Pintxos, Pintxos and Pintxos

Pintxos is a type of tapas specifically in Basque region. It is also spelled "Pinchos" in Spanish. By the way, the Basque language uses "x" a lot...

One of the main reasons I came to the Basque region is the pintxos. Pintxos are served on a sliced baguette and usually made ahead of time and left on the counter. So, you can just pick up (or ask the bartenders) for as many as you want. Hot pintxos are either made to order or reheated. 

We were supposed to sign up for a pintxos tasting tour because we really didn't know how the pintxos experience works - for example how to order or how to pay. I knew there were quite a few tour companies that give pintxos tasting tours. But unfortunately, they were all booked this week. So, we decided to explore the pintxos scene by ourselves.

It was a good idea. People at pintxos bars were nice enough to endure my broken Spanish. Because we obviously looked like tourists, they normally speak to us as soon as we get in (if the bar is crowded with regulars, you might be ignored. So, it's best to go to pintxos bar during off hours, such as during the afternoon). By the time we finished a few bars (local people go to multiple bars at a time instead of staying at one bar) we felt comfortable regarding ordering and paying. All you have to know is the name of the drink you want and then you can point at the pintxos you want. And then just add how many you want. When you pay, just ask for "la cuenta."

This was our very first pintxos in the Basque region, a bar called Iturrioz. This was our lunch.

                                                  Something from on the counter

                                                               Made to order octopus

          Not really pintxos. We ordered not knowing what it was. It was fava beans, I guess.

                                                 Again, made to order. It's bacalao (cod).

We were planning to go to more bars. But because we ate them slowly, we got full. So, we decided to walk around the city. I found a supermarket. Whenever I travel, I check out the local supermarkets (both big chain and small individual). I like to see what the local people eat. I found this.

                                This is baby eels. I didn't expect to see it in this type of package....

For dinner, we went to a pintxos bar called Meson Martin.

 

                                                                     From the counter

 

                                                                 From the counter

This is grilled squid and shrimp made to order. It was EXCELLENT!! Just right amount of salt and cooked perfectly. The squid was very sweet.

                                                                         Non-spicy chili

The second pintxos bar was for a specific dish. So, we ordered just one kind. The bar is called Haizea.

It's called a brick of bacalao. I thought the inside was a cod fillet. Actually, it's a potato puree with with (most likely) cod flakes. So, it's more like a croquette (instead of breadcrumb, wrapped by some thin skin). It was very good but I didn't taste the cod.

We just wanted to go to one more. We didn't have any information about this particular bar but decided to give it a shot because it looked very crowded.

                                                                    From the counter

                                               Gorgonzola with candied ginger and walnut


Because we couldn't book any pintxos tasting tours or cooking classes (everything was booked), we signed up for a Spanish wine tasting. Also, we made a reservation for another Michelin starred restaurant. The Basque region has so many Michelin starred restaurants. So, why not? Let's see how it goes.