All posts tagged: food

wine, whiskey, coffee & christmas carols

Published by

I was on the bus home from the airport when I sent out a group message to the girls: “I’m headed back to Donosti. Flights cancelled.” To which I received the response from Usoa: “Ohhhhhh myyyy gooooooooooooooooood. You are coming to my country house.” And it was settled. A Christmas in the Spanish countryside isn’t what I had planned for December 2013, but after strong winds kept planes from landing and taking off it’s where I found myself surrounded by my Basque family. I never thought I’d find another family just quite as crazy and loving as mine. But here I’ve found them. We arrived just after dark and just in time for glasses of wine to be poured and us to sit down at the table to begin eating. Giant shrimp – eyeballs, feet, and all – were in a couple bowls across the table to pick at, as well as chorizo and bread. Then blood pudding, fish soup, and a chicken foot pallela were served. To say the least, I gave it my best …

an international language: music & food

Published by

“Mmmmmmm,” we both squeeled as the flavors of the chocolate candy melted in our mouths. We were in France for the afternoon Christmas shopping. And while our basic French language skills could order us lunch and ask for the bill, having deeper conversations about the different types of chocolate was quite difficult – until she handed us each a chocolate to try. And voila! Mmmm. The international sound of pleasure. Fastforward four days. Lucy and I find ourselves in a local bar in Donosti, Spain watching a band from Portland, Maine. As two of the six or seven women in the entire bar, we stand out; we’re not Basque and we’re clearly not regulars there. And we laugh and sing along to the catchy choruses of the Pop-Punk Rock n’ Roll sounds tearing up the stage, I realize that we are probably the only two who understand everything from the lyrics to the attempted stage-audience banter – which got me thinking about the international languages of music and food. It’s an incredible thing to be …

| Pintxo Challenge, Act 1 Scene 1|

Published by

It’s already been 5 days into my challenge and I’ve stuck to it (like I’d give up the chance to eat pintxos in the name of writing, really?) I’ve strolled around my new barrio — the old part — and popped into one new bar a day experiencing what this small city offers. I’ve decided I’m going to update my challenge every 5 days as not to bore everyone with a post a day (plus, I’d probably forget) . . . At the end of my challenge I’ll write one conclusive article with tips and photos of my overall experience — so keep tuned! As for the first go . . . here it is. Eat it up! Day 1: Casa Tiburcio | Calle Fermin Cabelton — Fried Muscle (fried seafood, spicy, & hot!) A fairly typical bar to stroll into for the Old Part. Options on the bar, but the menu is where the gold is! Take a peek and be pleasantly surprised. Day 2: Zeruko | Calle Pescaderia — Squid Mango Foie  A new take on the …

|in a land of pintxos |

Published by

It occurred to me today that I need a summer project as I was sipping on a cana con limon in the Plaza de Constitucion and discussing food with a fellow American. I’ve decided to make my focus: pintxos. Living in the North of Spain one is highly aware of the large amount of pintxo bars (and bars in general) throughout the food capital and Capital of Culture 2016. San Sebastian is home to the famous pintxo and hundreds of bar owners and chefs offering traditional to very modern choices. A pintxo is an individual portion of meats, cheeses, fish, veggies, etc., skewered with a toothpick onto a piece of baguette. Of course, pintxos can vary from bar to bar and in the different regions of the North leading me to my decided project for the month of July: 30 Day Pintxo Challenge Inspired by my appreciation of  tasty food, desire to write, and love of photography and challenges — I’ve decided to dedicate the month of July to pintxos. As my budget is low – I’ll stick to one new pintxo …

| PASTA! PIZZA! LASAGNA! THE FOOD OF MY TRAVELS |

Published by

I’ve decided it’s about time to write about my eating habits. As they’ve been non-consistent, but delicious — I really want to write about these tasty foods (and some not so great) that I’ve encountered while in Europe. FIRST! I want to say — Maine is the homeland of Seafood. DELICIOUS. Seafood. But somehow, London *yes, they were around before us chaps settled our lovely state and industry* is famous for their fish & chips. Maybe I should read into the history of this phenomena more, buuut, that’d just be too easy. I’ll let it baffle me. So, obviously the first time I make a visit to London-town in March of 2011 I wanted to try the famous fish & chips — but, the two day venture was too quick for my taste buds so I left the country without having tried the main dish. This time around I wouldn’t allow that to happen. As soon as I arrived in London to visit my lovely friend we made a list of must-do activities while I …