Panamainfo’s Blog

Panama Named in the Top 10 Food & Wine Destinations

Panama City is finally getting the recognition it deserves for its many fine restaurants and amazing seafood.

It has been  named in the Top 10 Destinations for Food & Wine in Central and South America by Trip Advisor. As the largest community of tourism and travel information in the world, Trip Advisor has a wide range of views from the worlds most experienced travellers. In this sense, they were able to do a profound study and name Panama as a top destination for Food and Wine. Trip Advisor emphasized the seafood Panama as one of the great treats. They labeled seafood plates as “magnificent”, noting that the Chefs in Panama have the peculiar capacity of serving seafood dishes from the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean while still preserving amazing freshness. Additionally, Trip Advisor highlights the Panamanian “ceviche” as a delicatessen seldom seen in other regions or countries. With exquisite taste of fresh sea bass, “Corvina Ceviche” is one of the most delicious seafood dishes. This is a small plate of fish seasoned with lime juice and spices, like no other.

The stew locally called “Sancocho” is also featured in Trip Advisor. This is described as a chicken stew made ​​from cassava and yams. They mention the Sancocho to be another incredible mouth watering dish.

The following is how Trip Advisor describes Panama:

“This multicultural city full of contrasts, with almost 1.3 million people, offers much more than the obligatory visit to the Canal. The slums are crowded with glittering towers. The old city is a maze of picturesque churches, plazas and palaces. 25 km from the city center are the National Sovereignty Park, the perfect place for hiking and birdwatching. To enjoy superb views over the canal, take a taxi or bus to Miraflores Visitor Center and do not miss naval traffic.”

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Congress passed three long-awaited free trade agreements on Wednesday, ending a political standoff that has stretched across two presidencies. The move offered a rare moment of bipartisan accord at a time when Republicans and Democrats are bitterly divided over the role that government ought to play in reviving the sputtering economy.

The approval of the deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama is a victory for President Obama and proponents of the view that foreign trade can drive America’s economic growth in the face of rising protectionist sentiment in both political parties. They are the first trade agreements to pass Congress since Democrats broke a decade of Republican control in 2007.

All three agreements cleared both chambers with overwhelming Republican support just one day after Senate Republicans prevented action on Mr. Obama’s jobs bill.

The passage of the trade deals is important primarily as a political achievement, and for its foreign policy value in solidifying relationships with strategic allies. The economic benefits are projected to be small. A federal agency estimated in 2007 that the impact on employment would be “negligible” and that the deals would increase gross domestic product by about $14.4 billion, or roughly 0.1 percent.

The House voted to pass the Colombia measure, the most controversial of the three deals because of concerns about the treatment of unions in that country, 262 to 167; the Panama measure passed 300 to 129, and the agreement concerning South Korea passed 278 to 151. The votes reflected a clear partisan divide, with many Democrats voting against the president. In the Senate, the Colombia measure passed 66 to 33, the Panama bill succeeded 77 to 22 and the South Korea measure passed 83 to 15. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, voted against all three measures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/business/trade-bills-near-final-chapter.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

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