have your receipt when you leave the restaurant. Amazingly if you are asked for your receipt and fail to produce it you will be fined one dollar or 7% of the value of the food you ate. This of course is absurd, but it is the new law.

When we paid our bill at New China, I asked for my receipt. The waitress was shocked, went back to the manager and returned to explain that they do not have the register to print the receipt that the sign requires me to have;  viva Panama.


Filed Under: Featured, Government, Taxes Tagged With: , ,

A lesson in contrasts, fund raising for Bomberos in Boquete and David

November 13, 2011 by 1 Comment

The Bomberos are the local firefighters, part paid, part volunteer and perpetually underfunded. In Panama Bomberos tackle firefighting, provide ambulance services and aid with search and rescue. I am not sure they will pull cats out of trees, but maybe that is just an urban legend anyhow in this time of fiscal conservatives.

Both David and Boquete has recent fund raising events to help their local Bomberos, we went to both.

In Boquete the Rotary had a small, intimate event at the Hotel Ladera. My count was that maybe one hundred people attended, drank some wine and ate some finger food. We heard that we have one Paramedic in Boquete now, she is with the local Bomberos and works alternating twenty four hour shifts. I think we need and other to fill in the other shift, I suspect if we want another paramedic we will need to find a way to fund one.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NBdiv_28doc

David did their fund raising a bit differently and if I had not read the ticket I would not have known where the money was going. The David activity packed well over a thousand dancers and drinkers in Joron Zebede, the big dance hall on the road from Boquete to David.

Much as I love my neighbors and enjoy chit chat over wine the David event was much more fun and instead of leaving at 7pm we stayed until 2am.

Either way it is good that our communities do these things helps the community and one of the most positive government agencies in Panama are the Bomberos.


Filed Under: Contrasts, Featured, General Interest Tagged With: , ,

Graduation and a surprise in David, Restaurante Cuatro

September 12, 2011 by 6 Comments

[GTranslate]
Mixing a discussion of food and higher education in Panama might not be stomach settling to everyone. From what little I have seen of private University education here, I am not impressed. Still, Friday night was a long awaited event, graduation from UDI in David for Mayra’s youngest daughter and we went along with Mayra’s Parents and Johana.

Karina, Mayra and grandparents

Karina has a degree in Maritime business, she and fourteen peers in her graduating class. She is lucky, she has a job for the Port of Pedregal, she is now one of four inspectors of boats there. Her peers, I suspect they will either need to relocate to the Capital or flip burgers because she is the only one who has gotten a career path job.

To celebrate I thought McDonalds was appropriate, but I was overruled, and we made our second trip to Cuatro in David. I had planned a full review of Cuatro when I was told they would be opening in Boquete. They did have a sign up at new building, the sign is gone and so are their plans to open in Boquete. Still, since we have eaten there twice I do want to write  about them.

Name: Restaurante Cuatro

Our first visit was August 20th. Cuatro was recommended by Don, Becky and Joe Kimm, when they recommend I listen. We went for dinner with Mayra, Katrina and my daughter, Paige as she was leaving town. This time on Friday Sept 9 at about 8:30pm with eight people.

The first time I was appropriately amazed to find service, food and quality better than anyplace else in David. The second time I was also impressed. Cuatro the best I have found for the total dining experience in David.

Location: In David, Dolegita area, on the street that runs from the east side of Super Baru before it intersects at the Delta Station before Romeros. Look to your left if coming from Boquete.

Hours:

Short Description of the food: The best description is to call Cuatro a fusion of local ingredients into a uniquely different cuisine; something very refreshing.

Ambiance: Intimate, the restaurant is divided into several areas for dining. We were a room away from the owners of Ciudad David Hotel, also enjoying dinner and I could not hear a word of their conversations. I find it very a comfortable place for a meal with conversation.

Price: The menu is posted below but overall prices are in the $12- $14 range for beautifully prepared and presented culinary art. Appetizers are about $5

Bacon wrapped Trout stuffed with lobster $10.00

Red Snapper in a shrimp sauce $12.50

Plantain crusted corvina, on a bed of mashed Otoe $12.50

Coffee rubbed beef tenderloin over a pure of squash $13

I found this one dish disappointing because I read the menu in Spanish and expected coffee rubbed filite similar to Las Ruinas. I was service tenderloin, which was there, in English, not filite.

The food speaks for itself and without exception everyone enjoyed their meals, me too. Despite not being filite the tenderoin was excellent.

Bathrooms: New, clean and complete 5/5

Kitchen Cleanliness: beautiful and viable if you wish to see, very clean.

Kitchen

Service: On the first trip the service was five star, a waiter hovering filling water glasses as soon as they were touched. The second trip found the ratio of staff to clients down and service still excellent but not equal. They were very crowded and that needs to be taken into consideration.

