Perejil is a working class neighborhood, with a lot of inexpensive eateries, some of the quite good. One of the better little places is Sabor Interiorano, on Calle 37 between Via España and Avenida Peru.

This is a cafeteria-style place to go for breakfast or lunch --- soon after the sun come up, they're serving breakfast, but by the time the sun goes down, they're closed. Its clientele come mainly on foot, from the nearby businesses and government offices, and the area's apartment buildings.

Sabor Interiorano emphasizes two things --- traditional Interior cuisine and healthy choices. In Perejil there are many places where you can get hojaldres and chorizos for breakfast, and several where you can do the traditional michita and white cheese. At Sabor Interiorano, there's a much wider selection of fruit juices and natural chichas to go along with those than can be found at the neighborhood's other establishments. Similarly, while there are other restaurants offering ropa vieja or corvina filets with rice and guandu and baked plantain slices in Perejil, Sabor Interiorano stands out as the place where you can get a salad or a good selection of vegetable options to go with it.

You might even decide to skip the meat, poultry or seafood. For vegetarians who work nearby, this is one of the better lunch options in a neighborhood where many fruit and vegetable vendors offer ample alternatives.

Sabor Interiorano is cleaner and more tastefully decorated than is the neighborhood norm. It's air conditioned, with a sound system that plays the works of Samy and Sandra Sandoval and other tipico favorites, but not too loud.

If all you want is your morning cup of coffee, the sign inside urges you to "Taste our coffee --- hot as Hell, black as the devil and pure as an angel." Now of course the followers of Elijah Muhammad's tradition would argue that the devil is a white man, and the traditionalists among Perejil's Chinese restaurateurs would believe that devils come in all ethnicities except Han, but it's a very tipico boast about the quality of one's coffee. At Sabor Interiorano, it's not an idle boast --- their coffee IS hot, strong and very good.

It all adds up not only to a a good option in an area with many alternatives, but also to a worthy presentation of Panamanian working class culture. Keep Sabor Interiorano in mind if you find yourself in the neighborhood at lunchtime, or if you want to do breakfast before facing one of the government bureaucracies housed on Avenida Peru.

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