Spain was a whirlwind! Seville, Madrid, Calatayud and Barcelona in just over a week. If we could re-do anything, it would be to spend more time in each city, because they were all so wonderful. With the bullet trains, it is too tempting to keep hopping around and take in all you can, next time we will just sit back and enjoy the tapas. Check out the podcast for all the details!
Show Notes
Tara's Number 1
Nectari, Barcelona
We are usually working to stay on a conservative budget when we travel, but we like to have one splurge meal on each trip. Nectari was that for Spain. This was our first Michelin Star restaurant and it did not disappoint. We had the chef's tasting menu which was 7 or so dishes and every one blew our minds.
Advice from Tara (this will always be my advice when its applicable) - if you can, Get The Wine Pairing! Spain has fantastic wine and I love when wine is expertly chosen and just arrives at the table. It just makes a girl feel special, ya know? :):)
IK's #1 Dish
Croquettes- Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, anywhere and every day
If croquettes were on the menu, IK ordered them. Croquettes are fried balls of usually potato and other ingredients, we had a lot with ham. They were not usually as large as the one pictured above, but that huge one was amazing!
Tara's #2
Madrid tapas hopping
We only had 24 hours here and it still made such a huge impact. The tapas experience we had here was amazing. There were tiny winding cobblestone streets weaving between the cathedrals and historic buildings with the little tapas bars. A lot of them were so small that most of the seating was in the street. The great thing about tapas hopping here was when we ordered drinks, a lot of the bars gave us a tapa! We tried so many things we might not have ordered for ourselves, including anchovies which Tara had to have every day after that.
IK's #2
Pintxos
Hundreds of little toasts with all the toppings you can think of. What could be better!?
Tara's #3
Anchovies, any kind, anywhere
The obsession with anchovies was completely by accident, but then we were hooked! We ordered a drink at a bar in Madrid and they served anchovies with vinegar and oil as the tapa and it was so good!
Gambas al ajillo
Shrimp. Olive Oil. Garlic. Fresh bread to soak up all the juices. We still dream about gambas al ajillo every day.
IK's #4
Patatas brava, everywhere!
Roasted potatoes with a delicious red sauce. Some sort of tomato sauce but way more flavorful. It's a must try!
Tara's #5
Pan con tomate - Seville
Our flight arrived early in the morning in Seville and we headed straight to breakfast. The first thing we ate in Spain was pan con tomate with jamon serrano and it was so great. The bread was perfectly toasted, with tomato rubbed all over it so it is more like a light spread, not actual tomato slices. They topped that with jamon, and voila! We had pan con tomate for breakfast a lot on this trip but none was as good as that first breakfast in Seville.
IK #5
Doner Kebabs, Barcelona
If doner kebabs are to be had, IK will have them! This is not really a Spanish dish, you will see it all over Europe. We mostly had it as a light night food. It is a rotisserie of meat cooked on a spit served in a wrap with spicy sauces. It usually comes with wayyyyy more meat than you actually needed so you end up stooping over it as you eat.
Vermut
This was something we had all over Spain that we weren't expecting- Vermouth. Neither of us had tried it before, but we are so glad we did. It is a fortified wine that tastes kind of botanical and is slightly bitter and slightly sweet. To this day we are still drinking vermouth over ice with orange and an olive just like we had in Spain. So refreshing!
That's a wrap for our Spain trip! check out he podcast to hear about the details on all these dishes/restaurants and some extras too.
Salud!
Tara & IK