Jubilado Discount: On the first trip I did not ask, I the second I asked for three discounts, myself and Mayra’s parents. The waiter asked for identification and I said it was clear Mayra’s parents were jubilados and offered my id. He said without proof they would not provide the discount. I waived the discount, I understand their position.

Summary: Cuarto is without no exception the best restaurant I have eaten at in David. It has the best food, the best atmosphere and best service. I will return and I would recommend it to anyone visiting David. I do not know if the have a different menu for lunch.

Menu:


Filed Under: Chiriqui, David, Featured, General Interest, Restaurants Tagged With: , ,

Trauma care in rural Panama

August 8, 2011 by 4 Comments

I wanted to spend this Monday post raving about the music of the unnamed Jazz Trio who played at Las Ruinas Friday. The Day brothers and Caesar were great.

The Day Brothers and Ceasar

They packed the house and I look forward to them returning. I need to thank Craig publicly for providing the venue for such great music without feeling the need to charge a cover.  The only suggestion, Mayra said she hopes they can learn a merengue also :) . Despite all the raves they had their thunder stolen by an accident in Bugaba.

We received a telephone call that there had been an accident on an ATV and that four people had been hospitalized. As facts became known we learned that one adult and three children had been on an ATV, one child in the front basket, one on the seat in front of the adult, one behind, none with helmets. The ATV that had just been repaired for having a sticky throttle, it experienced a stuck throttle, wide open. When it stopped it was stopped by a building with iron bars.

One child, the one behind the adult, had minor injuries, the adult a broken leg and some superficial head wounds, the child seated in front of the adult more serious head wounds and a subdural hematoma. The ten year old in the basket, if he lives, will probably be in a basket the rest of his life. When the ATV hit he was throw off and his head hit and was pushed through the iron security bars. While he was in that position the ATV hit him as it flipped up. The ATV impact broke a vertebrae in his back, broke both of his legs and tore open an artery in his leg.

The point of describing this gore is to explain what happened next in a rural part of this third world country. The Bugaba Fire Department was there in minutes. They cut the security bars to release the boy, they stopped the arterial bleeding and transported him to Hospital Obaldía, the Children’s Hospital in David. They did it all fast enough that he he made it to Obaldía alive. The other three victims also made it to their respective hospitals in David. The children to Obaldía and the adult to Regional the Social Security Hospital.

Hospital Obaldia David Panama

In Obaldía they stabilized both seriously injured children. They operated on the boy with the arterial damage and repaired the artery. They also realized the back injury was beyond their ability so they ordered a helicopter for a medical evacuation to the Childrens hospital in Panama City.

I visited the other boy and his father yesterday in their respective hospital beds. The father is facing criminal charges upon his release, at minimum for violating the helmet law. His ATV has been impounded, police have interviewed those who can speak. What is different here is that nothing will occur legally until after his medical release.

In Arizona where there is no helmet law and people pay their own hospital bills they call motorcycle riders without helmets organ donors because that what they become in virtually any mishap. In Panama they have a helmet law. They have the law because in Panama all the medical bills for three of the four people, all Panamanians with Social Security coverage will be paid by the Social Security.

The unfortunate boy in the worst situation is not a Panamanian citizen, he was a tourist. He is not covered under social security and his family will see medical bills as well as the potentially tragic outcome of the accident. However even in that situation, care was given, without question, not denied for lack of a credit card. It is different here, it is better than some other places I have lived.


Filed Under: Featured, Government, Health Care, Survival Kit Items Tagged With: , , , , ,

A fund raiser for Fundacion Amigos

July 11, 2011 by 1 Comment

It seems that every weekend has a new event, this past Friday night was a good one. The Fundacion Amigos had a major fund raiser in David. Do not confuse this Fundacion with Boquete’s Amigos de Animales, this Fundacion works with children who have Cancer and Leucemia.

The tickets said 7:30pm we arrived at about 8:00pm and were among the first twenty people in attendance. By 10:30 things were getting started and well over one thousand people bought tickets at $20 each to attend. If there were any other people from Boquete there I missed them. This was a Panamanian event and followed a time honored tradition of support for significant charities.

Lots of food and drinks for sale, people buying bottles of Rum for $18 or Scotch for $40. A great deal of entertainment and two different bands for dancing. Many businesses donated items for lottery and we actually walked away with a a $30 certificate for dinner at La Casona in Boquete.

I want to share two videos. Both are poor quality, shot with my Iphone in bad light. Both are traditional and no so traditional folklorica.

When the entertainment stopped the dancing started. There are no wall flowers at a dance in Panama.

The next is a video of Samy and Sandra Sandoval, not from this event but I though those who have never seen them preform might enjoy some traditional Panama dance music.

Next weekend, the Port of Pedregal near David is having a festival on Saturday. I cannot predict what will be there but I know that your are invited, it started at 8am so I think 11 am would be a good time to arrive.


Filed Under: Featured, General Interest, Happenings, Night Life Tagged With: , , , ,
«Older Posts