La PaPa
is a large, cavernous restaurant that makes creative use of its size
with the spacious placement of tables and a giant, though not intrusive,
projection television screen over the full service bar. A tribute
to restaurant design, it manages to be warm and inviting despite its
size.
Once you
are seated by one of the very attentive staff, request the colorful
Spanish language menu. It is filled with accurate photos of the many
selections and gives you a much better idea of what you might want.
The English menu is boring in comparison. And if your Spanish still
needs a lot of work, like mine, just point and smile.
Appetizers
are a good way to determine the quality of a kitchen. If the chef
demonstrates his or her skill and expertise on the small first course,
you can usually feel certain the rest of the meal will follow that
same path. And La PaPa proved the theory right. The Mediterranean
Bean Soup ($4.50) was a delicious melange of savory white beans, subtle
seasonings and finely chopped pieces of pepperoni that added just
a hint of spice. Ajiaco ($8.95), a Columbian soup that is served with
a small side plate of ingredients that you mix into the soup to suit
your individual taste, was very good...and made even better with just
a dose of the restaurant’s own excellent salsa picante, or hot
sauce.
The only
disappointment were the Sicilian Potato Skins ($4.95). The potatoes
were barely warm and there was little taste. A steaming potato, along
with a judicious and creative use of seasonings would make a big difference
in that particular dish. However, three out of four isn’t bad
for starters. We were anxious to see how the main courses held up.
Served
with clockwork timing as soon as the appetizers were finished, my
party indulged in Panamá Jumbo Shrimp al la Charles ($13.50),
several crisply fried shrimp that come with fries or mashed potatoes,
or fried yucca. I have a fondness for yucca, if it is cooked correctly,
and these wonderfully starchy fingers were crisp and delicious. The
shrimp were fresh, perfectly cooked and very flavorful.
In order
to cover as wide a selection of a menu as possible, I always include
a sandwich....hamburger, Club sandwich, etc. Tonights choice was the
Chicken Wrap ($7.95). Flavor-wise, it was a delicious melange of wonderfully
seasoned chicken and lightly sauteed vegetables that filled your mouth
with a truly excellent flavor. The wrap itself had been grilled and
was slightly chewy, but I would certainly rate it as one of the best
in town. We chose patacones, that very Panamanian side dish, and they
were a perfect flavor compliment to the heavy, smoky flavor of the
chicken. Patrons at another table ordered a hamburger and if it tasted
one-half as good as it looked, I will have to go back and get one.
A fellow
member of my party, herself an excellent cook, insisted we try the
Pasta Primavera ($7.50), as it is difficult for restaurants to prepare
properly. The pasta has to be al dente, the vegetables properly seasoned,
yet still crisp, then everything quickly mixed and served. Most restaurant
efforts at this most basic Italian dish don’t succeed. The kitchen
didn’t miss a beat on this one....crisp vegetables, steaming
pasta that still had a hint of a bite to it, and seasonings that were
perfectly balanced.
Despite
the excellence of the dishes served thus far, one of the very best
had to be the Mixed Grill ($20.95), which consisted of a medium sized
steak, baby back ribs, a smoky sausage link and two pieces of Galeto
chicken. The steak was tender, cooked exactly as ordered and very
good, the meat on the ribs literally fell off the bone and they were
richly dense with flavor. But the Galeto chicken had to be the standout
hit. The flavor was very rich...yet subtle with hints of finely blended
spices. The chicken is also available as a dish on its own ($5.95)
and is something I certainly intend to try on my next visit.
Now
comes the fun part of being a restaurant critic...the desserts. Of
the several selections (all $4.95), we opted for the Mud Pie, Brownie
with Ice Cream, Apple Cobbler with Ice Cream and Rice Pudding. I won’t
take up much space describing them because they were uniformly excellent.
I was even more impressed when I learned they were all made in-house,
not farmed out as so many restaurants choose to do and usually end
up with basically sweet junk food.
We all
agreed that the brownie that served as the base for the vanilla ice
cream was one of the best any of us had ever tasted and the Apple
Cobbler was mouth-wateringly good. But the real winner, hands down,
was the truly superb Rice Pudding.
This "simple",
old-fashioned dish has been denigrated by inept chefs and flavorless
mass production methods to the point where it has fallen from the
pedestal on which it deserves. Hyperbole? Possibly. But my grandmother
made what I thought was the best rice pudding in the world....indescribably
rich and creamy and thick...I have never found any to match it. When
I learned that the recipe for La PaPa’s version was a family
recipe from the owners husband, I had to have it. And I was rewarded.....creamy,
rich, sweet, spiced with just a dash of cinnamon, it rose above all
the other desserts and is a close rival to my grandmothers. I regretted
having to share it with my friends, but they all agreed it was the
best they had ever had. If I could get them to serve it to me in a
large soup bowl, I could die and go to heaven a happy man.
La PaPa
is a good choice if you want to try something different...or familiar
food prepared with an interesting twist. Had the Sicilian Potatoe
appetizer been hot, it would have been a perfect meal.
