Deborah

new name: El Viajero

Yes. I took my sister to the Multibank ATM Tuesday and I was shocked to see it was $5.25 after I had told her it would be $4. Don't know about other banks.

I bought one.

CHOX is offering hand crafted Easter bunnies in white, milk or dark chocolate for $10, while they last. We made 50 and sold 25 yesterday, so stop by soon to pick one up. We will open today and Thursday from 10:30 - 5:00, but closed Friday.

"But, because buying a whole tenderloin for one person with a small freezer is not very doable ..." But.... buying a whole tenderloin and cutting it up into little filet mignon steaks, I usually get 15-20 servings out of one.... large tenderloin, small servings. Your freezer is bigger than mine, Fran. One of these days, I will replace the Barbie sized fridge/freezer my landlord put in here. After serious trimming and cleaning, the average filete de res, or tenderloin, yields about 48 ounces or 3 pounds of bliss. We use 7 ounces plus a bacon wrapper on the filet mignons that we have prepared for Christmas Eve.

When I moved here almost 3 years ago, I bought some rib eyes at PriceSmart, grilled one for dinner and nearly broke my jaw trying to chew it. I then learned that filet mignon is the only way to go for steak here. But, because buying a whole tenderloin for one person with a small freezer is not very doable, I reserved steak for rare occasions out. Today, I saw those rib eyes at PriceSmart again, over an inch thick, with nice little pockets of fat, for only $4 a pound - $8 for three good sized steaks. Something possessed me to buy them, having in mind a different preparation method, and figuring that it was worth an $8 try. I cooked one of them "sous vide" for an hour and finished it off by searing a couple of minutes on a cast iron grill pan. It was as good as some of the best steaks I've had in the States! Panamanian meat. $4 a pound. Tender and delicious. In case you don't know, sous vide is a "low and slow" cooking method which permits the connective tissue to break down, making the meat very tender and evenly cooked throughout. It's also the best way I've ever experienced to cook chicken breast. It involves vacuum (or nearly so) sealing and cooking in preheated water and is a technique used by many professional chefs. If you're a meat lover, you might want to google it. You don't need an expensive sous vide machine (though I do have one); there are a lot of inexpensive "hacks" which I have also used.

... and they've got a great deal on flights to the States right now. With jubilada discount, it was $343 roundtrip David to Los Angeles (direct, except for the plane change in PTY) the other day. Much less than what I had normally paid without the David-PTY leg. Without discount, it was $411. Nothing but good things to say about Copa.

Bonnie, it is the same person. She used to alternate between the two locations. I do not know if she has settled on just the one next to La Reina, but that is where I have seen her twice.

The owners may have moved from Panama City - not sure - but one is originally from Italy, one from Belgium and one from Colombia, or so we were told. Seemed very nice and friendly despite being fully booked and dealing with first night issues.

Yes. Four of us and we all very much enjoyed our meals. The menu is quite varied and extensive - 4 pages. Some pretty creative pairings and unlike many other places, lots of non-pasta offerings for those who don't want meat. I don't recall seeing any pizza on the menu, so the wood fired pizza oven is mostly decoration right now. Prices are on the higher side but they do graciously give jubilada discounts if you present your cedula or resident ID.

David had a mild heart attack Tuesday morning. He is at Regional and is doing well. Elizabeth and I are going to see him later today. BTW, I know he was responsible for organizing the drivers for artists for the BJBF and it's likely he won't be able to do that sans electronics from his hospital bed. It is also possible that he won't be in a position to be driving either. If there's some message I can convey to him or information I can request from him in this regard, please feel free to call me at 6871-8628.

Very astute of Keith to notice; yes, that was indeed a poor choice on someone's part.

Formerly Delicias del Mar (or something like that)?

Penny, Mark's post suggested these were more permanent and not related to the Feria; I suspect that is why others expressed interest, as did I. I have absolutely no interest in traversing Avenida Buenos Aires during the Feria.

I guess I should know this after nearly 3 years of living here, but where is the Corrigidora's office?

Went with Danny's trip last month and we stayed at the Hotel Diez Categoria (there are apparently other Hotel Diezes in other locations). It was a few block walk away from Parque Lleras in a nice area of El Poblado. I found the hotel very nice and would return, but I was on one of the lower floors. People on higher floors did complain about late night loud noise from celebrations on the rooftop pool area. http://www.diezhotel.com/

Bonnie, I almost never disagree with what I have seen you post, but this time I must. Surely you're not suggesting that AAC has a moral obligation to hire a handicapped bilingual Panamanian to replace Rodny? I am not taking sides in this debate and I haven't yet decided which way I go, but the fact of the matter is that Rodny left AAC to compete with it; AAC didn't choose to compete with Rodny. From what I hear behind the scenes, AAC had a bilingual Panamanian (albeit not handicapped) lined up to replace Rodny, but had to forgo that choice because she couldn't be truly available 24/7. I agree with you that it would make sense for AAC and/or Rodny Direct to offer an honest side by side comparison so that people might make an informed decision as to where they want to go - or even sign up for both as extra security - but at least for me, that the comparison isn't inextricably tied to the personal characteristics of the operator, as long as she or he can communicate appropriately with the necessary parties.

Due to unprecedented demand, CHOX will not be open this Saturday, as originally planned. The shop will close today at 1:30 and will reopen Tuesday, December 29 at 12:30. We will also be at the Tuesday market. In the meantime, we wish everyone a very happy holiday!

and even the ones who don't!

Marcelyn, I saw it yesterday at Arrocha in Terronal Plaza. I would have got some for you, but I was on my way out, had lots of errands to run and was not anxious to get back in line.

I saw Miguel and his truck just down from Romero this afternoon about 2:30. I didn't approach him because I felt conflicted: I was excited about the prospect of fresh fish but had also heard some stories that led me to believe he had taken the money we raised and wrote us off. I will give it a couple of days and then probably see what's up, but thought I'd let others know.

CHOX will be closed next Tuesday for Mother's Day, but will be open on our regular day off, Monday. For really late Mother's Day shoppers, we will also be at the Tuesday market in the morning.

Yes, in Alto Boquete, next to Casa Bajareque, across from Alto Dorado Market. I used to use them for shipping cacao from Almirante because Fletes didn't go there. However, they stopped taking payment on the back end and required my supplier to advance the cost (about $5 a bag), so I switched to Donaldo Guerra. Donaldo Guerra is located in Bajo Boquete, next door to eShop and in my experience, they deliver every day from David, whereas Uno Express sometimes doesn't bother if they don't have enough to make it worth their while.