Long trip report: Leon, Galicia, Asturias, Madrid

[dostrovs]

It was a very food intensive trip along the distal portions of Northern Spain. Special thanks to all the info provided by Maribel on this forum. As well, Erika 1’s advice played a role in the decision making.

After going through the near-purgatory of 6 am crowd in Barajas (I still do not get it while they can not fix it!!!) we took a brief ride to Chamartin on the local train. Good info: the train ride is free from the airport if you are taking high speed RENFE within 4 hours before/after that. Getting from Chamartin to Leon took us about 2 hours. We stayed in the magnificent Parador de Leon/ San Marco - very affordable and out of this world. Leon is worth the trip just to stay there. Right the next building to the Parador is: Cocinandos (2 soles/ 1 star) - preset menu. We took the shortest one. The chef was extremely accommodating and considering our postflight state promised to take care of us in 90 minutes. Which he did successfully. His spouse is running the dinner room. There was a garden serving parilla to the group of guests that day. We were given a map of Leon y Castillia pointing to the location of the product’s origin in corresponding dishes, which was very cute. I had a glass of an excellent albarin. We enjoyed the meal with the highlights of foie gras, tuna salad and little “lechal” lambchop on the tiny grill. It was very well priced, considering the delivery. Highly recommended.

After recharging our batteries we took a stroll along Leon, which is not a very big but rather attractive town with many interesting sites out of the scope of this report. We went for dinner to Marcela (1 sol). There is a bar and a restaurant. You want the latter.

• Some local morcilla, which is different in the way it is served. No casing. Looks like a stew rather than sausage. I am a succker for morcilla and eat it everywhere. (I believe most people do not eat it just because of pure prejudice. Just go and buy/ order it in Despana in NYC… or try it right there. I guarantee you will change your mind).

• delicious cantabrian anchovies (I have probably got 10 boxes of them over the course of the trip - to go).

• a kind of strange raw tomato covering the chopped shrimp with pil-pilish sauce over it.

• good croquettes (don’t remember by now with what)

• molleja - decent.

• on my question about dessert they mentioned souffle, which i requested. It came out to be “backed Alaska”, which I am not a big fan of…
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

They tried to upsell some expensive meats and good looking tuna belly, but we had no stamina or stomach for that anymore. I think it is a good place. Would go back.

The morning after we picked up our rental car and drove about 45 minutes to Jimenez de Jamuz. The tiny town in the middle of nowhere which had one of the most anticipated meals of the trip. Bodega el Caprichio (2 soles) is a celebrated aged oxen meat destination. The restaurant is located in one of the retired meat aging chambers with no reception which I believe contributes to the meal experience. They were kind enough to provide us with media raciones which has allowed us to try many things. We tried:

• Delicious oxen tartar. perfectly seasoned which is a rarity among tartars!

• Cecina! My god! Better than 100% bellota! The waiter was absolutely correct!.You will not find cecina like that anywhere.

• morcilla de Leon. Once again stew like. Beef, not pork. Incredibly rich.

• tuetano - served with pomelo and jalapeno on the side. It was their weakest dish. Underseasoned with no salt offered.

• side of charred red peppers.

• I had a glass of their house Ribera del Duoro.

That day they had meat from retired working oxen, which we were told doesn’t happen too often. The price was 50 euro above their most expensive steak/ per kilo. We decided what the hell! We are not coming back any time soon! It was on par with matsusaka beef in Japan, if not better! Please see the picture below. The proprietor, Jose Gordon, slices all the steaks by himself at the table side. Taste wise, it was the meatiest thing I have ever eaten. Fortunately the size was not too big and we managed to consume most of it. The sliced off fat was grilled again and brought to the table. After all, I think it would be wise to come to that restaurant just to have that steak and nothing else. By itself it is a real treat.

We could not even think about the desert.

Please drive there from wherever you are in Spain! Totally worth it. Es la leche!

The last meal in Leon was a total disappointment. Cocina con Mimo (1 sole/ bib gourmand).

Well .. about 50 euro preset menu. I will let myself to insinuate that they have had the same menu for a long time. The dishes had two tastes: over seasoned and under seasoned. These two flavors do not work together very well. I will stop my comments here.

The next installation will be about our time in Galicia.

[erica1]

I, for one, cannot wait to read the rest…BRAVO!!

[ssinny95]

Great report. Looking forward to hearing more.

