Restaurante Acropolis:

Acropolis Restaurant. Greek home cooking in a Panamanian mountain town.

Part of its charm is that it is so unexpected.... the little Greek restaurant Acropolis which you can discover in the remote town of Volcan in the Chiriquí highlands.

The restaurant is run by retired Greek sea captain George Babos and his Panamanian wife Elizabeth, who learned Greek cookery from George’s family on their sojourns in his homeland. One of her secrets is the use of fresh herbs from her own herb garden at the side of the restaurant.

The extensive menu has all the Greek goodies, from Mousaka to Baklava, cooked to order and served by Elizabeth in the homely atmosphere of her spotless and cheerful restaurant.

You can drop in to the Acropolis at almost any time and your food will be cooked to order, but make a reservation if you can. Tel: 6624-9687 or 6651-4777.

Need to eat, make friends, ask for directions?

If you are a North American needing information in Chiriqui, don’t bother looking for the Panama Tourist Bureau; go to Panama Bill’s.

Panama Bill’s is a restaurant which opened a couple of months ago in Chiriqui’s capital city, David. It is attracting Gringos not only for its good-old-USA food but for a chance for a chat with someone north of the border and if you need it, advice from "Madame G" and her husband Stephen Hendrickson.

They run the restaurant for Floridian Bill Beck who spends his time between his fishing lodge on the Chiriqui coast and his restaurants in Miami.

Gloriella ("Bill called me Madame G when he first met me and the name stuck") is a Chiricana and fountain of knowledge about her homeland. And she also knows what makes Gringos tick, since she spent 12 years with her Gringo husband in Atlanta and South Carolina.

"We talk to all our customers’ says Madame G", and nearly always we can give newcomers a lot of good advice and steer them in the right direction".

Gloriella is an artist, specialising in nature subjects, and her talents even reached the White House. The first Christmas Laura Bush was First Lady, she requested a specially-designed ornament from each state for the White House Christmas tree. The Governor of Georgia chose Gloriella as the state’s designated artist and she created a stunning concoction with feathers from the state bird, the Kestrel, enveloped in fine blown glass, which now lies in the White House archives.

Gloriella and Stephen Hendrickson pose at the bar in front of one of Gloriella's wildlife paintings.