I get as excited to go to new restaurants as most people get when they go to a live concert or sporting event. I had been following Chevre Panama, a new restaurant and cheese shop, on Instagram, and was looking forward to trying it. Normally we go out once or twice a week, but between high season in Panama (when sleep is optional!) and a revolving door of friends, it had been several months since my last romantic rendezvous with my hunky hubby. (I know, I know… don’t judge until you follow us around for a week.)
Chevre Panama is located in a section of Panama City that has an abundance of other restaurants, and I thought it would be easy to find. After all, their Instagram posts are some of the better ones I’ve seen. A less motivated person might have stopped at one of the other trendy eateries in the area when we couldn’t find it, but I was determined to satisfy my cheese tooth. We finally asked a valet attendant, who told us we had passed it.
Imagine my surprise when this new restaurant that had lured me with their impressive Instagram account had no signage? Ummm…. isn’t that Marketing 101? Put your name on the door?
You enter Chevre Panama through the cheese shop, and as soon as I walked in the door, I went to my happy place. Huge wheels of gourmet cheese beckoned from beyond the glass display on one side of the retail area, while gourmet olive oils, imported truffles and hard-to-find vinegars called out from the other side. But the best part is that they have a cheese cave. It looks a lot like my wine cellar, with glass walls and high humidity. I’m not sure if we were allowed to go in, but I snuck in anyway, just to get a whiff of the aging cheeses and to dream about having my own cheese cave.
The indoor restaurant is quite small–just a handful of tables–but there is also a large covered patio with an outdoor bar. The bar area was hopping with Cuban music and a festive atmosphere even though it was lunch time. I like air conditioning, so I opted to stay inside, but if we had gone at night when it was cooler, the outdoor area would have been lovely.
My husband had eaten about 17 eggs for breakfast and although notoriously hungry, he had the appetite of a debutante. “I want a salad,” he declared, trying to wear the un-hungry nonchalance of a Hollywood A-lister. I just rolled my eyes. I had come here for their mouthwatering cheese fries, where a huge half-wheel of cheese is roasted and then spooned onto hand-cut fries. Or their cheeseburger, which is smothered in the same fresh, roasted cheese. Or their $40 pizza that has enough cheese to ensure your trainer still has a job for a month. I had driven across town for that cheese-laden pizza…and my husband wanted a salad.
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