[dostrovs]

Early in the morning we headed from Leon to one of the Galician provincial capitals, Lugo. The only town in the world with completely preserved Roman walls. They are very impressive. The trip went not without adventure. While driving along the autopista the other driver pointed to my back tire. It was running flat. I have a strong feeling I was given the car with this problem by the rental agency. Check your tires when you rent a car! Luckily the gas station exit was very close. I pumped air which held us till Lugo, where I took it to a tire shop. 18 euros later we were on the course again. The lunch in Lugo was in Espana (2 soles).

• small cup of caldo gallego

• tuetano/ tartar. One of their most popular dishes. I would like them better apart.

• beef chorizo with Padron peppers. That one I really liked.

• It is once again a meat eaters destination. We were too overwhelmed by the day prior and not ready to have another oxen steak. We settled on a small picana recommended to us by the waitress. It came with a side of the delicious Galician potatoes.

• delicious tarta de queso

I liked the place. Would have the oxen steak, if not for the day before… FYE: No English spoken.

Easy drive to Santiago de Compostela. You immediately dip into a heavy touristy environment which was not present the previous days. The town is very good looking, but not very big. The dinner was at Lume (repsol recommended). I liked the place, but not sure if I am ready to endorse the long communal table. We were seated facing each other with the two very loud groups by the sides. One French and one Aisian. Besides imposing the overwhelming touristy feeling it pretty much rid us of our ability to communicate. As for the food, it was not bad

• barbecochos with garlic. Alway huge flavor.

• leek in galmesan (local hard cheese GALician parMEGIAN) sauce. I like dishes like that.

• cuttlefish curry. It was not really a curry, just some darkish sauce.

• under the influence of erika 1, we shared a Japanese burger. Very flavorful. A lot of different textures. But it is just a burger.

Agree with Repsol. It is recommended, but not outstanding.

Wisely we booked the roof tour of the cathedral the day prior and spent the day doing the touristy things. Mercado de Abastos. Despite being very touristy it is oriented towards local tourism. The biggest cheese selection of all the markets I have visited in Galicia. Do your cheese shopping there.

The lunch took place in Indomito (1 sol). The restaurant is located about 10 minutes walk away from the historical part. It is a small plate concept. The owner was surprised to see foreigners. He asked if he could select dishes for us, which we went along with.

• raw shrimp in ajo blanco

• little stack of foie gra and mushrooms

• squid with Pedron peppers

• small pan fried merluza

• quail in papillote - dumpling/ thigh

• figs with ice cream

We enjoyed all the dishes. It was not overwhelming, well seasoned and had good flavor combinations. I did not find them to be very authentic. You can find plates like that in many restaurants in Spain. Probably selecting by ourselves would make things more interesting. They poured a glass of mencia for me, which came out to be vinegar. The owner apologised. I would come back. Recommended.

The dinner was in Abastos 2.0. (repsol recommended). The restaurant has two spaces: the communal table within the market complex and tables in the space across the street. At 8 pm all the tables were occupied on Tuesday night. It is highly irregular for a restaurant in Spain.

• percebes - the smallest and saltiest I have ever tried. Just awful.

• vieira - raw with some panko crunch on top

• navajos - very good. Fresh. Well seasoned.

• tuna confit with pumpkin and almonds - strange dish. My wife hated it. I did not mind, but agreed that something should have been changed because the tuna was too dense and chewy.

• pulpo - excellent. Perfect texture and flavor.

The service was dismal. The waiter did not know the menu and kept coming back stating that the dishes were not available. We ordered grilled veal. When the time for the dish came, he actually told us it was a stew. We had to cancel it and to look at the menu again. That is how we came up with the tuna…We were served within a very short time to get out ASAP. Would not come back, despite good octopus and razor clams. My feeling is that the shellfish is very good everywhere in the area.

We took a morning stroll in Pontevedra. The town is nice, but I would not stay overnight. Mercado de Abastos was a bit busier than in Santiago, but had only one vendor of cheese. We headed to Juncal Alimentary, which was recommended to me by multiple sources, including a few Gallegos. It is a smallish grocery of high quality products. The selection of the canned seafood was surprisingly small. I purchased a few anyway.

