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Tag Archives: cordoba

bodega san basilio

06 Wednesday Jul 2022

Posted by azahar in andalucia, getaways, tapas, travel, trips

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bodega san basilio, cordoba

holy trinity

You really can’t go to Córdoba and not order their tapas holy trinity of salmorejo, berenjenas fritas and flamenquín. These come prepared in different ways throughout the city but I don’t think I’ve ever had them better than at Bodega San Basilio. Which was also my BIG DISCOVERY during my Córdoba getaway last week. Tucked away in a quiet barrio just past the Alcázar this may well be my new favourite traditional tapas bar in the city (although it’s far from new itself). I fell in love with this family-run tiny blue and white tiled bar as soon as I walked in, and the fabulous food and friendly service clinched the deal. I also loved that they don’t douse their fried aubergines in that awful cane molasses, which is the way they are often served these days. In fact, when I asked if they could put the miel de caña on the side the barman said… you want that stuff?? Hahaha. So I said NO and instead I enjoyed dipping them in my salmorejo, as the cordobés tapas gods intended. The family has a second place around the corner – Mesón San Basilio – which has a beautiful central patio as a dining room. If I lived in Córdoba I would be here all the time.

postcard from córdoba

30 Thursday Jun 2022

Posted by azahar in andalucia, getaways, travel, trips

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Andalucia, cordoba, cordoba getaway

cordoba 2022 (1)

It was fast but fun. And bloody HOT. I don’t know why Córdoba always feels hotter than Sevilla, even when the temperature is the same. But mission more or less accomplished in terms of the research for my next Decanter article. Here are some street scenes and also a couple of pics of the peculiar hotel room with see-through bathroom walls and no closet, but to be honest, for a budget hotel directly across from the Mezquita it was perfect. You can see the food pics on my Instagram… @SevillaTapas. Continue reading →

toro albalá

27 Friday May 2022

Posted by azahar in andalucia, travel, trips, wine, work

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cordoba, montilla moriles, toro albala, wine

toro albala

Up early today to catch the train to Córdoba as I’ve been invited to the 100th anniversary celebrations at Bodega Toro Albalá. I have to go and pack now.  More later!

noor by paco morales

07 Monday Feb 2022

Posted by azahar in andalucia, culture, food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, michelin star, restaurants

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cordoba, cordoba getaway, noor, paco morales chef, restaurant

This truly was a dream come true. I mentioned last week that my friends Xavier and Nina were coming to town with their friends Wade and Ginny, and that Xavier had seen my interview in Bon Viveur where they asked which one restaurant I was dying to go to… and my answer was NOOR! So as the gang had already planned to go there Xavier very generously invited me to go with them.

NOOR, which means “light” in Arabic, was opened in 2016 by Cordobés chef Paco Morales. His concept is all about tasting the history of al-Andaluz (the moorish name for Andalucía) and for his first season he began in the 10th century, using ingredients that were available to the people of that time. With the help of documentarians, historians, archaeologists and designers, Paco has told the culinary story of the times with skill and imagination, which has earned him two well-deserved michelin stars. Each season he has moved up a century (with a retrospective in year 4) and so, for this visit, we found ourselves in the late 16th century. And for the first time at NOOR new world comestibles have been introduced into the menu.

I won’t say too much about what happens there because there are some lovely surprises, but the space is simply gorgeous, all light and open and elegantly minimalist. The tables all have a clear view of the open kitchen and the service is beautifully choreographed without being pretentious or stuffy. Maître/Sommelier Pilar Vargas keeps everything running smoothly and is charming and helpful, as are all the staff.

The food. I’m not going to go into detail here because it would take all day. So much detail, so much care, so much going on. And so just go have a look at the photos and, yes, they were all as delicious as they look. Not a wrong step, though I will say that a couple of personal favourites were the cured meat starter with pickled onion and albaqdunis, the almond curd with tuna, and the grilled sea bass. But honestly, I loved every bite.

The wines. In the end we did the wine pairing and omg it was fabulous. While there was an emphasis on Montilla Moriles (of course) Pilar also surprised us with some international choices and then a special 2014 Moscatel de Alejandria by Pérez Barquero made exclusively for NOOR and served from a gorgeous green damajuana.

There are three menus available. Xavier chose the middle one “rihla” with the wine pairing option, but you could also order a bottle of wine and have Pilar “fill in” with a couple of special tastes during the menu tasting.

At the end of our meal we huddled together with Paco for a group photo and asked him what he was planning for the upcoming season. He made a show of asking one of the team, Josef, to come over so he could translate Paco’s answer to our group into English… and the answer was IT’S A SURPRISE. Honestly, if you can, go. Pics below…

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córdoba getaway 2022

04 Friday Feb 2022

Posted by azahar in andalucia, getaways, travel, trips

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cordoba, cordoba getaway

cordoba 2022 (1)

So the plan was that we would all meet up in Córdoba, poke around a bit, and then head for lunch at NOOR. After a walk to the centre from the train station we made the obligatory stop at Bar Santos for a slice of their famous monster tortilla, then spent some time in the Mezquita. After that we split up because I wanted to see Plaza Corredura, which was more or less on the way to the restaurant. And some 15,000 steps later I was at NOOR. More on that later, but for now here are a few shots of Córdoba.

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