Cod is possibly the best known dried fish, and it constitutes some of the most famous dishes of Afro-Caribbean cuisine. Afro-Caribbean food is one of the delights that all Panamanians and foreigners should sample at any fair or activity where a community of black ethnicity gathers.

Each cook has their own secrets and individual ways of preparing this meal. Some even say that it contains aphrodisiacal ingredients.

In Bocas del Toro we can also enjoy other national and international dishes.

Another important complement to the Bocas kitchen is the plantain, a major export crop.

The Plantaintat is an empanada similar to the Patty, except that its filling is ripe plantain instead of meat.

Give your palate a treat with the exquisite selection of delicious dishes and the best flavor of Bocas del Toro, where the quality of their culture of service and customs are stand-out.

The best dishes on Bocas del Toro are made from a special selection of seafood and other meats, like the Patty, which is an empanada pie stuffed with meat and seasoned with a unique flavor. This seasoning is familiar to the thousands of locals who eat it daily, and by the visitors to Bocas del Toro who have the opportunity to sample this meal.

Back when there were hardly any stores on Colon Island in Bocas del Toro, creative housewives and cooks had to scrap together the ingredients they needed to put together a meal. Freshly caught fish and coconuts were always easy to find, but the other ingredients had to be tracked down, or "run down", hence the name of this dish.