Iter goes to Panama

“From Italy to the world” is the slogan of Iter. In fact, we flew first from Italy to Amsterdam, among tulips and windmills to then, overseas, arrive to Panama in early September, the country which the isthmus connects Central and South America, where the Atlantic and the Pacific “kiss each other”, as the natives poetically love to say.

So after Italy and Northern Europe, comes in via Fusetti the Caribbean inspiration that, among the typical Panamanian hats on the wall, photographs and new uniforms borrowed from the cellars of the ultracentenarian Ron Abuelo, will also please all those people who complain about the lack of sea in Milan.

From the placemat of the Dutch menu, you go to a format that simulates the Panamanian entrance registers in the ships. Since is used a double currency in Panamá, the balboa and the US dollar, for the first time is reported in the menu in double language, also to facilitate the reading of the guests just that has just arrived in Panama from Iter.

The 9 cocktails in the drink list, designed by the bartender Idris Conti, tell about Panama through the three historical periods that it has lived: native, colonial and modern. Sipu, Pimento and Poco Coco recall the era in which the Panamanian indigenous peoples used to live with fruits of nature in harmony with the deities. In the drinks we find, in fact, fruits and raw materials typical of the area such as coconut, corn, and pimento.

The colonial period is told by Fresa, Old Panama and Balboa (the first discoverer to set a foot on the isthmus), cocktails that introduce products imported by the explorers such as strawberry, coffee, brandy and marsala. They conclude the drink list Ketchup for a drink, So Sorrel and Las Margaritas for the modern era. Americans bring their culinary influence to Panama, and that’s why cocktails appear with products like ketchup.

In addition to the classic a la carte menu of three dishes and a dessert, which revisit Panamanian recipes in a local key, a tasting menu has been added: three dishes combined with three rums from the Abuelo winery, from the softer to the most spicy. The tasting dishes bring to Italy the experience lived by the shipwrecked Iter on the island of Cayos Limones. The first recipe is a classic recovery dish to fight the hangover (“what happens in Cayos Limones, remains in Cayos Limones”) and, to end the meal, the dessert based on coconut, banana, sea water and ash, which recalls a bonfire with a sunset on the beach.

Iter changes its clothes every six months, but doesn’t give up on his great classics like the “Domenica dalla nonna” (“sunday from grandmother”). But a little latest new is also coming, from this year in every two weeks will host the international recipes “dalla nonna”. The next granny? The one from the USA and a French grand-mère.

As for the daily off-menu, you can rely on Italian dishes in balance between tradition and modernity. Italian is also 99% of the Iter house bottle that, except for the honour place reserved for Ron Abuelo, boasts only Italian bottles.

What do you think about a flight ticket to Panama without stopovers and, above all, without jet lag?

Editor’s note: This article is proudly sponsored by Maio S.r.l. and promoted by Flawless Milano. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make Flawless Milano possible.