Food

Pedasí [1] is not the place for fine dining. In fact, sometimes it’s not the place for any kind of dining. Despite their alleged opening hours, it’s quite possible to find every eatery in town closed at meal times. This is a good place to bring a well-stocked cooler.

However, things are gradually changing, with Italian, Spanish, and other international dishes on offer, though most of these are only open for dinner. Hotel Villa Romana (tel. 843-3002 or 995-2922, U.S. tel. 786/264-1387, www.villapedasi.com [2]) serves dinner to outside guests who are willing to drive or cab it to Puerto Escondido. Casita Margarita (on the main road and the corner of Calle José A. Carrasquilla, tel. 995-2898, www.pedasihotel.com [3]) serves dinner to the public on Friday and Saturday.

There are also several fondas, holes-in-the-wall that cater to workers who get an early start and are willing to eat whatever’s on hand, served at rock-bottom prices. The best bet for breakfast is to show up no later than 8 A.M. Most restaurants start shutting down shortly after nightfall.

Restaurante Angela (tel. 999-2207, 7 A.M.–9 P.M. Mon. and Wed.–Sat., 3–9 P.M. Sun.), right next to Dim’s Hostel, was once a barebones fonda, but has been remade into a cute and cheerful little open-air place with a covered terrace on the main street. It’s still quite simple and cheap. Breakfast is US$2.25 or less, and a full lunch or dinner is US$4.50 or less.

El Gringo Ducek (tel. 995-2869, noon–9 P.M. Mon.–Sat., under US$10) serves seafood and Panamanian dishes in the house of a gringo named Ducek. It’s on the main road between Dim’s Hostal and Casa de Campo Pedasí.

Pasta e Vino (6:30–10:30 P.M. Wed.–Sun., US$5) is a new Italian place that serves (you guessed it) pasta and wine in a house on the road to Playa Toro. It was closed when I was last in town, but I’m told (by an Italian, no less) that both the pasta and the wine are good. To get there, walk or drive down the road to Playa Toro, turning right about two blocks past the Centro de Salud (health center).

Tiesto (8 a.m.–10 p.m. Wed.–Mon., 8 a.m.– 4 p.m. Tues.), on the town plaza, is a pleasant little coffee house. Offerings include full breakfasts, sandwiches, pastries, and fresh chichas (fruit juices). An individual pizza is around US$2.

Refresquería y Dulcería Yely (9 a.m.–8 p.m. daily, and maybe open until 9 p.m. on Sat.), across the street from and south of Residencial Moscoso, is a clean sweets shop locally famous for its cakes. Slices are just US$0.25–0.50. The nueces (nut) cake is good; the rum one is just so-so. Other temptations include flan and tres leches. It also offers sandwiches, empanadas, and other snacks. Only the hungriest will spend more than US$2 here.

There’s a minimally stocked supermercado on the town plaza next to Restaurante Brisas de Pedasí. The minisuper near the Texaco station is the only store open late at night.