A Trip Worth Making: Salomas Panamanian Cuisine

When you don't know what to eat and you want to get out the house at the same time. This Jacksonville restaurant helped me cross off an item on my bucket list.

Traveling Florida takes you to new places!

A Google search and a Sunday drive up the Florida Interstate brought our party to a local family owned restaurant and just as the title suggests, this was no typical Latin food experience.

As a lover of new experiences (especially food related), I was super excited to try EVERYTHING. And try everything I most certainly did! From the drinks to the main course and dessert, we sampled all the goods. None of it will disappoint. The showstopper to me was the dessert: No Me Olvides. An ice cream delight with mini squares of pound cake, caramel drizzle, topped with whipping and walnuts.

Confession Time:

Although the cuisine was entirely new to me, my trip was not spontaneous. My friend, the only Panamanian I know, has told me so many stories of the food and culture of Panama. With that said, we of course had to tell our server the tale of our 3 hour quest to try their food. The server immediately brought us exactly what we wanted to start with: chicheme and ceviche.

For many of you who didn't know, like me, chicheme is a milky drink served cold with cooked pieces of soft corn. If you're Mexican or live near/around Mexican communities, the chef best described it to me as tasting like horchata. He was right. Think of this as a mixture of horchata and boba tea but not as sweet. Even though the drink is served cold, it is ice free. I find horchata may be a bit thicker but both drinks are winning in taste. The corn is soft and kinda puffy, like arroz con leche. The ceviche was fresh and simply mixed with lime juice, diced onion, and bell pepper. They served it to us with plantain chips and was wonderful.

When in Rome:

If you're on a budget, not really hungry, or just want to test the waters, I would highly recommend the Panamanian Sample platter. Tip: order the housemade cheese - it doesn't come with the platter but totally deserves to. They make their own fresh white cheese that is a mix between queso fresco and mozzarella - so good!

The platter could have easily sated my appetite and gave me a taste of everything. From the puffy warm hojaldras to the juicy mini bites of chicken and steak, the platter satisfied - but we were greedy for more...

For my main course, I had to go with the Chupinpollo. A roasted chicken plate with rice, lentils and fried plantains. My friend ordered the sopa de res (Beef stew) with a side of rice. The sopa (or broth) had a light yet soothing flavor. It was perfect for the weather this past weekend. The lentils had a smoky flavor that tasted almost chocolatey to me. It could've just be me tasting the chocolate. If you're thinking "ew, lentils" don't! The lentils were stewed nicely and I loved the caldito on my rice. IYKYK 👀

All in all, the experience was one to remember. There's plenty that I can't describe and others I couldn't gush over enough.

Drive In

If you want to try something new and unknown - go for it. Get off the highway and take the road less traveled by. The quaint family restaurant is about a 25 minute drive into Jacksonville getting off the interstate. The restaurant is situated in the corner of a plaza and has plentiful seating. The Panama native decorations were interesting and complimented the space well. I loved the artwork, the people, and the food. This place is definitely on my return list.