OK, so that’s not the happiest fish since it’s sitting on my kitchen counter, but the people of the household are very happy.
This was our second trip to Pedregal, a town on the water about 20 minutes south of us. We went with friends before, but this time we were on our own finding the place. We couldn’t find it at first, so we stopped at another house on the main street that had a sign out front “Vende Pescado”. They had pargo and robalo both for $2.50 a pound. We bought two pargos and one robalo, and another pargo for my neighbor who came along for the ride – 10 pounds of fish altogether. Oh, I also bought a pound of shrimp for $4.
(I have written more about what kinds of fish these are and what we thought about them HERE.)
Before we headed home, we decided to try one more time to find the first fish seller we visited before, and discovered we just hadn’t gone far enough down main street. Once we found the correct turn off the rest was easy. This seller has a larger selection, and there was also a bunch of very fun and friendly people around which I enjoyed.
I could not resist getting more fish. They had sierra which we had before and really liked, so I bought a couple good size ones, and then 2 pounds of lisa, just to try and see if we like it. So, another 10 pounds of fish went in the cooler. I figure altogether we bought 20 pounds of fish and a pound of shrimp and spent $40. And, this fish is obviously very fresh, caught just today!
This is the price list of the various fish for sale at the second fish seller, in dollars per pound. They may not have everything on hand at all times, and last time they had durado which wasn’t listed. But they have had a very good selection both times we visited and we were happy.
I have written more about the various kinds of fish and what we think of the ones we have tried so far, so rather than make this post a mile long I put this in another post HERE.
The Panama Adventure 
If you want a good fish dinner without cooking it yourself, the next time you go to Pedrigal try Stella’s Marina. It’s at the very end of the road just before you get wet. You can sit inside or out on the patio.
There’s also a very good seafood restaurant across the street from Bambu Hostel in David. They get their fish fresh every day. The place has absolutely zero ambiance and the selection is limited, but it’s a very popular place. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been there because of transportation problems, but when I did eat there, several times, you could get a nice Robalo fillet with a tasty cucumber sauce, patacones (Panama’s way of doing plantains) and an icy bottle of beer for under $4. A whole fried fish went for about $6 with the patacones and beer. Their sopa de mariscos is absolutely tops.
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Thanks, yes, we visited the marina and were told that restaurant is excellent. My neighbor also pointed out another on our way back. I remember the one across from Bambu! We enjoyed that also, and it has great ambiance if you don’t mind a neighborhood dog or two wandering about. ha!
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Out of the water, and the price…. I envy you, Kirst!
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We certainly are fortunate to be here! If your travels ever take you to this area I’ll make you a fish dinner 🙂
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Yummm! It’s on my list now… 🙂
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looks like a great place to get delicious fish!
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It is, inexpensive, and really fresh. You can put your nose in the fish and not smell any fishy odor. And, the people at the shop are so nice so it’s fun to see them. We’re due for another drive down there so maybe I’ll find something new to try.
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Kris: Thanks so much for the info on fish in your area. I’ve done quite a bit of surf fishing at Padre Island in Texas and also fished in Belize and have caught a bunch of Red Snapper as shown in your photos. I wanted to share a great way to prepare them or any other fish with scales: First…Gut and gill the fish BUT DO NOT REMOVE THE SCALES and , of course, leave the head of the fish in place. Remove the row of fins on the top of the fish and slit down each side of the backbone almost to the bottom of the fish creating a bowl shape of the fish. In side In a bowl, mix up a items to stuff the fish with. We used butter, garlic, crab meat or small shrimp, salt & pepper. You can stuff it with about anything you like. Then make 2 ties out of aluminum foil about 1/2 ” wide and 18″ in length. Place the stuffing into the fish on both sides of the backbond and tie it closed with the aluminum foil strips to hold the stuffing in place. Don’t put so much stuffing into the fish that you can’t close it up. Then double sheets of foil and place the fish on the foil tummy side down. Close the sheets of foil around it so that it will cook in this upright position….totally covered with foil. Place it on a barbeque pit or even in an oven. The time depends on the size of the fish and heat of cooking source. What happens is this: The scales solidify in the heat and form a bowl while pulling away from the meat. The meat also pulls away from the backbone as the meat cooks with the enhancement of the stuffing you put in. Incredible tasting fish results. We place that guy in the middle of the table with the foil pulled back and have at it. If he’s big enough, it makes a great meal for 4. The best bite is the meat on the cheek bone. Best, Jeff
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I believe that would work. I bought a fish in the Florida Keys a few years ago when I didn’t know what to do with one. I put the whole thing in the microwave, didn’t even clean it or anything. When it was cooked the scales easily peeled off and it was easy to remove the meat from the bones. I will have to try stuffing it like you said. I’ll bet that is really good. This will be one more reason we need to make a BBQ pit in the yard. Thanks for the great idea!
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