My cousin came over to Isla this evening so we could hang out together and have dinner. I wrote down the destination instructions for the pulmonía and she had no trouble getting to the embarcadero, although she did get a lecture from the driver, who wanted to make sure that she knew where she was going and that she wasn’t going to wander around the docks by herself. This is a gal who is a seasoned traveler and spends a lot of time in Panama so I had spared her that speech, but she got it anyway!
We decided to go to dinner at Miguel’s, the only proper sit down restaurant that is open in the evenings here. I’d heard a lot of good things about it. Contessa, Colin, Juan, and Chris were finishing up a meal as we arrived.
The menu is painted onto the wall and there are no prices listed. My cousin asked about a dish that, of course, the name escapes me now after I spent time repeating it! Dang. Oh, possibly chorreada! That’s a real word from the verb ‘to drip’ and the meal was drippy, so maybe that’s it! At any rate, the ingredients that stuck out were pork (which I know as carne de cerdo, but the cook called puerco), chihuahua cheese, and salsa fresca. My cousin ordered that. I went for a shrimp burrito.
Our meals came with just a little salad, but no other sides. We sampled each other’s dish. OMG. The burrito was a flour tortilla with sweet shrimp and cheese then fried in a pan (not deep fried). The pork dish was incredibly flavourful, with marinated meat and browned cheese over a thick corn tortilla, made even better with the addition of avocado sauce! The food was so good and we were so hungry that we ordered another round, reversing our orders!
My cousin also ordered a limonada and it was HUGE. We had brought beer, so I didn’t order anything to drink. The limonada was tasty, but too sweet for me anyway.
The total bill was absurd. Two shrimp burritos, two of the pork things, and a limonada came to 150 pesos (my treat). Let’s just say I’m no longer splurging on the very odd lunch on the beach and will instead go more often to Miguel’s in the evening! I want to work my way through the entire menu!!!
Sorry for the lack of pictures, I’ll have to go back and get some at a later date. 🙂
Wow! Sounds like a winner! Looking forward to the pictures.
I love finding these little gems! A much better deal (and meal) than the 350 peso buffet!
I’m glad that I had tangible proof for my cousin that 300 pesos for an ‘authentic’ Mexican repast at her hotel is a ripoff!!!
I’ll never forget my limonada + chips and salsa + plus huge plate of enchiladas with rice and beans and salad + 20% tip for 100 pesos in Guamuchil!
I’ve been wanting to have Carmelita’s shrimp quesadillas again, but they are 120 pesos, so I’ve been hesitant. The bean burrito at Miguel’s was very similar and probably only around 30 or 40 pesos! I can’t wait to get a take out order from them next week. 😀
The little restaurant where we are staying is pretty good too! We have had lunch here twice and both of us have had garlic panfried fish, rice and a small salad, a half jug of agua de jamica and 2 beer for 165 pesos! We loved Miguel’s too when we were there our first night, we had the enchiladas and they were 50 pesos for a plate of 2 and they were delicious.
Ruth
Which restaurant is that?
Restaurante Elvira…second last one from the end of the beach. The lady’s name is Margarita. She’s usually only got a couple of chairs sat outside…not a very busy place. Have to say we went back again for another lunch and it wasn’t quite as good as the first time. But still, for 60 pesos for the fish fillet, a salad, rice, and tortillas you can’t go wrong. Oh, and 15 peso beers and agua de jamaica or agua de pina.