Category Archives: gastronomy

an unexpected feast

19 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas bars

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So there I was yesterday morning, settling in for a morning of writing with plans to take my WALK after lunch, when I got a message from my friend Gabriella (AKA Shawn of the North) that she and some friends were coming to town. That day. For lunch. In fact, she was texting me from the runway at Bilbao airport and wanted to know if I could recommend somewhere nice where they could eat before heading to Jerez. Tricky as they would be arriving when most (good) bars and restaurants close for the afternoon, and on top of that it was a Monday, but I knew La Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo would be the perfect choice. And it was.

I was also invited to join them! Gabriella’s friends were a group of six, winemakers and tour operators from Rioja, so we hit it off right away. We opted for Lo Que Diga Ramón (What Ramón Says), a set menu that Ramón makes up as he goes along, and I paired our dishes with different sherry wines, giving the group a bit of sherry education before they hit Jerez. I also recommended that they eat at Mantúa while there, so they will be doing that tonight.

Needless to say I didn’t get any more work done that day. Nor did I take my walk. By the time we said our goodbyes (7-ish?) I knew I had a serious date with my comfy chair, Netflix and the cats. What a great day though!  🙂

Ramón & Carmen with son Ignacio

sherry pairing dinner at palo cortao

08 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by in gastronomy, sevilla, sherry, wine

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My life does not suck. This is International Sherry Week and one of my favourite spots in Sevilla, Palo Cortao, had organised a special 6-course sherry pairing dinner to be hosted by Sherry Ambassador Pepe Ferrer. And they invited me to join them! Yay!

As expected the food and wine pairings were spectacular. You can see what we had below. Of course every week is Sherry Week at Palo Cortao. Then have a wonderful wine list with lots of them available by the glass. If you’re in Sevilla you really should stop in.

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de perdidos al río

05 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, tapas, wine

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So I got this invitation to a wine salon being hosted at Taberna Alabardero and thought I’d pop over to see which bodegas were showing there. Then I found out that Esteban and Jota were also on their way and… well… I should have known it was not going to end with me trying a few wines and then going to do my 10,000 step walk.

Jota, Jorge, Esteban, me!, Domingo

I actually don’t like going to these events alone, and so it was great to be following Esteban around, especially as he knows a lot about wines and also knows many of the producers. Then we bumped into a couple other of his friends, Domingo and Jorge, and somehow became a group of five moving from table to table.

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back to madrid!

28 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by in andalucia, friends, gastronomy, getaways, madrid

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So while I was away in Galicia I got an invitation to the Spanish book launch of my friend José Pizarro’s Andalucía, which is being held in Madrid on October 30th. You may recall I went to London in May for a event at the Spanish Embassy that included celebrating José’s 25 years as a chef and was also the launch for the English version of this book. But you know, I want to be there to support José and so I booked my train to Madrid and a hotel for a couple of nights, even though I can’t exactly afford to travel right now.

And THEN something amazing happened. Out of the blue I was asked by Decanter Magazine to write another city break travel piece for them… on Madrid! This is my third commission from Decanter in a year, and I am thrilled about that. But also, it will end up paying for my trip and I can use my time there to do research for the article. How perfect is that?  🙂