Besides being a mecca for haute cuisine, the Basque country is also home to many rustic cider houses. So, today we drove into cider country, just outside of San Sebastian. The season for new cider is January-April, but there are a few places open in the off season. We decided to start our day a the cider museum in the small town of Astigarraga.
We were told that the town only has 4000 residents, but during the high season, the population balloons to 10,000.
Being the only visitors, we got a private tour and a lesson in the ancient traditions of picking apples and smashing them.
We then tasted a few types of cider in the traditional way-- by catching the stream from the "txotx" or tap in our glasses from about 5 feet away.
In a cider house, when the cider is fresh, someone will yell "txotx", which is pronounced "choach", and everyone rushes to fill their glasses.
We also tasted a few types of apple liquor and apple juice.
The cider was pretty acidic, unlike the sweet varieties in the U.S. and the tasting process is similar to wine.
After the museum, we went to a cider house nearby to have a traditional lunch.
The menu at all cider houses is the same. You start with an omelet made with cod, then a lightly fried piece of cod with green peppers, followed by a giant T-bone steak.
For dessert they serve a mild and creamy local cheese with apple jam and walnuts.
We returned to San Sebastian with the intent to walk off this giant meal, but since it was pouring, we took the afternoon to relax and recharge for more eating.
It was still pouring in the evening, so we decided to continue our Pinxtos tour in Gros, the neighborhood surrounding our hotel. We ate at the renowned Alona Berri which is known for really intricately prepared bites.
We ordered a crab dish baked inside a crab shell, another type of fish topped with shrimp and a small clam,
mushroom croquette, sauteed mushrooms (I'm not sure what type of mushrooms, but they must have been very special because they ended up costing about $20) accompanied by a glass of txakoli, the fizzy white wine that is a favorite in pinxtos bars. It's tradition to pour txakoli from about two feet above the glass.
Next round of food included a red pepper stuffed with baby squid and topped with thinly sliced ham and a piece of cod over a bed of leeks and topped with apple foam.
The most interesting was the spoon of bacalao (cod) confit, topped with eggplant, hollandaise, quail egg, aioli, rose, fried spinach and a purple potato chip--lots of tastes and textures all at once.
We finished with a dessert sampler. The highlight was the walnut pie and the typical Basque dessert--fried milk.
Interesting place!
ReplyDeleteGaint T