Recently, I went with a group on a culinary adventure to Volcán, a town on the other side of Volcán Barú – about eight miles from Boquete as the crow flies, but almost a two-hour drive by car. Unfortunately, the volcano is in the way, and you have to drive south to go north, to get back almost directly west of Boquete.
The route to Volcán from Boquete. Good roads and scenery, but a bit of a drive.
We rode in one of the small white “coaster” busses that usually transport people from one area of Boquete to another. The driver is a friend of Raquel’s, who organizes these outings, and he was able to reserve the bus for our trip.
Our group at the restaurant. About half of them were in the group I usually go places with, and I met two new couples on this trip. Nice folks!
The name of the restaurant is Cerro Brujo, which translates to “Witch Hill”. Nothing spooky about it, though – it was lovely!
The menu for this luncheon had a chocolate theme – all of the dishes featured chocolate in some form. Raquel does some marketing for The Perfect Pair, where we took a chocolate making class awhile back, and the owners of this restaurant are associated with them.
Following are photos of the offerings, all of which were beautiful and delicious!
Yuca and cheese croquettes with a creamy garlic/spice sauce and crushed chocolate nibs sprinkled on top.
I had the croquettes, but the salad looked delicious, too. It was beautifully presented and included four kinds of greens, multi-colored cherry tomatoes, seedless cucumber slices, and a creamy garlic dressing with cocoa nibs.
The main course – roasted chicken breast with a chocolate/spice sauce, and mashed sweet potatoes on the side. Roasted potatoes and carrots were also served.
Dessert! Strawberries flambéed with rum and served warm, alongside a rich chocolate brownie.
Both the food and the company were excellent, and the our table was on the covered terrace. It started raining soon after we arrived, and it was lovely to listen to the rain falling on the dense trees around us as we chatted before lunch was served.
There seem to be quite a few “foodies” in Boquete, and special food-related events are not uncommon. There are special meals like this, as well as community-wide competitions similar to those you would find at a county fair that are held in the town plaza. I remember one that was a “best strawberry dish” competition.
There are also challenges between chefs, pitting one restaurant against another to determine who makes the best chicken wings, hot dogs, barbecue, etc. They also had a “taco crawl” earlier this year (on Taco Tuesday, of course!), in which diners are shuttled to six restaurants around town and enjoy six tacos for one price ($17). Food culture here (of all types) is a real thing here, apparently!
Chocolate to the fore! You recently did a chocolate post and now this one. Interestingly, I have a chocolate post coming up soon (relating to Ecuador). There must be a sweet wavelength of late.
Sounds and looks great!
Myra, this looks so delicious and so much fun! The idea of using chocolate nibs sounds great to me, sprinkling it like a spice. The savory chocolate main dish looks extraordinary. I get a jar of chocolate mole, and it’s good. I can only imagine how good that sauce would be. What a great trip.