We had the usual tour of the town with a tour guide to get the rich history of the place. We stopped for a beer in a small bar near the cathedral after going to the cathedral and little streets. When I looked in my watch, it was 8:00 pm. We stopped in this place called "A42". We ordered a variety of tapas. We had Caldo Gallego which is in Galician broth made from pork and beans. Two cheeses arrived on our table. Tetilla de Monja (remember this from my Eating Madrid article ) and San Simon a medium cheese that is very reminiscent of coffee and chocolate. Very enticing! We had pulpo or octopus with a simple paprika garlic and olive oil infusion with a sparkling of sea salt for taste and texture. We had clams or almejas with saffron garlic oil, chorizo simmered in white wine, Gulas which is mock angulas with roasted garlic and olive oil. The waiter suggested that tapas should be served with albariño, a white wine from the Galician region. The tapas in this restaurant were standard fare and the Albariño wine too . It was sappy and had a kamias like flavor which to me is as not appealing at all. I knew I should’ve ordered a Torres Gran Viña Sol or better yet a Torres Mas la Plana instead of the Albariño that we drank (I’d rather not mention the brand). Well, the bad start needs to be covered up by a good supper. And so we entered this restaurant called " A Barrola". It was inviting to come in because of the big Merluza and other fresh seafood displayed in its showcase outside. I saw perceves in the menu and I was suddenly thrilled. The perceves (goosebar knuckles) was simply boiled in salt water from the sea. It looks really ugly but they taste so good, it had the texture of baby squid and tasted like the sea. We also had the following: Navajas ala Plancha- razor clams cooked on a flat grill, drizzled with olive oil and parsley, Merluza con Salsa Verde – Hake stewed with assorted seafood, Merluza con Salsa Chipirones – pan fried merluza with squid stewed in ink,Rape Galician style – monkfish (meat in like a lobster a seabass) with pepper, garlic and olive oil, Rape con Sidra – monkfish (meat is like a cross of lobster and seabass) stewed in veloute with seafood. For dessert, we had Helado con turon – turon flavoured ice cream. I loved it! I also had 2 more desserts. A dense cheesecake with hints cinnamon and anise, and tarta de queso con salsa de crujo – a cheesecake topped with grappa gelatine. Out of this world!
The next day, I was up at five am because we were taking the train to Burgos. Breakfast at the Paradores that we stayed in was made for kings. Four kinds of chorizo, jamon Serrano, cheese platter, fresh fruits, pears soaked in cava, eggs, varieties of empanada, variety of pastries and all the fruit juice that you want and to top it all up cava and red wine was available that early so I indulged myself in a full glass of cava with my breakfast. Now, that’s the way to start the day.
It was time for Burgos, according to people from this place this is where tapas was popularized. I guess a lot of the towns and provinces of Spain take a claim on the origin of tapas. We were lucky to be brought around by Pablo, the friend of Tito Juan from Burgos who brought us around so that he could bring us to the very good places where the locals of Burgos ate. Our first meal was in this rustic place called Casa Ojeda. From outside, I already saw that they had a wood fired oven which made me more excited. Then Pablo, told me that one of the specialties of this place was their wood fired oven milk fed lamb cooked in garlic, olive oil and its own dripping in a terra cotta pan. Mmmm, Yum! I asked the Chef if he could take a peep in his oven. Inside were about 20 lamb legs braising slowly. For appetizer, we had Morcillas de Burgos- it had a pronounced onion flavor, subtle spicyness and the filling had rice. It was plated with basil garlic infused oil and queso de burgos. Queso de Burgos is a white gummy cheese that’s tasteless. We had a soup with Ibeas. A legume that is unique to Burgos. Of course the milk fed lamb was for the main course. We ate the meat lamb with a Red from Rioja called Bodegas Franco Española. The wine was very complex with hints of vanilla, chocolate and an upfront flavor of leather. I loved it! The leg was so tender the meat almost fell off the bones. For dessert, had Helado con leche – vanilla ice cream with hints of cinnamon and lemon rind.
The next day lunch was at Cara Pancho along San Lorenzo which is supposedly the Tapas bar street of Burgos. As you enter, you will see a heated showcase with a lot of the tapas on display. Tapas heaven! These were the tapas that we ate.: Cojonudas (naked balls) - Melba toast topped with chorizo, sunny side up quail egg and roasted bell pepper, Es Pimiento Relleno de carne - A creamy croquette of roasted pimiento piquillo with sautéed ground beef, Mejillones con Tigre - deep fried breaded mussels on a half shell with béchamel, Morcillas de Burgos – blood sausage with rice, Champignones Rellenos – button mushrooms stuffed with Jamon Serrano, garlic and chopped duxelle of mushrooms cooked ala plancha, Fresh Anchoas (Anchovies) with green olives and olive oil, Soldaritos (also means little soldiers) - Saffron mashed potatoes with bacalao, formed into thick fingers and deep fried. To end, we had bombomikos which are pralines stuffed with vanilla ice cream which I already made myself when I got back.
The Galician region namely Santiago de Compostella and Burgos are great gastronomic destinations when one wants to have a gastronomic tour of this region just don’t get lured by ordering an Albariño with your tapas.
Next stop, Eating Barcelona
