“Todo a cuara” (all for a quarter) is a favorite expression used by many Panamanians to refer to cheap food stalls. Most of these cheap restaurants are located within the vicinity of Calidonia in Panama City, Panama.
Construction workers, laborers, park cleaners, low-paid government employees, taxi and bus drivers seek these places for their tasty food and their low-priced food. While prices have gone up during recent months, you can still find good cheap eats, if you head out into food stalls in Calidonia and adjacent areas.
Typical food sold at these diminutive food stalls are: patacones, carimañolas, bofe, hojaldas, yuca frita, bollos de maíz nuevo, carne frita, chicharrones, chorizo frito, salchichas guisadas, puerco frito, tortillas and pajarilla.
At 4:00 a.m. you can see early customers swarming these places looking for a cheap breakfast before going to work. Todo a cuara is as Panamanian as the Carnavales and the raspao.
Below is a picture of a todo a cuara food stall located at a park in front of the Ministry of Economics and Finance in Avenida Perú. At noon you can’t find a seat in these folkloric restaurants.
This picture shows a customer eating at a todo a cuara stall in Avenida Perú. Notice how small these places are. Here we go.
Photograph of an early bird having breakfast at a "Todo a Cuara" in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Next time you’re in Panama City, and your stomach is growling but your wallet is thin, head for a todo a cuara. Problem solved. Good Day.
There were little places similar to this in Japan during the Occupation. They was a counter inside . The clerk or chef stood ouside behind the counter. The customer came inside and set down at the counter and was served a bowl of noodles.
Hello Abe:
I browsed your blog this morning fro a long time. There is so much to read and view at your site.
I love the way you change the background colors and the main image at the top.
You never ceases to amaze me, Abe.
Regards,
Omar.-
Hi Omar,
If I had a nickel for every cuara I have spent at these places! haha
And both my brothers-in-law who are now working in the US were quiosco owners at one time. The prime spots are anywhere near the bus stops. I wonder what happens when the Metro becomes operational?
My T-shirt photo shows another moneymaking opportunity:
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s164/greatstuff_booster_chair/
(The Help with projects album relates to your previous post on grandparent/grandkid connections. I guess this reply qualifies for what we call a “twofer”, two for the price of one! haha)
jim and nena
fort worth, tx
Hi Jim & Nena:
That T-Shirt shows exactly what goes on at our traffic lights in Panama City. I plan to take a picture of those guys peddling their goods while they shout out loud their prices. It’s a very typical Panama scene.
You touched a good subject. When the Metro is operational many of these “todo a cuara” places will either, have to move to where the Metro is located, or go belly up. I think they’ll move near the flow of people.
Thanks for your interesting comments. They’re now part of Lingua Franca.
Cheers,
Omar.-
Omar:
No sea cruel, mire que aca donde estoy nada de eso puedo comer! Usted y especilamente Don Ray me estan matando cons sus fotos de comida. Me dan ganas de comer buena comida panamena… un sanchocho o un guacho de rabito de puerco!
Jaime^
Hola Jaime:
Es muy fácil. Compre un boleto de avión y hágase un viajecito a Panamá. No se arrepentirá.
Saludos,
Omar.-
OR show up at my house any evening and you can have your fill of comida tipica de Panamá!
Sorry for rubbing it in, Jaime! Even my two sons can cook some of the traditional dishes. We are lucky to live in an area that has grocery stores that stock Spanish foods and ingredients. And if that isn’t bad enough, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are always bringing food over.
jim and nena
fort worth, tx
Jim:
Preach it brother. In Fresno, there are grocery stores that cater to Hispanics, but mainly to Mexicans and El Salvadorians. You can get “yuca” , platanos, otoe, guandu en lata, but that is about it. Is funny, when I hear an Spanish accent that is not Mexican (rare) I try to guess where is it from…and I am right most of the time.
Jaime^
Same here, Jaime, but with careful searching we can usually find substitutes for most stuff, the big problem is finding fresh produce. And not USA fresh, Panama fresh, right off the vine/tree/stalk, fresh. Really miss that!
One solution on some stuff is to plant our own. My sister-in-law has her own apartment nearby but I provide the garden space. Here’s a video of her and my granddaughter planting beans this year. My granddaughter hasn’t learned much Spanish yet (besides Meto!) so she constantly asks her great aunt, “whatchoosay?”.
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s164/greatstuff_booster_chair/
jim and nena
fort worth, tx
… ¿Bofe and pajarilla? The farther, the better.
Hi AS:
I personally don’t eat this food (bofe and pajarilla); but many will have it their daily menu.
Regards,
Omar.-
Jim:
Nice video, thanks. What I do not have is land to do so.
Jaime^
Lo siento, Jaime.
You are really going to hate seeing this series:
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s164/greatstuff_booster_chair/Gardening/
The sky even looks like Panama today! BIG storms coming.
jim and nena
fort worth, tx