Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above: Pinxtos at Kapikua Casco Viejo
For a break between traditional American holiday fare, here is part two of restaurants we sampled for you in Bilbao last year. Might as well begin with more of the competitive sport of ordering pinxtos in our crowded neighborhood spot, Kapikua Casco Viejo. Doesn’t take very many of these hearty appetizers to make a meal.
Continue reading “Postcard from Bilbao, Spain: Buen provecho”
Above: Always crowded at pintxo-time in the iconic Cafe Iruna
Starting our ABC-listing of food experiences in Bilbao with Al Margen. Yes, a photograph should be worth well more than 1,000 words, but don’t let these photos mislead you. The kitchen at Al Margen turns out amazing dishes from amuse-bouche through dessert.
Even George H.W. Bush could not help but love the broccoli. Singed on the outside with spring onions and a sauce brightened with lime zest, this broccoli could star as a main course. Heirloom tomatoes were flamed before taking a cool bath in a pickled peach and tangerine sauce.
Pomegranate seeds added a colorful touch to eggplant, while leeks and crisped pork belly flavored pan-seared gnocchi. For dessert, Malta cake was topped with marscapone and pistachios, and Al Margen’s unexpected take on tres leches cake was crowned with grated Parmesan. Not inexpensive, yet all delicious. Although the menu changes seasonally, regulars insist the broccoli be ever-present.
Continue reading “Postcard from Bilbao, Spain: Pintxos to pasteles”
Above: All-you-can-eat cheese on conveyor belt at Pick & Cheese Seven Dials
Restaurant listings arranged alphabetically might not prove user-friendly in a city as sprawling as London, but I’m stubbornly persisting in that practice. As in the earlier part one, these are scattered all over the map.
Continue reading “Postcard from London, England: Italian, Philippine, seafood and cheese, please”
Postcards from Barton Springs 