Our lunch was highly anticipated. I was eyeing Casa Solla (3 soles, 2 stars) for a while, but did not want to go through the long set menu. Browsing through Guia Repsol I have learned about a new format they had - La Taberna. I have emailed the request and promptly received confirmation. We were greeted and seated around the counter (Japanese style). Senior Solla himself wrote one the blackboard behind today’s menu of small plates. Since there were only 6 of them we asked him to prepare them all. Which he gladly did. He wrote my name on the board with his calligraphic handwriting adding the ordered dishes below. Since my wife does not have comprehension of Spanish he switched to English in communication. The extremely knowledgeable sommelier selected a few glasses of wine for me and my wife. Interestingly, one of them was Portuguese… The point of this setup is to enjoy small plates with small production regional wine. We tried:

• bonito y gaspachuelo

• tomate y encurtidos (pickles) - excellent flavor combination with a lot of taste in every ingredient

• salpicón bogavante - very lightly seasoned, where you can taste every element

• caballa (type of mackerel) escabeche - lightly pickled with mustardy overtones

• empanada with shellfish. That was the only one I tried in Galicia, which I really enjoyed.

• albondigas picosas. very tender. As per Senior Solla, it was done the way his family used to make it.

• some small production local cheese as a dessert.

Pepe Solla is a celebrated self taught chef with a remarkable taste. Along with his sommelier they created a very special atmosphere for every diner. I believe to have a personal meal prepared for by an individual of such caliber is an unmissable opportunity. The price was more than reasonable. Highly recommended.

We spent the night in the Grand Hotel La Toxa. Remarkable location, but Wednesday night is the worst one for dining in the area of O Grove. Every single restaurant I had a remote interest in was closed. Eventually we took a 30 minutes drive to Cambados to dine in Yayo Daporta (2 soles, 1 star). It is a two person operation: Senior Daporta in the back and Seniora Daporta in the front. They had only preset menus. We went with the shorter one.

• forgettable seaweed/ rice cracker

• la navaja naturalmente - delicious combination of razor clams in different forms of preparation

• deconstructed croquetas de centollo and cigalla - very inventive and delicious. Served by the chef personally

• la cebolla y sus capas - local onions prepared in different ways

• la merluza Yayo Daporta - chef’s way of preparing at a low temperature

• pork belly with cheese gnocchi and rice

-100% Albariño de Cambados - desert made out of local grape prepared in different ways

• milhojas with ice cream

Chef’s specialty seems to be taking a product and presenting different ways it can be prepared. We enjoyed the meal very much. Our initial point of concern was the service because it was mostly handled by Senora Daporta herself. It can make the meal very long. During the Wednesday night we attended the place, 5 out of 10 tables were occupied and luckily there were no large groups. It was visibly difficult for her but she accomplished the task very effectively. Clearly it was not her first rodeo. Recommended.

Cambados itself is an important center of the fishing industry and even has Parador. After strolling through the town I was not sure it was worth staying overnight.

More of Galicia to come.

[dostrovs]

Early in the morning we headed from Leon to one of the Galician provincial capitals, Lugo. The only town in the world with completely preserved Roman walls. They are very impressive. The trip went not without adventure. While driving along the autopista the other driver pointed to my back tire. It was running flat. I have a strong feeling I was given the car with this problem by the rental agency. Check your tires when you rent a car! Luckily the gas station exit was very close. I pumped air which held us till Lugo, where I took it to a tire shop. 18 euros later we were on the course again. The lunch in Lugo was in Espana (2 soles).

• small cup of caldo gallego

• tuetano/ tartar. One of their most popular dishes. I would like them better apart.

• beef chorizo with Padron peppers. That one I really liked.

• It is once again a meat eaters destination. We were too overwhelmed by the day prior and not ready to have another oxen steak. We settled on a small picana recommended to us by the waitress. It came with a side of the delicious Galician potatoes.

• delicious tarta de queso

I liked the place. Would have the oxen steak, if not for the day before… FYE: No English spoken.

Easy drive to Santiago de Compostela. You immediately dip into a heavy touristy environment which was not present the previous days. The town is very good looking, but not very big. The dinner was at Lume (repsol recommended). I liked the place, but not sure if I am ready to endorse the long communal table. We were seated facing each other with the two very loud groups by the sides. One French and one Aisian. Besides imposing the overwhelming touristy feeling it pretty much rid us of our ability to communicate. As for the food, it was not bad

• barbecochos with garlic. Alway huge flavor.

• leek in galmesan (local hard cheese GALician parMEGIAN) sauce. I like dishes like that.

• cuttlefish curry. It was not really a curry, just some darkish sauce.

• under the influence of erika 1, we shared a Japanese burger. Very flavorful. A lot of different textures. But it is just a burger.

Agree with Repsol. It is recommended, but not outstanding.

