The food in Panama is one of the things I love best about living in Panama. All the food is much better here than I expected. Because of a long-ago treaty with Italy, Italians can get instant residency. This translates into fabulous Italian restaurants on every corner of all the country. But it doesn't stop there. You can get Chinese, Sushi, Mexican, Thai, Steak, Fish, Middle-Eastern, Kosher and every form of fast food that your taste buds crave, just to name a few.
Some foods are very cheap, such as local fruits and vegetables, fish and even chicken. Anything with a Western brand has to be imported, which naturally increases the price. The highest priced items are American items that require refrigeration or freezing. It doesn't take a Panamanian rocket scientist to figure out that the food has to be brought down in refrigerated containers, which typically doubles the price. But for every American brand, there is a local brand. Sometimes the local brand isn't as good... sometimes it's twice as good. For example, Queso Crema puts Philadelphia Cream Cheese to shame and costs about one-third of the price.
There are only two Western foods that I have not been able to find in Panama... Fresca and Cajun seasoned salt. I'm not someone who drinks diet drinks regularly, but sometimes I love the freshness of a Fresca. They do have Fresca here... but it's not diet. My body doesn't handle big infusions of sugar well, so I stay away from regular sodas. Although Coca-Cola Light is readily available, it doesn't taste the same as Diet Coke.
A month away from an ice cold Fresca, and I was developing a serious craving. I started dreaming about how many Frescas I would drink when I went back to Dallas. Dreaming about a diet soda? That's when I knew I was in trouble.
I went shopping at Riba Smith today, the high-end gourmet grocery store in Panama City. In the first aisle, I found Diet Sierra Mist. It's not as good as Fresca, but I literally almost cried. I couldn't put the 12-pack of diet sodas in my cart fast enough. When I got to the checkout stand, I almost wept again when I saw them ring up the soda at the exorbitant price of $7.80... more than twice the price of a 12-pack in Dallas. But when you're having a craving, price doesn't matter.
To round out my splurge, I spent $1.50 on an empanada for lunch to go with my $.65 soda. Even with the inflated prices on imported brands, $2.15 for lunch is more reasonable than I get could in the U.S.
Some foods are very cheap, such as local fruits and vegetables, fish and even chicken. Anything with a Western brand has to be imported, which naturally increases the price. The highest priced items are American items that require refrigeration or freezing. It doesn't take a Panamanian rocket scientist to figure out that the food has to be brought down in refrigerated containers, which typically doubles the price. But for every American brand, there is a local brand. Sometimes the local brand isn't as good... sometimes it's twice as good. For example, Queso Crema puts Philadelphia Cream Cheese to shame and costs about one-third of the price.
There are only two Western foods that I have not been able to find in Panama... Fresca and Cajun seasoned salt. I'm not someone who drinks diet drinks regularly, but sometimes I love the freshness of a Fresca. They do have Fresca here... but it's not diet. My body doesn't handle big infusions of sugar well, so I stay away from regular sodas. Although Coca-Cola Light is readily available, it doesn't taste the same as Diet Coke.
A month away from an ice cold Fresca, and I was developing a serious craving. I started dreaming about how many Frescas I would drink when I went back to Dallas. Dreaming about a diet soda? That's when I knew I was in trouble.
I went shopping at Riba Smith today, the high-end gourmet grocery store in Panama City. In the first aisle, I found Diet Sierra Mist. It's not as good as Fresca, but I literally almost cried. I couldn't put the 12-pack of diet sodas in my cart fast enough. When I got to the checkout stand, I almost wept again when I saw them ring up the soda at the exorbitant price of $7.80... more than twice the price of a 12-pack in Dallas. But when you're having a craving, price doesn't matter.
To round out my splurge, I spent $1.50 on an empanada for lunch to go with my $.65 soda. Even with the inflated prices on imported brands, $2.15 for lunch is more reasonable than I get could in the U.S.
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