La pomme espagnole

Last weekend, I decided that I could no longer handle Madrid’s loudness, heat, and general bigcity feel. I needed to get out. So I decided to head up to northern Spain’s most beautiful coastal town. Luckily for me San Sebastián, or Donostia in Basque language, is not only a gorgeous beach town but is also famous for its amazing food. I definitely had some very high expectations for this trip, all of which were fulfilled. My guide book informed me that San Sebastián had more Michelin stars than Paris, and while there is no way I could afford a dinner at Martín Berasategui’s 3-star restaurant, I was looking forward to some delicious, yet affordable, meals in this beautiful coastal town.

Our first night did not disappoint. We found this cute little restaurant (unfortunately I forget its name) which seemed to have a great menú for a great price. As a starter I chose a terrine de foie gras with goat cheese and some fruity sauce. It was fantastic. I’m not entirely sure why, but there was foie gras EVERYWHERE in San Sebastián. This alone made me insanely happy. As some of you might know, foie gras is on my list of favorite foods, and has been since I was about eight years old.

I loved how foie gras was everywhere in San Sebastián!

My friend ordered Huevos revueltos con jamón y esparragos. This is a very typical Spanish dish. While we North Americans tend to associate eggs with breakfast, here in Spain it is a very common lunch or dinner dish. They come in all forms (omelet, fried, scrambled, etc) and are often mixed with potatoes or some other vegetable. I will try to go further on this subject in another blog entry, because there is a lot to write about Spanish eggs! These eggs in particular were scrambled with jamón ibérico and asparagus, wrapped in a crunchy crouton. YUM!

Just look at that amazing presentation!

My foie was followed by a Zarzuela de Pescado. This was basically a variety of fish cooked in a heavenly sauce. I hate myself a little for not asking what kind of fish was included, especially since one of the little fillets was the best fish I have had in a long time, and I have no clue as to what it was. It was soft and white, and melted in my mouth releasing an explosion of flavour. I know “explosion of flavour” sounds a bit ridiculous, but I assure you that is the only way to describe it. At first it has a very normal fish flavour, but as it melts in your mouth it releases a kind of deliciousness that I just can’t express in writing.

Can anyone tell what kind of fish this was?

To finish off this delicious meal, I had porcion de chocolate con moras which translates to portion of chocolate with blackberries. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this “portion” of chocolate, but I figured anything with the word chocolate would but great. Even after having eaten it, i’m not quite sure how to describe it. It was like a creamy, thick square of chocolate paté. Chocolate paté must sound strange, but I don’t know how else to explain it. And it was just so yummy that I forgot to take a picture of it! Sorry!

I still have to tell you about two more San Sebastián meals, one of which consisted of the city’s famous pintxos. But I will have to leave that for another blog entry. Hopefully very soon