Wisely we booked the roof tour of the cathedral the day prior and spent the day doing the touristy things. Mercado de Abastos. Despite being very touristy it is oriented towards local tourism. The biggest cheese selection of all the markets I have visited in Galicia. Do your cheese shopping there.

The lunch took place in Indomito (1 sol). The restaurant is located about 10 minutes walk away from the historical part. It is a small plate concept. The owner was surprised to see foreigners. He asked if he could select dishes for us, which we went along with.

• raw shrimp in ajo blanco

• little stack of foie gra and mushrooms

• squid with Pedron peppers

• small pan fried merluza

• quail in papillote - dumpling/ thigh

• figs with ice cream

We enjoyed all the dishes. It was not overwhelming, well seasoned and had good flavor combinations. I did not find them to be very authentic. You can find plates like that in many restaurants in Spain. Probably selecting by ourselves would make things more interesting. They poured a glass of mencia for me, which came out to be vinegar. The owner apologised. I would come back. Recommended.

The dinner was in Abastos 2.0. (repsol recommended). The restaurant has two spaces: the communal table within the market complex and tables in the space across the street. At 8 pm all the tables were occupied on Tuesday night. It is highly irregular for a restaurant in Spain.

• percebes - the smallest and saltiest I have ever tried. Just awful.

• vieira - raw with some panko crunch on top

• navajos - very good. Fresh. Well seasoned.

• tuna confit with pumpkin and almonds - strange dish. My wife hated it. I did not mind, but agreed that something should have been changed because the tuna was too dense and chewy.

• pulpo - excellent. Perfect texture and flavor.

The service was dismal. The waiter did not know the menu and kept coming back stating that the dishes were not available. We ordered grilled veal. When the time for the dish came, he actually told us it was a stew. We had to cancel it and to look at the menu again. That is how we came up with the tuna…We were served within a very short time to get out ASAP. Would not come back, despite good octopus and razor clams. My feeling is that the shellfish is very good everywhere in the area.

We took a morning stroll in Pontevedra. The town is nice, but I would not stay overnight. Mercado de Abastos was a bit busier than in Santiago, but had only one vendor of cheese. We headed to Juncal Alimentary, which was recommended to me by multiple sources, including a few Gallegos. It is a smallish grocery of high quality products. The selection of the canned seafood was surprisingly small. I purchased a few anyway.

Our lunch was highly anticipated. I was eyeing Casa Solla (3 soles, 2 stars) for a while, but did not want to go through the long set menu. Browsing through Guia Repsol I have learned about a new format they had - La Taberna. I have emailed the request and promptly received confirmation. We were greeted and seated around the counter (Japanese style). Senior Solla himself wrote one the blackboard behind today’s menu of small plates. Since there were only 6 of them we asked him to prepare them all. Which he gladly did. He wrote my name on the board with his calligraphic handwriting adding the ordered dishes below. Since my wife does not have comprehension of Spanish he switched to English in communication. The extremely knowledgeable sommelier selected a few glasses of wine for me and my wife. Interestingly, one of them was Portuguese… The point of this setup is to enjoy small plates with small production regional wine. We tried:

• bonito y gaspachuelo

• tomate y encurtidos (pickles) - excellent flavor combination with a lot of taste in every ingredient

• salpicón bogavante - very lightly seasoned, where you can taste every element

• caballa (type of mackerel) escabeche - lightly pickled with mustardy overtones

• empanada with shellfish. That was the only one I tried in Galicia, which I really enjoyed.

• albondigas picosas. very tender. As per Senior Solla, it was done the way his family used to make it.

• some small production local cheese as a dessert.

Pepe Solla is a celebrated self taught chef with a remarkable taste. Along with his sommelier they created a very special atmosphere for every diner. I believe to have a personal
prepared for by an individuale of such caliber is an unmissable opportunity. The price was more than reasonable. Highly recommended.

We spent the night in the Grand Hotel La Toxa. Remarkable location, but Wednesday night is the worst one for dining in the area of O Grove. Every single restaurant I had a remote interest in was closed. Eventually we took a 30 minutes drive to Cambados to dine in Yayo Daporta (2 soles, 1 star). It is a two person operation: Senior Daporta in the back and Seniora Daporta in the front. They had only preset menus. We went with the shorter one.

