Tag Archives: tapas

birthday trip

09 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in andalucia, birthdays, food & drink, friends, getaways, spain, trips

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birthday tripThis was totally a birthday to remember. A couple of weeks ago my dear friend Eduardo said he wanted to take me on a mystery birthday trip (yay!). Then I found out my new pal Carl would be in town and so he came along with us. Having spent my “unbirthday” with Carl the day before I wasn’t feeling too chipper, and the weather wasn’t helping (all grey and drizzly), but I ADORE day trips so I was quite happy to seet off to parts unknown.

jabugoFirst stop was Jabugo, THE home of jamón Ibérico de bellota. Once there I was hoping I’d actually be visiting the dehesa and see the piggies in person (bucket list item), but the closest I got was that sculpture up there. Still, we had a wonderful and very informative visit to the 5 Jotas bodega, finishing up with a glass of fino and a fab snack of jamón. On the way back to the car we stopped at a little shop to pick up some jamón to take home and then it was off to our next mystery stop.

meson arrierosWe arrived at Linares de la Sierra (population 300) via a narrow winding road with spectacular views, which were occasionally and dramatically cut off by sudden fog. Once there we made our way to Mesón Arrieros for lunch. To call this place a hidden gem is an understatement. You are NEVER just going to happen upon this place, you will always make a specific effort to do so. And it will always be worth the effort. We were welcomed by biz (and life) partners, chef Luismi and front of house wiz Adela. Once seated Adela suggested we start with a manzanilla en rama from Barbadillo… she couldn’t have been more spot on. What a refreshing and delicious way to start a meal. We agreed to just let Adela bring us WHATEVER… and it was amazing. Starting with probably my favourite dish of the day, marinated pork liver dressed with onions and cilantro oil. This was followed by presa Ibérica carpaccio, with foie… grilled boletus mushrooms with scrambled eggs, garlic oil and cilantro… melted goat cheese on country bread, topped with a drizzle of local honey and a sprinkling of same herbs the goats eat… a comforting tomato soup with cumin, mint, oregano and a dollop of fig jam… presa Ibérico burger with peach jam… and a birthday cheesecake! After all this it was time for a walk.

linares de la sierraLuckily the misty drizzle had subsided by then, and we wandered over to the Plaza de le Fuente (fountain square) where the village women still go to wash clothes in the public fountain. Around the fountain you can see washboard edging in stone. We even saw a pair of jeans that had been left, and some soap suds floating on the surface. A village pup wisely chose to use a different nearby fountain to drink from. After that we made our climb back up, passing through the Plaza de Toros. Which is really just a normal square all year round, but during the local Feria sand is put down and barriers are put up. The stone burladeros (where you can hide from a charging bull) are there year round though. Edu and Carl posed behind one and ended up looking like a human version of whack-a-mole. We got back to the car just as the sun was setting and made our way home. But of course there had to be a penúltima (or two)…

penultimasLa Penúltima. That “next to last one” that can go on for as long as you can manage. In this case we ended up back in Sevilla at one of my favourite spots, La Azotea in barrio Santa Cruz. I love all the Azotea locations, but this one has been dubbed The Office because it’s open all day and I often have meetings there. But this time it was *just* for a penúltima. We started off with a bottle of lovely cava, with a snack of crispy tempura prawns with kimchi sauce. Then we were asked if we were in a hurry as Juan and Jeanine (the owners, and also my friends) wanted to invite us to a second bottle of cava! Well, how could we refuse? At this point Carl did his impersonation of a dodgy jamón seller and we knew it was time to head home. So my two gentlemen friends escorted me back to my neighbourhood, where we oh-so-wisely decided to have yet another penúltima at La Bodega Alfalfa, specifically so Carl could try their version of marinated pork liver with cilantro. It all gets a bit fuzzy after that. After saying our farewells the boys went off in search of further trouble, and I came home to my cosy bed and my cats.

