Valle Escondido Newsletter

New Sabor menu for Thursday wine night

Every Thursday is special wine night at Sabor Escondido. Enjoy some delicious wines at a 25% discount along with a special menu designed just for this event each week. Chef Melissa has a great menu for you this wee which can be purchased a la cart or as a complete meal. Check it out! Click image to enlarge.

The rains of September

Well, rainy season is upon us and about every afternoon we get some rain. According to our friendly weather man, Lloyed Cripe, we are above normal.  A new resident asked me if this was normal because he is from northern Florida and says it is about the same they had there. You can go to Lloyd's website to view the latest data and here is another website where they have collected data for the last seventeen  years in the area for rainfall.
It is important to understand that there are microclimates here in the Boquete area where you can get twice the rainfall of what is reported or in our case considerably less. Valle Escondido is considered the banana belt of Boquete because it is usually dryer than the rest of the area due to the position of the valley.

Calender of events for August

Jessica and Chef Melissa have put together a weekly calender of events, all of which include eating a drinking. Just because it is slow season does not mean we locals can't have some fun and some great deals! They have put together some almost nightly events for your enjoyment. You can also visit Chef Melissa's blog and learn more about her experiences here in Valle Escondido.

This is special desert month when you can enjoy a complimentary desert with your meal at Sabor Escondido. If you have tasted Chef Melissa's chocolate cake, coffee flan or hot apple pie, you know that the other additions will be very special!

Every  Sunday afternoon between 1pm and 3pm, there will be an event they call "Sweet Sunday". It will include special deserts and teas and will be served at the Cafe Con Leche.

Chili Tuesday will feature Chef Melissa's special chili along with bargain priced beer at the Cantina from 4pm to 6pm.

Two for one Happy hour at the Cantina on Friday afternoon from 5pm to 7pm.

Every Thursday evening at the Sabor come and enjoy a special "Fusion" menu from 7pm-10pm.

On Saturday nights from 6pm-9pm at the Cantina, enjoy 75 cent Panama beers with your friends.

Click on the image of the calender and print it out as a reminder!

The Passionate Chef

The hardback book found in most hotel rooms in Panama is called Panama Days and this latest edition feature our own Chef Melissa De Leon. You can click on the images to enlarge.

At last.. the new Sabor menu!

Well, it has taken a while longer than expected, but we are now serving the new menu in Sabor. Chef Melissa has struggled finding all the needed ingredients locally and that is the major cause of delay. It seems it is easier to write a new menu than to find all the needed ingredients. In any case, I have tried a number of these new dishes and I can tell you that they are fabulous. The menu has been expanded significantly and we are working to add more things as clients request, so please feel free to let the chef know your personal preferences. Click the images to enlarge!

Sabor becomes critics choice!

The blogger from Boquete Panama Guide gives Sabor Escondido two thumbs up and it all comes down to the difference a chef makes. Chef Melissa De Leon has made some big changes with our two restaurants and judging from the compliments we receive, our homeowners and visitors really like the changes.

Excerpts;

I took Tricia, a professional critic with me, one with years of working in the hospitality industry and listened carefully to how to judge both restaurant and the food. The ambiance of Sabor Escondido, what from the outside looks like a circus tent is surprisingly nice at night and the service from the staff was excellent. We were well attended without being overwhelmed.

Following advice from Melissa who came out to personally greet each table we decided to try both appitizers and entrees, something unusual for me.

Melissa to you I say bravo and I am looking forward to the opportunity to come to try again soon.

For the rest of the report go to Boquete Panama Guide

Chili Tuesday at the cantina

    Come have some fun and meet some new friends at the cantina this Tuesday. Chef Melissa has come up with a great homemade chili and corn bread to go along with .75 Panama beer. Come on down from 4pm-6pm and give it a try!

LifeFlight Panama, Helicopter Air Ambulance and Emergency Rescue Service to visit Valle Escondido

A new and valuable service is now available in the country that could literally save your life. It is called LifeFlight and they will be visiting us here in Valle Escondido next Tuesday afternoon July 22nd about 1pm. The owners of the company will be bringing the helicopter and medical team to give you a first hand look at what they have to offer. Just a phone call away and within a short time you can have medical personnel brought to where you are. Then it's a swift and comfortable ride to the nearest emergency care center. I hope I never need these guys, but it is comforting to know they are here. I am definitely signing up for this service for my family.

LifeFlight Panama

LifeFlight Panama is the first and only private company to provide a fast, safe and efficient HELICOPTER EMERGENCY MEDICAL, AIR AMBULANCE & RESCUE SERVICE to those living, working, visiting or traveling in Panama.

Based in Panama City, LifeFlight www.lifeflightpanama.com is the kind of service that you would expect to find in Europe or North America and offers a superior, medical emergency option, with a rapid response time and an operational range of 300 miles, to cover the whole of the country, as well as performing patient transfers and search and rescue operations.

The helicopter, a Bell Long Ranger 3, chosen specifically for it’s suitability to the job, is equipped with a wide variety of medical apparatus and crewed by a highly experienced, fully bilingual team of a chief pilot, who flew with the emergency services in the US for many years, paramedics, who have long experience working for the Civil Protection Services and a doctor who is a specialist in trauma and medical emergencies, also trained in the US.

The crew is always on stand-by to reduce response/recovery times and can be airborne within minutes of a request for aid.

The company is financed partly through memberships that cost $204 a year for Residents, this fee will cover up to 6 people in one household, and on a weekly basis for Tourists. Fees can be paid online or by completing our membership form. See the website for a list of full terms and conditions.

LifeFlight is also supported by sponsors, affiliates, private contracts and is available to Non-Profit and Non-Government Organizations.

LifeFlight is not an Insurance Policy but more a club whose members will be given preferred status should a medical emergency occur.

With proven figures of more and more retirees and ex-pats choosing Panama as their preferred new “home” and the swelling numbers of tourists discovering and visiting the country, the need for this life-saving service has become vital. With this in mind, we invite you to visit our website www.lifeflightpanama.com and if you have the interest to either join yourself or refer others we are available to help. Please, contact us with your questions or for more information and assistance.

Helen Tonkin
Vice-Presidente de Ventas

El Higueron new lunch menu

Chef Melissa has really come through with a fantastic new lunch menu. She has spent a great deal of time locating just the right ingredients for each and every dish and the reviews have been great.

Father's day special dinner at Sabor Escondido

This will be the debut of our new executive Chef, Melissa de Leon. Make your reservations early so you don't miss out. Click the image to enlarge.