Tapas in Old Town - Spain/Basque ( San Sebastian)

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Pintxos run in Old Town (San Sebastian).

Octopus

Baby eels

Seafood salad in pastry

Breaded seafood salad

Shrimp wrapped in Fried noodles

Beef wrapped in deep fried pastry

Bar Astelena - Pinxtos, Spain (San Sebastian)

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One of the most notable differences between this tapas bar and others that I visited on my trip through Spain was that the tapas were displayed on the bar uncooked.  As you point to which item you want the server puts it on a plate and sends it to the kitchen for cooking and plating.  So each item is fresh and carefully plated and decorated with special sauces and pretty plates. 
 

Chorizo skewer

Pistacio croquette

Croquettes are a main staple on the menu in tapas bars.  A little tired of the regular jamon or chorizo croquettes, I chose this unique filling.  Pistachios are common ingrediants in Spainish cuisine, but this is the first and only pistacio croquette I came across in this trip.  Crispy texture from the crushed pistacio crust and a pistachio flavored potato filling.  Yum!

Inside the pistacio croquette

Fried wrapper stuffed with crab and jamon

Inside the fried wrapper



Grilled squid

 San Sebastian, located by the sea,  is well known for their seafood.  This grilled squid skewer was my favorite tapa dish here.  Perfectly cooked with a delicate crunch from the fresh squid.

Shrimp wrapped in noodles - deep fried

This noodle wrapped skewer looked so crazy I had to pick it.  The thin fried noodles made it a little diffcult to eat, but still delicious nonetheless.

 Probably one of my favorite pintxos bars in San Sebastian.  Everything here is so fresh and well cooked.  The display of the raw and uncooked tapas made it a little hard to figure out what would taste good, but always ended up in a nice surprise.  I wish I could have tried everything on the menu.

 Address:                  Bar Astelena 

                                         c/inigo 1

                                         San Sebastian

Type:                          pinxtos (tapas)
                                         casual 

Chomp worthy:  squid

Pass:                           nothing 

Guggenheim cafe - Spain (Bilbao)

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Guggenheim cafe - Bilbao

Bocadillos - mini sandwich with tuna, red pepper

Mini tuna sandwich.  Nothing special.  The red pepper gave it a sweet kick.

Tortilla filled with cheese and veggies and some chunks of chicken

Melty cheese mixed with chicken and other vegetables possibly some red pepper indicated by the sweet taste.



Verdict:         Not exciting as I had hoped, but nothing terrible.  A quick stop to fuel up before heading into the museum.

Address:          Guggenheim (Bilbao)

                         Abandoibarra Etorbidea 2

                         Bilbao, Spain

Type:               tapas, cafe
                         casual

Chomp worthy:  nothing exciting

Pass:                nothing        

Random facts:

Tximiri part 2

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Refusing to leave Madrid defeated by Tximiri, I successfully scored menu items on my second attempt.



Pintxo de foie



A generous slab of foie resting on a sliced piece of baguette drizzled with a sweet red sauce.  Sweet, rich, fatty.  Delicious!  The sweet sauce complimented the sweetness of the foie perfectly. 

side view of pintxo de foie

Hamburgesa unai - fried mixed beef and seafood on top of sliced bread

Verdict:            Second try.  Veni, vidi, vici.  Both dishes were amazing.  I highly recommend coming here and order off the menu versus the tapas that are already laid out.  The quality is outstanding and the tapas are really innovative.

Address:           Txirimiri

                         Calle del Humilladero 6 (La Latina) 

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               tapas
                        casual

Chomp worthy:  Hamburgesa unai
                            pintxo de foie

Pass:               nothing

Random facts:

• closed on Mondays
• After 10p you cannot order from menu items

Txirimiri (tapas) - Spain ( Madrid)

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Literally just landed and rushed to hotel to drop and headed out to Tximiri (La Latina) for dinner tapas.  Sunday nights are best in La Latina.  Everyone is out drinking with friends and having a bite to eat.  Tximiri was top of my Madrid tapas spots to try.  Apparently, if you go after 10p you can only eat what is already premade and displayed in the window - very limited.  So many appetizing things on the menu to order - made a note to be back before leaving Madrid. 

Shrimp with meatball on bread

Meatball on bread

Verdict:            First visit.  Disappointed that I couldn't order from the menu and had to choose what was left out.  Everything was good though, but I had my heart set on ordering specific items.


Address:           Txirimiri

                         Calle del Humilladero 6 (La Latina) 

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               tapas
                        casual

Chomp worthy:  no standouts on this visit

Pass:               nothing

Random facts: