Europe Fall 2024 - Fifth Gastronomic Post

Yes, we at de-I Sandia Outfitter's Mediterranean Vacations are continuing eating. Here's the update from the last week.

Home Cooking

Still enjoying the bounty of the local area and having the time and facility to cook with it.

Artichokes are abundant, inexpensive, and delicious

 

Just as at home, we make abundant salads

 

 Rice in Altea

The Valencia area (of which Alicante is a part of) is known for their rice dishes. The Paella of Valencia is the best known, but there are many versions simply called 'Arroz' (Rice) that are very similar from other areas like Alicante. After our day in Altea, we decided to eat out and found a place with the Arroz specialties. 

The starter was a classic bread with tomato and aioli. The tomato is simply crushed tomatoes. Aioli is a garlic mayonnaise.

 Olives are always found on the table to start

We splurged on a lobster rice. One can get it 'creamy' or 'dry'. We opted for creamy.

We were given a full set of 'tools' for eating the lobster

 It is an impressive dish coming out

 And the restaurant serves it with flair

I would rate the dish just okay however. The lobster not particularly good. The flavoring was great, but the rice was a bit too crunchy.

Valencia Eating

We were in Valencia for the weekend visiting Granddaughter 2.2 who is going to college there.

Our first night we were really hungry and it was late after our adventures in parking (coming to a post here soon).

2.2 found a small place that was Spanish but with some Bolivian dishes. Talking to the owner, he is Spanish but his wife is from Bolivia, hence the addition of those dishes.

We started with some standards.

Ensalada Rusa 

This version had a lot more tuna in it than many I've tried.

And Chicken Wings

Wife had a dish called Piquemacho which is beef and sausage with soy sauce, fried potatoes, and salad (according to the menu)

The fried potatoes are underneath and in the sauce, kind of like 'wets'. So if you like your fries soaked in sauce it is good. It was a pretty tasty dish.

We also ordered something called Keperi al horno. This was a braised meat. 

 

 It was super tender and the flavor totally was soaked into every bit. It had a distinct spice flavor but I could not quite figure it out.

Snack

One thing that is difficult for an American eating in Spain is there is no culture of eating something quick on the go. Even if you want something light, you need to sit down and bar/cafeteria (a place selling coffee), and order something. During our walking during the day, we didn't really want to eat a full meal, so we did end up at one of these bar/cafeterias.

This was kind of an upscale place. They didn't have Coke products.

 So Wife had the Fritz-Cola with a chocolate croissant.

2.2 was fine with water

 I had sparkling water...in this case mineral water (just look at the list of minerals)

 Vermut (vermouth) which is a classic Spanish aperitif.

And an avocado toast that turned out to be quite good.

That evening 2.2 really wanted paella which he had yet to try. Wife researched and found a place close by to 2.2's lodging. It was a winner. Truly excellent food and service.

Olives of course on the table

Wife and I during the course of the meal enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine each. That's the equivalent of a bottle. It cost us a total of $11.

They told us the paella would take a minimum of 40 minutes. So we got at number of appetizers.

Serrano ham croquettas

They were fried to perfection. But I have found that croquettas generally speaking are pretty bland.

We had a Valencia Salad. This was awesome. There were white asparagus, pickled peppers, and caper berries in addition to the regular salad. The tuna belly was cured in some way but was mild and very tasty.

We also had bread with tomato and aioli again, and some special anchovies.

Wife for her main course had a filet of Sea Bass grilled with a vegetable stew (like a ratatouille). The fish was spectacular. So moist but the skin was perfectly crisp.

Then 2.2 and I had our paella. 

It was magnificent and I am being judicious using those words. Well worth two pictures LOL.

 

Our version had pork and mushrooms.

What made it so good? 

I have had so many mediocre paella. I've made it and it has been okay, but nothing like this. First, it was very thin. The rice was moist and well cooked but with a crispy layer underneath. They mushroom flavor, in particular, imbued the dish. The rice flavor was forward but not over powering, not too much pimenton or saffron. I really will need to take a lesson on how to cook this.

Well that finishes this weeks foodie activity. We have a visitor this week coming up so I suspect we will have more food things to post about.