Thank you Edu and Carl for a fabulous birthday!

ps… click on the collages to embiggen

turning japanese…

28 Monday Dec 2015

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, sherry

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japanese lunch (3)chef Kosei Takakura

…at least for a day. One of the things I miss living in Sevilla is that there is very little good international food here, especially Asian food. Sure, there’s a “sushi bar” on practically every corner these days, but you can imagine what they’re like…

So when my friend Tómoko said she was coming to Sevilla with other friends from Jerez to have lunch at a Japanese restaurant run by a chef she personally knows,  I reckoned it would be the real deal. And it was.

japanese lunch (1)Tómoko preparing our shabu-shabu

We had a wonderful selection of sushi, sashimi, shabu-shabu and other things I can’t remember the names of. All delicious. But what made it extra special for me was that sauces such as wasabi, ponzu and yuzu-koshou were all made from scratch by chef Kosei, and they were outstanding. Unfortunately, this delightful discovery will soon be no more as Kosei is off soon to try his luck in Málaga. But hey, I can always catch up with him there.

japanese lunch (2)pringá for dessert!

After lunch Tómoko and I decided that the rest of the gang couldn’t leave Sevilla without trying Bodeguita Romero’s award-winning pringá montadito, so we popped across the street and shared pringás with some lovely sherries for our “dessert”. It was a great afternoon and I’m happy that Tómoko is spending a few days here with me in Sevilla. I’m sure I’ll be posting more of our adventures here during the week.

a happy ending

22 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by in christmas, sevilla, tapas

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Pedro and Alejandro Romero

You may remember when I was at the Foodie Hub Awards in Marbella last summer and was thrilled that my choice for Essential Traditional Tapa – the amazing pringá montadito at Bodeguita Romero – took home one of the awards. Well, you should have seen Pedro Romero’s face light up when he saw it – it was like a million suns came out.

Then a few days later I was in the bar and didn’t see the award. When I mentioned it to Pedro he said it was in the office (across the street) because they’d been taking some more photos of it. But a few days later I also didn’t see it, in fact, I hadn’t seen it since the day I brought it over. And I’m at Bodeguita Romero all the time! Either with tapas tours, or just for a pringá.

Anyhow, during another visit a couple of months later Pedro came over to me and asked if he could speak to me in private. And with a very serious look on his face he led me to their office. And then he spilled the beans.

What had happened was that – on the very day I’d taken over the award to them – just after I’d left the bar, Pedro had proudly handed it to his wife Angeles so she could admire it… and it slipped out of her hands (she’d been working with a sprained wrist, so her grip wasn’t as strong as usual). It fell to the floor and, well, totally shattered.

It took all that time for Pedro to come up with the courage to tell me that their precious award had been shattered on the same day they’d received it, and then Angeles came in and showed me her wrist (still in a bandage), saying she hadn’t meant to drop it. And then both Angeles and Pedro asked if it might be possible to have another one sent to them, because all they had to show for it now was the one Instagram photo I’d sent them (which they actually printed and framed!).

Honestly, I was almost in tears when Angeles showed me her bandaged wrist and then Pedro held out the broken award, saying they’d tried to fix it but it was sadly beyond repair (understatment! it was all in shardy bits, but he still hadn’t thrown it away). So I got in touch with the gang at Foodie Hub and got a swift reply – no problem at all with ordering a new trophy for the Romeros, but as it would be a special order it might take some time. I told Alejandro Romero the good news and he said not to say anything to his parents because he wanted it to be a surprise.

By happy chance the award arrived while I was in Málaga – just in time for Christmas! And as you can see by the smiles of those two happy chaps up there (Pedro and Alejandro Romero) it was indeed a special “Christmas gift” to receive. As for Angeles, she is even more camera shy than I am and refused to be in the photo. But she gave me a BIG hug and promised not to pick up the trophy again (haha!). Serious feel good moment. A million thanks to Foodie Hub for this lovely and very generous effort. Oh, and here is THE pringá montadito. You know you want one…

pringa