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dining

Secrets? What secrets?
by Eric Jackson

It had been a long time since I visited Os Segredos da Carne, the Brazilian-style grill on Via Italia across from the Plaza Paitilla Inn. In the intervening years the management and decor changed and the prices went up, but a lot of other things remained the same.

This place still has a wonderful salad, soup, sushi and so on buffet. The bet in Brazilian rodizios is that you will fill up on these less expensive items and thus stuff yourself less with the more expensive meats that they offer you until you can't or don't want to consume any more. If you care to eat a healthy, balanced meal, you'll want to take advantage of this offer and choose well. In fact, you can skip the grilled meats and just do this part of the restaurant for a set price. I have found nothing quite comparable to the buffet at Os Segredos da Carne in Panama City, even though we have good ones at some of the hotels.

My choices? I did a little bit of smoked salmon, a couple of pieces of sushi, some corn relish, a few sauteed mushrooms, a bit of fruit salad, a sampling of little fried grated potato balls, a taste of something like chicken a la king and a dab of ceviche. I could have done a half-dozen other similarly varied selections without repeating any item and still have been far from exhausting the buffet's possibilities.

The main thing, though, is that they give you this cardboard coaster, one side of which is red and the other green. Green side up and they keep bringing cuts of roasted meats for you to sample, but flipped over on red they give you a break from that.

They began with the sausages (with or without the hot pepper) and proceeded to countless cuts of beef, pork and chicken, carried to the table on sword-like skewers and cut off in the amounts that are desired.

This is a good place to overeat, and it can be a painful temptation for a gout sufferer. It's best to bear in mind the distinction that a US chain of Ethiopian restaurants, the Blue Nile, makes. The mainstream American culture poses the offer as "all you can eat," but at the Blue Nile they say "all you care to eat." You can make Os Segredos da Carne an Archie Bunker experience --- the meathead special --- but it's ultimately more rewarding to use the green side of your coaster in a bit more discriminating fashion.

And what's in a name? "Os Segredos da Carne" is Portuguese for "The Secrets of Meat." What secrets? Do they have anything to do with Fluffy's disappearance?

More likely, it's about the arts and sciences of cooking on a grill. On this level of excellence, marinades become very important. So do the things that are brushed onto the meats while they are cooking --- this is a Brazilian place, so you will not find Open Pit among them --- and the temperatures at which things are seared and roasted. They do their specialized thing very well at this establishment.

In addition to the buffet and all the things from the grill, Os Segredos da Carne has a yummy-looking dessert cart and a full bar. I say "yummy-looking" because I didn't avail myself of either of these extras during this visit.

Within the norms of Panama City, this is an expensive place to dine. The basic buffet and all the meat you want to eat deal is $25 per person. They even charge for the water, which comes from bottles. Dinner for two people who weren't drinking alcohol and one of whom ate no dessert came, with tip, to $70.

My less than princely budget and my foot's sensitivity to purines are such that I'm not likely to become a regular at Os Segredos da Carne. But for the resident of middle-class means this is a good place to visit every now and then for a splurge, and if you are a tourist with the resources and intention to sample the best of Panama City's many wonderful restaurants during your visit here, you really should include this establishment on your short list of places to go.