BABOGA:

By: Bob Stiff

Baboga Calle 60 este, 25/B Open Tuesday through Saturday Dinner only 7pm to 12 midnight Closed Sunday & Monday Tel.: 214-8587. Rating: 1/2 Poor OK Good Excellent Superlative

Our beautiful city is blessed with an abundance of Italian restaurants...at least ten come to mind immediately, most good in their Southern Italian, "lots of tomato sauce, lots of cheese, lots of pasta", way. However, if truth be told, none offer real Italian food. Their receipes, adapted to popular tastes, lack the true flavors of Italy.

All of that has changed. "Baboga" is here.

Discreetly located behind a brightly lit, street-side door on Calle 60 este, right before you get to Calle 50, this charming bed & breakfast features five rooms ($90 per night-per person, $140 per couple, breakfast included), pool, garden area and a large covered space for parties, corporate gatherings, etc. Overlooking all of this is the real treasure...a large dining room, slightly bohemian in decor, in which true Italian food is served.

Denis Cerri, co-owner and our host, carefully explained the not-overly long menu, informed us thay the dishes served come from central to northern Italy, and how only the freshest ingredients are used. He apologized that some menu items were unavailable because the chef was not satisfied with the quality of the ingredients he was able to find. When you add that welcome bit of information to the fact that they are constantly having foodstuffs shipped in from Italy, you begin to form a picture of a chef who is proud of his art and will not settle for anything less than the highest of standards. We were off to a very good start, indeed.

First, we sampled an array of the appetizers offered: four succulent meatballs whose meaty flavor managed to be both subtle yet rich, a delicious marinated eggplant that combined the earthy flavor of that vegetable with a certain tartness of the marinade nicely, a platter of clams with tiny morsals of just prepared, wonderfully seasoned seafood nestled inside their shells, and Italian ceviche...possibly the best ceviche I have ever had. The sweet tang of the minced yellow bell pepper contrasted nicely with the still firm seafood. All of this was accompanied by slices of warm baguette and a very nice ultra-virgin olive oil for dipping.

We were fortunate that a shipment of fresh procuitto and salami had just arrived....and were treated to the delectable buttery flavor of the former and had our taste buds awakened by the spicy, meaty flavor of the latter. Every appetizer served was excellent!

But, the best was yet to come.

Baboga specializes in dishes from central and northern Italy.
El restaurante se especializa en platillos del centro y norte de Italia.

The first entree was Penne with Shrimp, the simple name of which belies the richly subtle seafood sauce coating perfectly cooked al dente pasta, and the incredibly flavored whole shrimp folded beneath. Then Gnocchi, made fresh daily, and served in a rich tomato sauce with slivered vegetables arrived and declared delicious. A platter of Sea Bass arrived next and, while I am not a fan of that fish, I found Baboga’s version to be a succulent, flaky filet I would happily order anytime. Finally, Filete, grilled, sliced into bite-sized pieces, and sauced with a meaty melange of flavors was served. My table guests were silent as they ate...a tribute to an excellent dish.

Dessert was an unusual dish: Chocolate Salami garnished with small dollops of ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. It was....well, you just have to try it.

On the street-side door of Baboga is etched "Il Giardino dei Segreti", or "The Garden of Secrets". Baboga’s secret needs to be well known...it serves the best authentic Italian food in Panamá City.

Prices vary from around $9.95 to $14.95 per entree, and the menu varies, so be prepared for delicious surpises.

The park's gazebo, where band concerts are offered on Sunday afternoons during the dry season.

Uneventful during most of the day, except for the occasional visit of tourists who use its gazebo as a picture background, the Old Quarter’s Cathedral Plaza has witnessed some of the most important events in the nation’s history.

Built in the late 17th century, what was then known as the Plaza Mayor was the center of activity of the new city of Panama, which replaced the old city, plundered and sacked by Sir Henry Morgan in 1671.

Facing the mother-of-pearl towers of the Metropolitan Cathedral, the plaza was where the colonial residents of the district of San Felipe gathered to celebrate the coronation of the kings of Spain, bullfights and pompous town balls.

Between March and April, the plaza becomes a spectacle of blooming trees. Photo: Ester Zambrano

Standing on the steps of the Cathedral, on November 28, 1821, a group of prominent gentlemen summoned the public to declare that Panama was no longer a Spanish colony. Eighty-two years later, on November 3 1903, the city’s residents were summoned once again to hear José Agustin Arango declare the country’s independence from Colombia.

The plaza on which the declaration of independence from Spain was read looked considerably different from that on which Mr. Arango stood in 1903. What was an ample, empty space in the early 19th century was embellished with palm trees, benches and gazebos when the French arrived to start their ill-fated attempt to build a sea-level Canal through Panama in the 1880’s. From then, until the first half of the 20th century, it was a popular courting venue, where society ladies, accompanied by chaperones, met their beaux on Sunday afternoons.

The Metropolitan Cathedral, as seen from the plaza.

For generations, the Cathedral Plaza (also known as the Independence Plaza) has been the stage for band concerts and theater performances, which normally take place during the dry season (January-April.)

The Plaza also faces the Panama Canal Museum, which harbors many historic exhibits on the famous waterway, from early maps made by the Spanish to artifacts used by the French and U.S. builders.