Spain Archives - Hungry Travelers

Spain

Pour a spicy Spanish twist with Thanksgiving dinner

Posted on November 15, 2024November 15, 2024 by Pat and David

We know everyone is suggesting that you pour a Pinot Noir from Oregon with the festive November meal. It's like the new article of faith that turkey and dressing go best with a soft red. Maybe we're traditionalists, but — barring a smoke pit — turkey is a subtle fowl, and fowl (unless we're talking wild duck) generally pairs best with a white wine. But in keeping with the revisionist thinking, we're on board with a spicy, assertive white. Specifically, we're recommending the 2023 Lagar de Cervera Albariño. When we think of spicy whites, three grapes come to mind: Gewürztraminer, Muscat, and Albariño. We've tried all three with autumn dishes, and while we like Muscat with apple and pumpkin pies, it's often a toss-up between...Read More

What to eat at the Málaga airport (AGP)

Posted on October 26, 2022October 20, 2022 by Pat and David

Many of Spain's leading chefs have a way of remembering their roots — and wanting to appeal to a wider audience. It could be a financial stretch to feast at the French dining room Babette or the grill house Leña, both at Puente Romana resort in Marbella. But you can at least get a taste of star chef Dani García's cuisine at the airport. BiBo Dani García (+34 607 528 879) is open every day from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. in the passenger-only zone of the first floor departures area at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP). We've been following García since his first high profile job leading the kitchen at Tragabuches in Ronda. That was literally decades ago, but he's always remained a champion...Read More

Table wines return to the Málaga region

Posted on October 23, 2022October 20, 2022 by Pat and David

There' s a quiet wine revolution brewing in the Axarquía hills between Málaga and Nerja along Spain's southern coast. And it's based on a grape that either the Greeks or the Carthaginians brought here roughly 3,000 years ago. Locals call it Moscatel de Alejandría, though much of the international wine industry knows the grape as Muscat of Alexandria. North African in origin, it requires an incredibly dry climate because the grapes are very prone to mold. That makes it perfect for the mountains just inland from the Málaga coast. It's usually associated with dessert wines. But Moscatel can be coaxed to produce a delicious table wine. Just ask Clara Verheij, the winemaker at Bodegas Bentomiz (Finca El Almendro, Pago Cuesta Robano, Sayalonga; +34 633 049...Read More

Chiringuitos champion fresh fish of the Costa del Sol

Posted on October 19, 2022October 14, 2022 by Pat and David

We sing the song of chiringuitos. They are the kitchens of summer along the Costa del Sol. When the sun shines and Spaniards and tourists alike bask in the light, chiringuitos are ready to feed you at the end of day. Historically, a chiringuito was a casual beach bar, maybe even a makeshift operation. But from Marbella east to Málaga, they have evolved into permanent structures that line the beach. One of our favorites in Torremolinos is Restaurante Los Pescadores Playa (Paseo Marítimo Bajondillo, R5, Torremolinos; +34 95 205 83 37; lospescadoresplaya.es). The photo at the top of the post shows a slice of the indoor dining room at the midday meal on a Sunday. When we're looking for a good restaurant for dinner, we...Read More

The elegant simplicity of fish on a stick

Posted on October 14, 2022October 14, 2022 by Pat and David

We spent a good part of last month in Spain working on a book update. That's our excuse for the lapse in posting here. This trip involved an extended stay in Málaga. It was the perfect time to get reacquainted with the fish of the Costa del Sol — and with the delights of eating on the beach. The photo above shows the espartero of Restaurante Andrés Maricuchi (Paseo Marítimo el Pedregal, 14, Málaga; +34 952 20 06 12; andresmaricuchi.com). He's broiling fish on a stake against wood coals burning in a rowboat filled with sand on Pedregalejo beach. To be specific, he's broiling sardines because that's we ordered just minutes before. Maricuchi is one of a long line of beach restaurants in this former...Read More

Noodling around with fideuà in Gandía

Posted on June 18, 2022June 16, 2022 by Pat and David

While we were living in Valencia, we took advantage of the cercanías (essentially the regional commuter rail) to explore beyond the metropolis. One Costa Blanca city on our bucket list (and on the train line) was Gandía. The big attraction is the ducal palace of the Borja family, who rose to fame (or infamy) when they changed the spelling to Borgia and took over the papacy. The Palau Ducal (Carrer del Duc Alfons el Vell, 1, Gandía; +34 962 871 465; palauducal.com) is a sprawling Gothic fortified palace complex where Sant Francesc de Borja was born in 1510. He later became one of the most important figures in the history of the Society of Jesus. Thanks to the stewardship of the Jesuits, the building is...Read More

Valencia loves its tiger nut ‘milk’ with fartons

Posted on June 11, 2022June 7, 2022 by Pat and David

Valencia is famous for more than its rice dishes. Locals have been making a milky drink from the tiny tubers of Cyperus esculentus since the 13th century. Deeply chilled, it's the perfect refreshment on a warm day. The tubers are often tiger nuts because they're striped and have a hard shell. In Spanish, they're chufa and properly speaking, the vegan milk made from them is horchata de chufa. No one in Valencia bothers with such distinctions. The drink is horchata or orxata, pronounced the same despite the difference between Castellano and Valenciano spellings. The center of chufa cultivation is Alboraya, a marshy section of Valencia that was once its own town. You can buy tiger nuts on the street or in any public market, but...Read More

Modern times at the Mercado Colón

Posted on June 3, 2022June 3, 2022 by Pat and David

Valencia may not have the sheer number of buildings in the Modernisme style as Barcelona, but it does boast its own regional wrinkle of Art Nouveau. Valencianos reserved their most flamboyant structures of modernismo valenciano for the essentials of daily life. That includes the main post office, the train station, and two of the city markets. Had the city not built a neoclassical bullring a few decades earlier, the Plaza de Toros probably would have been Art Nouveau too. We've already written extensively about the Mercado Central, but the even more refined example of modernismo valenciano is Francisco Mora Berenguer's Mercado Colón. Mora studied under Domènech i Montaner, arguably second only to Gaudí among Barcelona's Modernisme architects. The Valenciano architect drew on some of the...Read More

Sants Joan’s embodies Valencian market food

Posted on May 28, 2022May 28, 2022 by Pat and David

Living next door to Valencia's Mercat Central for a month, we often skipped going out to eat. That's not self-pity. We liked cooking fresh market produce at home. There was a real advantage to that, since we never made up a menu until we found out what was available. The same doesn't always work for restaurants unless they go entirely with a chalkboard plate of fare. Many of the restaurants around the market supplement a printed menu with an occasional special based on what's in season. But then a place across the square from the market on the ancient steps to the Lonja caught our eyes. Taberna Sants Joan's (c/Pere Compte, 5, Valencia; +34 963 913 134; facebook.com/Santsjoans) proudly proclaimed that all their ingredients came...Read More

Agua de Valencia, born in the Café Madrid

Posted on May 8, 2022May 8, 2022 by Pat and David

Few cocktail names trip off the tongue with the lyric trill of Agua de Valencia. It even sounds sweet and clear. Purportedly invented at the Café Madrid in 1959 by bartender Constante Gil, it is so popular with tourists to Valencia that bottles labeled as Agua de Valencia are available everywhere from the Mercat Central to most souvenir shops. Look around the tables on Plaça de Mare de Deu behind the cathedral, and at least half sport a tall glass of the orange drink. And why not? Authentic Agua de Valencia relies on freshly squeezed juice from locally grown sweet oranges. (They are not ‶Valencia″ oranges, which were bred in California and named for the city.) Groves of sweet oranges surround Valencia. All grocery stores...Read More