Put a spike in it - Pintxos in San Sebastian

We arrive in San Sebastian, the food mecca of Spain if not the world. The first thing that comes to mind is pintxos. And when you think pintxos, you think bars & counters lined with plates of little snack foods. The word pintxos means spike, aptly so as mostly these little bites are spiked with a skewer. At some bars the pintxos spikes are collected, either on the side of your plate, straight on the counter, or in some cases in a little cup like device on the counter - these are then counted and then billed per piece. If they are not needed for counting, the tradition is to just throw them on the ground, along with any napkins & debris, which makes for an interesting idea as the night goes on ....



Gildas are the most common, found in almost every bar and usually just sitting on the counter. Gilda means lollipop, and is an assembly of a Spanish Guindilla chilli, a plump olive and an anchovy all spiked on the end of a skewer, or pintxos. “It is said that it was invented at a San Sebastián bar and named after Rita Hayworth’s spicy performance in the 1946 film of the same name.”



The combination of salty & spicy is harmonious, and with a crisp Txakoli is the perfect aperitif on a Sunny San Sebastian afternoon. Txakoli is another staple of the Basque country. It is a white wine that has a light spritz, due to the way it is poured into tall glasses from great height, with a special aerating spout. The wine is crisp & dry, with a pale green colour. It is always drunk young, never more than a year old ... not that it's likely there would ever be surplus lying around, it's just that good !!



One variety of pintxos sure grabbed our attention. It was like a bridge .. leading to where we are not sure. Slices of tuna were sandwiched between 2 half gherkins and all fanning out from half a raw onion. We didn't try one, but it sure was a spectacle.



Some versions are crafted on slices of toasted bread, and don't actually have the spike.




Even Arzak serves pintxos with their appetizer. On our visit we had a delicious anchoa y fresca.



Upon our pintxos crawls, as well as enjoying litres of Txakoli, we also discovered a new drink while are at A Feugo Negro ... Kalimotxo which is a blend of Spanish Rioja red wine with coca-cola. Served over ice, it is very easy to down several of these with their cherry-cola similarities.



Ah, a culture that basis itself around eating and drinking ... this is what I am talking about !!

Macarons? I'm not too sure ....

We were very excited spotting a traditional little sweets shop while walking around Zaragoza. Kim spotted some Macarons (well, at least we thought they were) in the display window. We popped on in thinking a tray of these would be perfect snacks for our bus ride to San Sebastian. After I got in trouble for touching something in one of the displays, oooops, we get a tray with 8 of these delightfully colored looking sweet treats.



We don't even make it onto the bus before we unwrapped the beautiful little package. We are sitting out the front of Zaragoza bus station and dive on in ........................ to both of our surprise they are not at all macarons. They are soft chocolate centres encased in beautifully painted candy shells.



Kind of like a giant smartie. They were delicious, just not at all what we were expecting ....

Casa Pascualillo, Zaragoza .... our last night in Aragon region

The regional food of Aragon was present all over Zaragoza. It was our last night before heading deep into the Basque country, so we were after some traditional fare. We head out in search of Casa Pascualillo. We stop by the bar firstly ... as we are way to early to sit down and eat - it's only 8pm.



We get 2 glasses of white wine and the house specialty of fried young garlic shoots.



We can see the one large kitchen that runs the back length of both the bar and restaurant are shared. The chef's definitely getting ready for the evening's meal service, but not appearing rushed or stressed. A condensed menu is offered at the bar, so Miga's are soon on the cards. Miga's are a dish of breadcrumbs, humble yet oh-so-satisfying. Traditionally eaten at breakfast using leftover bread, they have now turned into a gourmet addition to menu's no matter what time of day. The crumbs are fried in olive oil, seasoned generously with salt with sliced of fried chorizo and a soft cooked egg. We expected the crumbs to be crunchy, but they are disappointingly soft and kind of boring ..... A fantastic idea, although in these circumstance at least, executed badly.



There's a small door at the rear of the bar, and right on 9pm it's opened up and people start spilling over from the bar. We make our way over. Once we are seated, again getting a servers attention seemed to be quite difficult. As soon as we get someone's attention, a bottle of red was ordered along with the evenings food. First up, Habitas saltedas con jamon y virtuas de foie de canard. Baby broad beans with jamon & foie gras. A nice light starter ......



