Looking for Grocery Store Food Items

[Bud]

Having difficulty locating a couple of what we think of as common grocery store items. Have been to Romero, El Rey, PriceSmart, etc., but not finding them. Any assistance in pointers to available supplies would be appreciated.

• oatmeal, the real thing, not the quick or instant cooking version
• broth, either cans or cartons of beef, chicken or vegetable broth
• English muffins
• cinnamon-raisin bagels
• corn starch

[Keith Woolford]

http://www.ribasmith.com/panamaa/como.comprar.php?page=como.comprar&language=en&osCsid=9bfb757dbcbfd666d8ad4225ee118cb5

[Pat]

6 minutes ago, Keith Woolford said:

http://www.ribasmith.com/panamaa/como.comprar.php?page=como.comprar&language=en&osCsid=9bfb757dbcbfd666d8ad4225ee118cb5

Keith what is your message? None of the items you show have something to do with the original question that was asking for information. Is there a Riba Smith store in this area that I don't know about?

[JudyS]

1 hour ago, Bud said:

Having difficulty locating a couple of what we think of as common grocery store items. Have been to Romero, El Rey, PriceSmart, etc., but not finding them. Any assistance in pointers to available supplies would be appreciated.

• oatmeal, the real thing, not the quick or instant cooking version
• broth, either cans or cartons of beef, chicken or vegetable broth
• English muffins
• cinnamon-raisin bagels
• corn starch

Have you tried Organica for oatmeal?  Often Deli Baru has the one called Old Fashioned, which is not quick cooking.  For steel cut oats, probably Organica is your only hope.

For broth, get the "Better Than Chicken (Beef, Veg)" brand sold by Finca Marta at the Tues. market, or order from their webiste.  It's the best  broth base ever.  You just add it to water. 

Price Smart was out of english muffins when I was there.  Deli Baru usually has Thomas, a more expensive but good muffin. 

Bagels - perhaps Mort can make you some of these? 

Corn starch is everywhere.  It is called Maizena.  I've never seen a lack of it since I've been here - yellow box.  They use it as a drink, so check other aisles than the one where you think it should be.

Edited March 12, 2016 by JudyS

[JudyS]

34 minutes ago, Pat said:

Keith what is your message? None of the items you show have something to do with the original question that was asking for information. Is there a Riba Smith store in this area that I don't know about?

There is no Riba Smith store in our area, but you can order from Riba Smith online.  I've never done it, because I'm unclear how it is delivered.  Does anybody know?

[Pederhaney]

I've tried to figure out the RSmith online ordering only to be thwarted every time by something different.  I think they deliver through Fletes...operative word is "think".  Time to try again, I guess.  Maybe I'll get it done before their store in Davíd is operational.  They have the best flour tortillas in the nation...not the cardboard-like consistency of all the others.  And they consistently carry Grey Poupon. Deli Baru occasionally has the tortillas.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Pederhaney

[Penny]

Bud

Believe it or not the last time I bought English muffins I got them at the Felipe Motta wine store in Plaza Terronal. As somebody said, cornstarch is everywhere is you know what it's called.

[Keith Woolford]

2 hours ago, Pat said:

Keith what is your message? None of the items you show have something to do with the original question that was asking for information. Is there a Riba Smith store in this area that I don't know about?

You can order online and have your stuff sent here.

RS online offers over 16,000 items.

No doubt they will be opening a store in the new bus terminal Mall in David.

[Keith Woolford]

14 minutes ago, Penny said:

Bud

Believe it or not the last time I bought English muffins I got them at the Felipe Motta wine store in Plaza Terronal. As somebody said, cornstarch is everywhere is you know what it's called.

Let me know if you ever spot crumpets.

[Penny]

The local bochinche is that Riba Smith is going to open a mini store in the strip mall that will be built on the corner of the Volcancito Road (across from CEFATI). However, at the snail's pace that Michelle Brewer is tearing down the existing buildings, we all might be dead before that happens.

[Penny]

2 minutes ago, Keith Woolford said:

Let me know if you ever spot crumpets.

I don't even know what a crumpet is. Guess I'll have to re-read Little Miss Muffett.

