Hola from San Sebastian, or as the Basque call it, Donostia. I’m down to my final weeks in Spain before I make the long trek back to the US and I had to make one more small adventure to the beautiful beach town that everyone talks about. For 14 Euros and an hour bus ride, I made it to the charming beach town right on the French border.
Before this trip, I only knew San Sebastian was known for its surfing and the beaches in the summer being filled with tourists, but I was excited to learn that the town is known as the food capital of Europe. The Old Town is filled with bars that serve pintxos, which are a Basque staple, similar to tapas, but smaller and made to be eaten in one or two bites. Now, I’ve had my fair share of pintxos throughout my time living in the Basque country, but in San Sebastian, all of the bars are known for very specific ones that they are the best of the best in serving, so I made my list and for twenty-four hours bar hopped my way through the city tasting every pintxo known to man and trying what the locals recommended was the best. And while the dishes may look small, after going to four different bars, eating their signature pintxo, and then being served Txakoli (a traditional Basque wine), Sangria, or Beer you’re instantly put into a food coma… I’m not complaining though, I did nothing but drink and eat all day and got lost in the beautiful cobblestone streets in between the different bars.
My favorite part about trying all the food was the atmosphere of the servers and bartenders. Each bar was maybe the size of a small car, so standing inside is almost impossible, but once you make your way up to the bar and ordered, your food and drink feel like a prize. The streets are filled with people outside tasting the delicate pintxos and laughing or telling stories with each other as their friend brings over the next thing to taste or another beer to wash everything down.
My favorite pintxo was at a small bar that is known for its braised beef and goat cheese risotto, and they are so famous for it that once the door opens the bar is filled within seconds with hands in the air requesting the amazing cheesy goodness. The goat cheese risotto was the best risotto I’ve ever had, and I can say after living in Italy for a year…this bar outdid any risotto I ever had while in Italy.
Even though it was just a weekend trip, I ate enough food and drank enough that after two days I was content and made my way back to Bermeo. I’m sure I’ll be back in San Sebastian, hopefully, sooner than later!
The countdown is on though as my time in Bermeo, and the Basque country is coming to an end…part of me can’t even believe I only have two weeks left…but I don’t want to think about that just yet!
Until next week, Agur!
Kommentare