For the main event, we cannot resist an Aragon classic - Paletilla de Ternasco asado con patatas, roast suckling lamb with roast potatoes. The lamb is covered in a crackling crust, tender juicy meat caged inside. Simply served with home style roast potatoes and a light sauce of the cooking juices.



A plate of Parillada de huerta, or mix char grilled vegetables, is the perfect accompaniment. Thick slices of eggplant, zucchini, potato, aparagus, peppers & onions are grilled with a splash of herb oil.



Aragon is quite famous for the peaches it produces, coming from the fertile lower valleys of the region. When we spot a dessert simply peaches, ice-cream & red wine, we can't resist.



Farewell Aragon ... see you next time around !!

Casa Pascualillo
Calle Libertad 5 - 7
50003 Zaragoza
T: 976 397 203

Los Victorinos

Los Victorinos is one of the most highly recommended tapas bars in Zaragoza. In the time it took to take a two minute walk around the block and back down the tiny lane way hiding this gem, waiting for it to open it opened and was half full with locals.



The heads of several bulls look down from the walls little brass plaques listing their names, fighters under each.



Every tapas looked delicious so we just picked the first four that were on the bar in front of us. These were whipped away and quickly heated before being presented for our appreciation.
Jamon with morels and foie is sweet and earthy.



Goats cheese slowly melted over more jamon with a sweet pepper relish.



Two types of cheese melted over pork crackling. Wtf ?? Seriously. Just too awesome.



A croquette? of mushrooms with foie.



After the success of our first choices we had to try another couple.
We return for another morel and foie combo.



As well as two types of porky goodness with a fried quails egg.



The whole bar was so much win we could have easily stayed the whole night through but there was so much of Zaragoza to see and such little time ...

Los Victorinos
Calle de José de la Hera, 6
Zaragoza

Tough job ....

Spotted at Zaragoza central markets, a super genki old Spanish dude just sitting on a little stool with boxes and boxes of little anchovies by his side. He was meticulously & methodically filleting these little guys. Such a small piece to work with, I'm certain he's probably been sitting there and doing that same process for most years of his life. A beautiful thing to stumble across - made each anchovy we ate through the rest of our travels in Spain taste that much better !!

Chocolateria La Fama, Zaragoza

Could this just be the perfect breakfast? Fried dough sprinkled with sugar dipped into thick, hot chocolate.



We wandered past La Fama on our first night in Zaragoza, and it was still full at 8pm ... So it seems churros and chocolate can be enjoyed anytime of day. We had our hearts set on wine & tapas though, so we return first thing the following morning. The little churerria is full to the brim, people buzzing in and out - a coffee sipped at the counter with a churro or two, or people lingering over mugs of hot chocolate and mountains of churros if they were lucky enough to get a perch by the bar.



Lucky we were that morning, getting the last available table in the window, right next to where all the magic was happening. 2 hot chocolates & a plate of churros are passed over the counter. Wow! The smell of rich chocolate and the glistening sugar on top of the fried dough sticks .... we dive straight in, dipping the crisp doughnut-like treat into the chocolate.



We savor each bite ... enjoying how decadent a breakfast like this is, but thinking why it should not be done every single morning?! Just as we see a giant wheel of the fatter porra style churro being piped into the hot oil. It's coiled into a giant fried snail of dough, and it lifted out with such care. We catch the eye of the lady behind the counter and she must see the excitement in our eyes ...



She snips off a few pieces of porra, dusts them with sugar, and hands them to us. She warns us they will be very very hot, and we know they are going to be very very good. The temptation is too much, and I figure the chocolate is now cooling down, so dip the porra in and, mmmmm The porra still has a crisp outer shell, but is lighter and fluffy on the inside.



If only we could start every day like this, the world would be a much happier place.



Chocolateria La Fama
Prudencio 25
Zaragoza, Spain 50003

La Cueva en Aragon and the single tapa ...

I've started to write and deleted this post a dozen times. Each time I couldn't express how amazed with La Cueva en Aragon. So here it is simple and to the point just like La Cueva. Tiny bar, one chef, one tapa. A hot plate full of grilled champigons, splashed with a garlicky herb oil. One order gets you four mushrooms and a single baby shrimp skewered a top slice of fresh baguette to catch the juices and oil. If you want something else you can have a beer with your order. The freshest products cooked simply are always a winner with us. We weren't the only one's who thought so, understandably La Cueva was packed to the doors every night and after the first night we were there every night as well.







The aftermath of a busy night.


La Cueva en Aragon
Calle Libertad, 16
Zaragoza, Spain 50003