Pintxos, Pintxos, and More Pintxos
Pintxos Bar
Sorry folks, the tale of our San Sebastian adventure is long overdue. It’s been a week since we’ve left “Pays Basque” (Basque country), but it feels like yesterday.
San Sebastian is a short 45 minute drive from Biarritz, through the Basque countryside. The border between France and Spain should feel meaningless as you traverse the Basque territory, but it meant a lot to us. Our first stop in Spain was at a Total gas station (a different station will later play a critical role in our honeymoon adventures).
Es Nada (It's Nothing)
Adam’s entire week was made when he successfully conversed with the woman behind the counter in semi-broken Spanish, making him feel like an international diplomat. The relief of switching from French to Spanish, in language and culture, would continue to be a theme for this part of the trip.
We found our hotel, the beautiful Astoria 7, where each room is dedicated to a classic film artist (we had the Lauren Bacall room), and where everything else in the hotel looks like it came from the future. The combination of classic art with modern technology was just about right for Sophia and Adam. However, we had no time to read the informative mural about Lauren Bacall above our bed (which was simultaneously classy and a little creepy) because we were off to sample the pintxos in the old town.
Brandada (i.e. whipped fish)
And sample we did. Pintxos are the Basque version of Spanish Tapas. The Basque put a tremendous amount of love and care into their food, and the little bite-sized pintxos seem to receive the most concentrated attention of all of their food (from both the chefs and consumers). Walking into a pintxos bar is a unique experience. Most pintxos bars are literally covered with meats, cheeses, little sandwiches, seafood skewers, pastries, and more. You ask for a plate and then it is mostly self-serve from there. It’s difficult to describe, so we took about a million pictures which you can see here.
It should be noted that another fascinating aspect of pintxos is the accounting system. There doesn’t appear to be any paper trails, and they don’t have you pay until you are done eating and drinking. The bartenders are extremely skilled (much like the cooks at Top Dog in Berkeley) at tracking the eating and drinking of everyone in the bar at once (sometimes a few patrons, sometimes 50 or more). At the end, they may occasionally ask you for some help recalling all of your choices, clearly relying on an honor system. This level of trust and honesty really adds to the experience, making the patron feel welcome from the minute they walk in to enjoy these culinary treats. What an experience!
"Ros Bif"
We had many mouth-watering pintxos while in San Sebastian, but the most memorable pintxos were those at Fuego Negro. Fuego Negro is unlike other pintxos bars in old town as it is not a self-serve establishment and represents a modern twist on the traditional pintxos creations. The pintxos are made to order, which means they are extra fresh and extra-delicious. Some of the most memorable pintxos we had include brandada (whipped cod with red and green pesto), “shaking duck” salad, roast “bif” on a cracker, and probably our (or at least Sophia’s) most favorite pintxo of the trip-the pintxo that the bartender, when asked what it was, said “oh, it’s nothing “– jamon iberca on a piece of toasted bread, with a sundried tomato and caramelized cheese (yes, I said caramelized cheese). Wawawa weee waaaa (we watched Borat a few days ago and now can’t stop talking like him, it’s like 2006 all over again) my mouth is watering.
Graveyard
One word to the wise about eating in San Sebastian- as Sophia tried to warn Adam, sampling the pintxos that are out on the bar during the Spanish Pintxos Bar Siesta (4pm to 8pm) is definitely not worth your 6 euro. Also, turns out trying to do anything during the regular siesta (1pm to 4pm) is completely impossible. Another word to the wise, if you need to use the public restrooms make sure you do so before 1pm.
But don’t worry- we did more than just eat in San Sebastian. In addition to our amazing feat of constantly keeping our belly’s full of tapas we also traversed both mountains on either side of the bay in San Sebastian. From one peak, we checked out the castle and jesus statute, and discovered a very creepy cemetery. From the other peak, which oddly enough also contained an amusement park, we took in amazing views of the bay, the city, and the surrounding countryside, and watched the little kids ride around on the forlorn looking burros. Walking along the beach in San Sebastian we also got an eye-full of Spanish boobs. No pictures- sorry guys.
La Concha Beach
On day two of our San Sebastian excursion we took a little break from our honeymoon and met up with Erin Reeser and her friend Billy, who just happened to be in San Sebastian at the same time as we were. With our numbers now doubled, we headed to Fuego Negro where unfortunately Billy and Erin were completely turned off of fish when they ordered a brandada (see above) thinking that it was a creamy dessert. You can only imagine the unpleasant surprise of expecting to fill your mouth with sweet whipped cream and instead receiving a mouthful of whipped fish. Whoops. With fish off the table for them now, we head over to La Viña to satisfy their sweet tooth with scrumptious cheesecake and Txakoli, a sparking white wine that is poured into the glass from several feet up. I don’t think I have to mention that the Txakoli drinking did not stop there . . .
When you combine the food, the beautiful beach, and the laidback Spanish culture, we both agree that San Sebastian is one of the most enchanting and unique cities in the world.
View of La Concha Bay
You are making me hungry as I eat my meatless meatballs!
San Sebastian has to be one of the gems in our travels also, and Adam, I’m glad you turned us on to it, and now, Sophia!
YES!!
Fantastic! I’ll have one of everything from the restaurant. You two look so happy!
Your blog, and your trip continue to be fantastic. I agree with Wendy that San Sebastian need to be on our agenda.