Hidalgo 56, San Sebastian

We stumbled across this picture of blood sausage volcano from Kathryn Yu's flickr photo-stream when doing some research on pintxos bars in San Sebastian.

The thought of blood sausage crumbs with egg & apple sauce indeed made the idea of a walk over to the other side of San Sebastian at sun down well worth it ... We set out with our map and headed for the Gros area.

We spot the yellow awning, the place is packed! We manage to slide up to the end of the counter and find a miniscule place for us both to perch.



Blood sausage volcano is ordered along with our 2 glasses of txakoli. The blood sausage volcano is a mound of fried blood sausage mince, with loads of black pepper and other spices giving it a nice kick. There is a raw egg yolk nestled in the top, it's sprinkled with Spanish flake salt and has a little sweet & tart apple puree on the side.



We also order a plate of beef carpaccio. The beef slices are thin & delicate, topped with shaved parmesan, baby capers, rocket flake salt, cracked pepper & virgin olive oil.



A perfect way to kick the evening off, now onto the next pintxos bar ....

Hidalgo 56
Paseo colón 15
Gros, San Sebastian
T: 943279654

Vatican City & stopping for Lunch

The one tour we booked while in Rome was to visit the Vatican City, and we were very glad we did. We were up bright and early, and assembled about 8:30. After we were all stamped we headed on over ... the crowds at this time of the morning to walk in were already in their thousands, winding around and around the streets. We got to walk straight on in.



It was a very informative and fascinating morning. Our guide was lovely, and very knowledgeable as we walked throughout the Vatican. Our favorite part was definitely the Geography or Map room.



By about 1pm, the place was getting to packed to even move, and when the tour ended we decided to head off ... we were hungry, anyways. We headed off in search of Del Frate, which was one of our dining picks for the surrounding area. 5 minutes on foot and we spot it, it's pretty packed with businessmen and lunching ladies.



Tartara di tonno alla Catalana is our first dish we select from Crudi. Chunks of tuna are diced along with plump tomatoes and boiled potatoes that are all dressed with a pungent olive oil, salt, pepper & lemon juice. So simple, but each ingredient is so fresh.



Carpaccio di Manzo, or beef carpaccio is next to arrive. Thin slices of beef that are blanketed over a mound of rocket leaves, that has chunks of parmesan and roasted walnuts scattered on top and is generously dressed with lemon and olive oil.



From the Primi Piatti section we cannot resist the Risotto radicchio, gorgonzola e noci. The risotto is a golden brown with specks of the red radicchio throughout. Each grain is plump and coated in a walnut like paste that is the delightful sauce, with a robust punch from the gorgonzola. A beautiful combination of flavors ...



I Secondi course is Spezzato di Vitello alla Genovese. This is a light veal stew from Genovese. Chunks of tender veal sit in a mild tomato & basil sauce. This is accompanied by a side dish of Patate al forno, crisp slices of potato that are roasted with rosemary and salt.




Now with content bellies, we were ready to brave the crowds again ...

Cheese to the power of four

Where should we go for dinner tonight?? It's a tough question at the best of times let alone when we're in Rome for the first time. But choices were made a little easier with the discovery of Obika, a mozzarella bar. How could we not go? We find the place easily enough and are quickly given a seat, drinks and bread in that order. I get the classic negroni (still kicking ourselves for not going to it's spiritual home in Florence when we were there) and Kat a Garibaldi; campari and blood orange, both excellent.



The bread arrived in a too cute little wicker basket with oil vinegar and salt in a similar basket.



Now what we were here for....the cheese. They had four different types of DOP mozzarella on the menu Paestum (delicate),Pontina (stronger), Affumicata (smoked and very strong) and Stracciatella di Burrata (sweet and creamy , then there was a dozen different accompaniments you could have with each cheese. Knowing we couldn't leave one behind we ordered one of each debating fo a long time over which accompaniment to have with which cheese. There was just so much deliciousness. in the end this was our mix and match combo;
With the paestum we got a light basil pesto, fresh cherry tomatos and spinach.
The flavor of the cheese was light,sweet and creamy, tearing easily into fat pieces.



The Pontina we matched up with Anchovies from Cetara, near Amalfi and sundried Tomatoes the stronger flavored cheese going well with the salty anchovies and intense tomatoes.



The smoked mozzarella was a lot firmer in texture with it's the smoke was not as overpowering as we thought it might have been and it went well with the eggplant and tomato caponata we had chosen.



The last cheese to arrive was for me the best of four amazing cheese the burrata. Burrata is made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture. The name "burrata" means "buttered" in Italian. So soft it arrived in aglass bowl already floating in it's own juices when we picked at it with our fork it seperated into unctious strands so rich and creamy.
With the peppery rocket and beef carpaccio it was an amazing experience.







Sitting outside on the Roman cobblestone in the mild autumn evening it was just spectacular.

Now off to find a vintage sweet to finish off with.

OBIKA' ROMA PREFETTI
Piazza di Firenze - corner Via dei Prefetti
00186 - Roma

Tel.: +39 06 6832630
Email: roma@obika.it

Open everyday from 10 am till midnight.
From 7.30 pm Aperitivo Obikà with little mozzarella "bocconcini" and tastings