Big City, Little Kitchen

There are many things to love about Basque country:  gorgeous beaches, cream-filled pastries, warm days and cool nights, men in berets.  But my favorite thing, I think, is the ubiquitous pintxo (think of it as Basque tapas, held on a slice of bread with a toothpick).  You can build a meal out of these bite-sized snacks, hopping from bar to bar, or you can use them as a bridge between late-afternoon cocktails and a proper dinner, to which you should not sit down until 10 pm at the earliest. 

In early September, I spent a week in Spain, and tried pintxos in Barcelona and in San Sebastian (and so now consider myself a kind of expert).  Typically, you can walk into a pintxos bar, ask for a plate, and load it up with any of the many treats spread out along the bar, as was the case with Euskal Etxea (pictured), in the Barri Gotic in Barcelona.  Hang onto those toothpicks–the bartender counts them up to charge you for the total eaten.  To stay true to the Basque theme, you should accompany the snacks with a Basque  beverage, such a sidra, an alcoholic cider drink, or txakokis, which is a sparkling white wine.  That said, cava is never a bad idea.

However, in certain places, you should point to what you want, and the staff will prepare it for you (I learned this the hard way, via a sea-urchin specimen, at the must-visit Alona Berri in San Sebastian).  Astelena, also in San Sebastian, was my favorite pintxos bar, and besides having a wealth of ready-to-eat bites, also specializes in dishes ”a la plancha,” including seared foie gras, which they serve on a slab, accessorized with a tiny baked apple.

A major component of many pintxos is the anchovy; my favorite, and one of the most common, is a toothpick spearing a stack of tiny green peppers (pickled?  they were very tangy), an anchovy, and an olive.  Perfectly salty and sour.

A word to the wise:  if you plan to spend a few days in Basque country, save the pintxos bars for the weeknights.  It was my experience that, on the weekends, the beach towns fill up with backpackers and other weekend-trippers, and the bars become overwhelmingly packed.  There is also amazing haute-cuisine-level eating in the area, which would be a more civilized choice for weekend evenings. 

Euskal Extea – Placeta Montcada 1-3, Barcelona

Alona Berri – Bermingham 24, San Sebastian

Bar Astelena – Calle de Inigo, San Sebastian