Lunch at Colon's Las Puertas del Alcala

It had been awhile, and I was curious and concerned.

Long-time readers may recall that a few years back, right after it opened, I visited Las Puertas de Alcala, a little restaurant on Colon's Calle 10, near Avenida Melendez. This place does what in some places they call Òfusion cuisineÓ --- a eclectic mix of standards and new creations inspired by the different cultures present in Colon.

As in filete pekin, which isn't cut into pieces and stir-fried as they'd do in Beijing, but bears the unmistakable flavor of hoisin sauce. As in a good selection of things grilled Hindu-style. As in hummus, in a most Lebanese presentation. As in Greek and West Indian and Italian and typical Panamanian things, and original things with those influences.

This was a major pigout lunch for two: filete pekin, jack daniels ribs, hummus, grilled vegetables and octopus cocktail.

Well, OK. Friday's still has the best jack daniels ribs in Panama, although these were pretty good too. But nobody in this country does filete or hummus better and the little bit of octopus I tried --- alas, that's one of those high-purine things I have to avoid in my diet --- was also tasty.

The superlatives for this visit must be said of the Vegetales Parrilla, just grilled vegetables from the Hindu part of the menu. As in Portobelo mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes, sweet red peppers and greens.

My thanks to the folks at Las Puertas del Alcala for reminding me that vegetarian is not synonymous with ascetic. And my congratulations to them for surviving so far.

The lunch was part of a day spent showing a New York writer that while the city of Colon has its well known problems, it has its wonderful attractions and doesnÕt deserve the summary dismissal that it gets from most of the tourist guide books. This restaurant was Exhibit B, after the amazingly beautiful and serene urban park known as Area Recreativa Lago Gatun that doesn't fit any of the stereotypes --- although it's well within Colon city limits --- and before the photo safari of the square mile of Manzanillo Island. That island, now thanks to several generations of landfilling actually a peninsula, encompasses what's traditionally known as Colon city. Nowadays, however, it's but a small part of Colon district.

For those of you who are not and never were Colon Buays like me, there are many good things to find in the city at the north end of the canal, and if you are inclined to go looking for them, youÕd do well to include Las Puertas del Alcala in your voyage of discovery.

Also in this section:
Colon's Las Puertas del Alcala
Boondocks dining

food & dining

My favorite place in Colon survives