Category: Travel

Postcard from Leon, Spain: Regional specialties to ‘Best Burger in Spain’

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A colorful Spanish postage stamp featuring a flower design made of various food items, celebrating León as the Capital of Gastronomy in 2018.

Above: A generous serving of cecina, thinly sliced cured beef, at Casa Divi.

As do most cities in Spain, Leon prides itself on its regional specialties, many involving meat. The meats of the Castilla y Leon region are indeed delicious, but sometimes we did seek out a few workarounds. The following are the spots we visited, listed in alphabetical order.

A slice of golden-brown savory pancake on a decorative blue and white floral plate.
Above: Tortilla de patatas from Bar El Gallinero.

Never had we spent such a long period in Spain without a classic egg and potato tortilla. To remedy that, Lamar researched where to find the best one in the city. To do that he had to go to a bar, Bar el Gallinero. Open only at night and about as popular a spot on the tapa circuit as you can find.

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Postcard from Guadalajara, Mexico: La Zaponita worked miracles; others prophesized doom

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A vintage postal stamp commemorating the centenary of Guadalajara, Mexico, featuring an illustration of the Templo de Zapopan, dated 1542 and 1942.

Above: Detail of an outdoor sculpture by Javier Marin (1962-) on a plaza in Zapopan.

When the sculpture opens its eyes, it already has a soul.”

Sculptor Javier Marin

Arriving barefoot in what was then a village outside of Guadalajara, Spanish-born Fray Antonio de Segovia (1485-1570) bore a doll-size figure of the Virgin Mary around his neck. This effigy was believed to protect him on his journeys thoughout the Tonallan Kingdom as he sought to convert the Native Americans under the rule of Queen Cihualpilli Tzapotzinco. The queen herself was among his converts, and Fray Antonio established an abbey and presented the converts of this village with the statuette he had worn for ten years.

The statue was made by Purépecha Indians in Pátzcuaro using traditional methods. First, a skeleton was constructed out of sugar canes and cornstalks. Then, a special paste or dough called tatzingueni was applied to flesh out the figure. This tatzingueni was made of corn stalk pulp and the juice of a local orchid which gave the paste a latex quality and would prevent the finished product from rotting or spoiling.”

“The Virgin of Zapopan,” Robert Bitto, Mexico Unexplained

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Postcard from Zamora, Spain: Sampling regional and international dishes

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A decorative stamp from Spain featuring the word 'Zamora' with images of a wolf, traditional dancers, and a scenic view of Zamora's historic architecture.

Above: Leeks confit topped with toasted almonds at Liberten Restaurante

Zamora is a place one can dive deeply into regional dishes. Having traveled for a few weeks, I would have thought I’d tired of that. But the traditional was so well-prepared, we enjoyed it. Alphabetical restaurant mentions are below.

If you follow this blog, you probably are aware I am a stalker of zamburinas during their season. Capitol‘s preparation of the mollusks was perfect. Our generous dried fruit salad with ripe tomatoes offered wonderful contrasting flavors.

Expect to find cod everywhere, but Capitol did it well. Bacalao al horno with sweet roasted peppers was flaky and moist, with a side of the region’s famed garbanzos from Fuentesauco. Merluza, or hake, de pincho Gallega arrived enveloped in delicate pastry with a leek sauce on the side. Later, I realized Capitol prides itself in its rice dishes, so you might want to ponder that portion of its menu.

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