dining

Up the street there's Manolo's with its more Spaniard sensibility. Just across the side street there's El Trapiche, the uncompromisingly tipico place where retirees and ex-presidents laugh and secret agents take notes. This is Del Prado, at the center of Via Argentina's cafe dining experience.

Here the food is Panamanian international. "International" as in decent Cubano sandwiches, strong Cuban-style coffee and a few unmistakably Spanish things. As in the tradition set --- or really, renewed --- by Spaniards who came here to build the canal and stayed on to open restaurants.

On this occasion I ate simply: a fried whole snapper, crispy but not greasy, golden outside and moist but done inside, with a few squeezes of lime and a little salt. French fries and steamed veggies on the side. They brought garlic bread before the meal and I had a strong cup of coffee afterwards. The person with whom I was dining had the corvina al ajillo, which I often order at this place.

No, Del Prado isn't fancy. But it's good. You can do the air conditioning inside, or partake of the neighborhood ambience outside. The prices are reasonable. That's why this establishment is one of the pillars of the Via Argentina scene.

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