Tonight we’re going on a foodie tour in one of the foodie capitals of the world – San Sebastián. It’s not just a foodie tour, though. It’s a pintxos tour. Vamos amigos!
Most visitors to San Sebastián head for the old, historic part of town. That’s where we would normally head too. But our foodie tour is going to take place in central San Sebastián, where people who live here hang out. We’re going to go where they go.
I may have to re-think the way we travel in Europe. We always head to the old, historic parts of European cities because the buildings and the history are so neat. But we might be missing out, eh? Definitely have to cogitate on that.
San Sebastián Foodie Tour
We followed the GPS Lady to our destination in downtown San Sebastián and parked in an underground garage. We emerged from a stairwell to find ourselves standing between a gourmet food store and an FNAC Department store. Apparently we were in a nice neighborhood.
We looked around a bit, then found our foodie tour group – an English couple, an Aussie couple, and our guide, Gorka.
Gorka was a clean-cut 20-or-30-something Basque guy. I know he was Basque because he said he was. (You can’t tell a Basque just by looking at them. At least I can’t).
After getting acquainted we set off for the first stop – a pintxos bar nearby. This was no ordinary pintxos bar. When I think of pintxos, I think of a slice of bread with something tasty on top.
The pintxos at this place were small plates of exotic-looking, mouth-watering delights that you eat with a fork. One of them was an oxtail confection baked into a crispy crust. I can still remember exactly how it tasted. Oooooooo… mamma mia.
We sampled a few other plates, each of which was unique and amazing, then moved on. Everywhere we’ve been in Spain, we’ve been told to not have more than two pintxos at one place. That’s how they do it here. But I bet people make an exception for this place.
Our next stop was at a more traditional pintxos bar. So traditional, in fact, that it’s said to be where the original pintxos, the gilda, was invented. This place was packed with people eating, drinking, and having a good time.
A long glass display case held a spectacular array of pintxos. We’d get to try a few, but the star of the show here was clearly the beloved gilda.
The First Pintxo
The gilda consists of peppers, anchovies, and an olive skewered on a little stick. The story goes that back in the day, this bar served a little plate of peppers, anchovies, and olives to customers with their drink orders. One customer had a habit of skewering them all on a toothpick, and the gilda was born.
Eventually bars started serving all kinds of goodies skewered on sticks as appetizers. For a long time, “pintxo” meant appetizer skewered on a stick. That’s probably still what it means to purists. (Pintxo translates roughly to stick).
It’s a great combination. Basque peppers, (guindilla or piparra), are mild. I know – spicy food lovers like to say peppers are mild just because they don’t set your mouth on fire. But these peppers truly are mild. And the taste is really nice.
Why Not Make Your Own?
I ordered some Basque peppers on-line, bought some good-quality anchovies, and made my own gildas. They were so good, that jar of peppers was gone in no time.
We hit a few more pintxos bars and made a few other stops that shall remain a secret. I don’t want to spoil it for any future pintxos tour takers.
Along the way, our guide, Gorka told us a lot about Basque culture. Reading about it doesn’t compare to hearing about it first-hand.
At the end of the tour, we stood on the promenade bordering La Concha Bay. The sun had just set, and the view out toward the bay was beautiful.
We tasted a lot on this tour and we learned a lot. I get the San Sebastián foodie destination thing now – and I didn’t have to go to a Michelin-rated restaurant to do it. They have a good thing going here in San Sebastián.
To be continued…
Notes
This is the tour we went on: Centro Neighborhood Pintxos Tour. It was excellent.
Pintxos pic at the top of this post credit: istockphoto/encrier
