Panama -- the second night

Update (02/11/08):
Todd finally got back to me. This restaurant was called Peperoncini di Mare.

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OK, before I begin this post, let me say that I can't remember the name of this restaurant. Todd paid the bill, so I asked him, but he's in Nicaragua right now, so I guess he's just going to hold the name hostage until he returns.

So.

Restaurant X was where our prospective clients took us for our second meal in Panama. It was a modern setting, and appeared to be heavy on Italian and seafood, which was perfect, since seafood is definitely the thing to try in Panama. When we discussed what to eat, we had been interested in trying "Panamanian" food, whatever that was.

We later discovered that Panama is a bit of a melting pot, so there aren't an abundance of restaurants that show off the cuisine of Panama very well. Instead, there's a wide range of all cuisines. We discovered that if you wanted to try food indigenous to the area, you better go with seafood.

So I went with corvina. This is the local fish here in Panama, which would explain it being on the not-so-big menu at least four different times. I have had corvina before -- they serve it at Downtown Kitchen in the town where I grew up, and it's a white, flaky fish that's quite delicious.

My meal was good. A little strange, but good! It was served with plantains, which was an interesting combination. The odd pairing, however, was the mashed potatoes that were served with a gravy. It was like having two different meals at the same time: one with a light, citrusy fish; and one, with potatoes and gravy.

For the appetizer, we had a variety of things, but the star was definitely the ceviche. I have no doubt that it was made with corvina, and was so tart and good! So good that we ended up ordering another round of it! Yum!