Jaunted

Panama City is covered in street food vendors, and many locals spend the early evening hours milling about street carts and downing a few snacks before heading home for dinner. Our favorite said snack, picture above, are tortillas, although these mini-cakes are nothing like any tortilla we've ever had at a Tex-Mex restaurant. They're little balls of fried cornmeal, kind of like hush puppies but even greasier and with a spicy kick. Also omnipresent are carimañolas, boiled yucca balls stuffed with ground beef and deep-fried. Plantain chips—shaved fresh off the banana and fried in front of you—are out of this world as well.

Getting more serious, on many corners you can pick up myriad types of grilled meat on a stick, from spicy chorizo to stringy flank steak to salchicha (their take on a hot dog). For hungry gringos, there are even plenty of hamberguesa stands to be had. All must be washed down with a batido—a fresh fruit shake made from papaya, pineapple, strawberry, or, oddly enough, corn flakes.

All that, and you'll rarely have to break a dollar. For the record, we haven't gotten sick…yet.

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Photo: [Jaunted]