Dulce DeIson
Blog #2: Descriptive Essay
English 105
November 19, 2013
The
Best Meal I Ever Ate in Panama
Earlier this year, I travelled
with my family to Panama on vacation and we stayed on the Amador Causeway in
Panama City. When I think of Panamanian
food, I of course think of fresh local ingredients, especially seafood from the
Pacific Ocean. We ate seafood
everywhere, but the best meal we had was at a restaurant called Restaurante Mi
Ranchito also on the Amador Causeway.
Definitely in the tourist part of Panama City, the Amador Causeway and Restaurante
Mi Ranchito offers an amazing seaside dining with a backdrop of Panama City and
the ships getting ready to pass through the Panama Canal.
We started off our meal with a nice, light Ceviche de Corvina (Corvina, also known
as sea bass is an abundant Pacific Ocean fish); with just the right balance of
acidity from the lemon & lime juice and a texture like chicken, this dish
really allowed the freshness of the fish to shine through. Our next course was Almejas al Ajillo (clams in garlic sauce); while we ordered this
dish at just about every restaurant the entire trip, none were as good as we
had at Mi Ranchito. The “sauce” wasn’t just
garlic based but also had some butter and ají
chombo, which is similar to a habañero pepper. The clams were so fresh that you could swear
you were tasting the sea with each piece; we also ordered rice and used it to
soak up all the garlic sauce once the clams were done. The last plate we enjoyed was a Calamar al
Ajillo (squid in garlic sauce); while similar to the clam sauce except without
the ají chombo, the squid was tender and like everything else before it, as
fresh as you could ask for. Of course,
we added on the traditional sides of patacón (fried, smashed and refried
green plantains) and cassava (fried yucca) which were great to enhance the texture of the dish.
I’m not sure I could put
a pin in exactly what made this my best meal; I think it had to be the
combination of being there with family, the fresh and delicious food, and the
great atmosphere and breathtaking scenery.
My only regret from that night is not getting our chef’s name so that
the next time we are there, we can request that chef again!
When I first read this blog post, I was mortified by the apparent perfection. But, since I believe nothing is perfect, I resolved to find something I could use in a critical review. My exhaustive search did yield a singular punctuation flaw, there was a comma missing after the word light when describing the Ceviche de Corvina.
ReplyDeleteAs a seafood lover myself, I particularly enjoyed this blog post. Her description of each dish, the ingredients, the taste, and the texture, answered precisely those questions I would have asked her about this meal. Her description of “just the right balance of acidity” in describing the Ceviche and how tender the squid was, made me want to go to this restaurant.