[Dottie Atwater]

  Romero (in Volcan anyway) has the big round boxes of regular oats. $3.29

[Maria]

Romero in Volcan if a much better store than Romero in Boquete.............cleaner store, wider isles, better selection.............and, the meat department does not smell bad!  Go figure??

[JudyS]

2 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

You can order online and have your stuff sent here.

RS online offers over 16,000 items.

No doubt they will be opening a store in the new bus terminal Mall in David.

Where is "here"?  Post office, eShop?  Where do they send it?

[JudyS]

2 hours ago, Penny said:

I don't even know what a crumpet is. Guess I'll have to re-read Little Miss Muffett.

Sort of like an english muffin, but a lot more holes for the butter to pool in.  Yummy!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumpet

[Keith Woolford]

2 hours ago, Penny said:

I don't even know what a crumpet is. Guess I'll have to re-read Little Miss Muffett.

http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-crumpets-113577

Finding crumpets at the grocery in Barbados was a vacation bonus.

[JudyS]

21 minutes ago, JudyS said:

Where is "here"?  Post office, eShop?  Where do they send it?

Fletes perhaps?

[Roger B]

3 hours ago, Penny said:

The local bochinche is that Riba Smith is going to open a mini store in the strip mall that will be built on the corner of the Volcancito Road (across from CEFATI). However, at the snail's pace that Michelle Brewer is tearing down the existing buildings, we all might be dead before that happens.

Penny

I do love the spanglish used in Panama.  It is funny and very interesting.   "The local bochinche...."  It is funny to hear that.   

Well.  Riba Smith is another chain of supermarkets that is also growing.  I know that the last they opened was in Chitre.  I visited it a couple of months ago and it was a little store with their variety of special products.   I hope that the managers of each store has a better training in inventory control and do their planning in time for having the products the consumers request at the quantities required monthly.

 

 

[TwoSailors]

You have not lived till you have had, honest to goodness, home made crumpets! Right Keith? I like mine with peanut butter and honey drizzled on top. Followed by a very cold well mixed Bloody Mary!

Lets get together and make a batch!

[Bud]

Amazing help here. Thank you all. Isn't the Internet a wonderful tool!

Actually considering driving to Volcan to check out the Romero store per Dottie's and Maria's comments. It has been many months since we were last there. And then have lunch at that really great eatery whose name I can't remember -- on the right on the road toward Cerro Punta.

[Dottie Atwater]

Actually Supermercado California and Berards have the regular oatmeal, too. (The old Berards; don't know about the newer one.) Amazingly, it seems to be slightly cheaper at Romero.

[Bonnie]

17 hours ago, Penny said:

I don't even know what a crumpet is. Guess I'll have to re-read Little Miss Muffett.

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, Penny, not on a crumpet.

 

Edited March 13, 2016 by Bonnie

[JudyS]

7 hours ago, Bonnie said:

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, Penny, not on a crumpet.

 

What's a tuffet?

[Bonnie]

An ottoman-like thing.

[Bud]

Interesting day today. Based on the information provided here, we decided after breakfast to go to Volcan to shop at that Romero store. Got the oatmeal (less than $3.50), maicena (some boxes call it maizena), and some other food items. Still haven't found the broth, and of course there were no muffins, etc., but we did make major progress today.

As mentioned, we found the Romero store in Volcan to be clean, wide aisles, and a helpful staff (since we didn't know the locations of many things). Noticeably missing at that Romero store was a bad odor around the meat counter (that is good news). Also found some things not mentioned above, such as green beans that are not French cut style, etc. Stopped by Berard's as well, but decided not to go in, partly because we didn't have ice in the cooler.

We got to meet Dottie Atwater in person, and had a wonderful conversation with her. What a fine lady. She loves dogs, as does Marcelyn.

We then had lunch at La Carbonera Restaurant in Volcan on the road to Cerro Punta. Great food, good service and good prices. We ended the day with a drive through Cerro Punta, and then took the long route home through Concepcion and Bugaba.

Great day today. Many thanks to all of you for helping us add to our list of pleasurable experiences. And thanks to Dottie for being such a wonderful hostess.