• forgettable seaweed/ rice cracker

• la navaja naturalmente - delicious combination of razor clams in different forms of preparation

• deconstructed croquetas de centollo and cigalla - very inventive and delicious. Served by the chef personally

• la cebolla y sus capas - local onions prepared in different ways

• la merluza Yayo Daporta - chef’s way of preparing at a low temperature

• pork belly with cheese gnocchi and rice

-100% Albariño de Cambados - desert made out of local grappe prepared in different ways

• milhojas with ice cream

Chef’s specialty seems to be taking a product and presenting different ways it can be prepared. We enjoyed the meal very much. Our initial point of concern was the service because it was mostly

handled by Senora Daporta herself. It can make the meal very long. During the Wednesday night we attended the place, 5 out of 10 tables were occupied and luckily there were no large groups. It was visibly difficult for her but she accomplished the task very effectively. Clearly it was not her first rodeo. Recommended.

Cambados itself is an important center of the fishing industry and even has Parador. After strolling through the town I was not sure it was worth staying overnight.

More of Galicia to come.

[Maribel]

Great report and photos!

At the San Sebastián Gastronomika conference José Gordon of El Capricho gave a thoughtful and moving presentation about his long love affair with his oxen and how special the native breeds of cattle are in Spain and in Portugal. The recent horrendous fires on his land in Jiménez de Jamuz caused him great distress, but he was able to save almost all of his livestock.

Incidentally, we had a very disappointing meal in León at Cocina con Mimo and can’t recommend it, while we did love our txuleta upstairs at Marcela Brasas y Vinos. Along with our steak at Bodega el Capricho, it was one of the best we have ever enjoyed in the León province.

[dostrovs]

We strolled throgh the impressive shellfish market of O Grove in the morning. To see the most interesting outdoor staff you have to get there very early. By 10-11 it is over, but the market stroll is still very enlightening. The town is not much to see so you will have a better time in La Toxa. We had our lunch in Asador D’Berto (2 soles) You can find a lot written about this restaurant on this forum. It all stands. The wise thing to do is to stay in the area and to go there a few times to try all the amazing offerings it has. The food orders are taken by Alberto himself and he spends considerable time guiding you through the long menu of items you have never heard before about. We have discussed the selection for too long. We ordered too much and Alberto forgot to put in an order for the giant percebes they had. By the time we realized it, we were already too full… He said - “it’s the reason to come back. None has percebes like I do”. He is probably right.

We got:

• house slice of shellfish empanada - very thin dough!

• Carneiro XL. In Spanish it is described as “parecido a un barbecocho mas grande”. I did not figure out the English translation. If someone knows please let me know. It was a large clam with a sweet and crunchy taste. First time for me.

• Alberto insisted on bonito tartar. It was just OK.

• Very intriguing Longueiron XL (very large razor clam) - you do not need more than one per person - very sweet and not fishy at all!

• barely cooked zamburinas gallegas - small and delicious

• delicate grilled chipirones de la ria with a side of sweated onions. Once again on Alberto’s insistence. In season. Very good.

• we took a quarter of the vorrey (aka palomina roja/ aka king fish in english translation) with a side of steamed cabbage. Memorable taste and preparation. Bite the bullet (pricewise) and get it. Jumping a bit ahead you can pay less for it in La Huertona if you go to Asturias. If you are only in Galicia - get it D’Berto’s. It is one of the main reasons people travel to D’Berto’s.

They did not let us out without dessert. After a prolonged negotiation we got media racion of cheesecake (out of this world with a texture I have never encountered before) and media racion of extra thin crepe with whipped cream (amazing as well). I think it is called filloa.

This restaurant left a lasting impression on my food sensitive mind. I do not know when, but I will be back.

We hopped in the car and 1.5 hours later were in A Coruna - the third Galician provincial capital we have visited that week. It is a very attractive town prompting long and pleasant walks. Over two nights we stayed there we walked abou 20 miles back and forth. Do not skip it if you are heading to Galicia. There are 2 markets and plenty of “gourmet” food stores. I particularly enjoyed Casa Cuenca. I did most of my latas de conservas shopping in A Coruna.

We had two dinners there.

1. Terreo Cocina Casual (1 sol, Bib gourmand). When I mentioned that we have reservation in this restaurant to the sommelier in Casa Solla, he was in shock, stating that “it is more difficult to get in than in Celler Can Roca!”. He was obviously joking. I was aware of this problem. It indeed requires some effort. Here is how you do it: the reservation can be made online only exactly thirty days before, at midnight. Conveniently it was corresponding to the 6 pm of NYC time. I got on line and made the reservation with no problem. For the purity of the experiment I have tried to do the same thing the next day… Nope. All booked. Maybe because it was Saturday. So please pay attention to your food calendar!

We were at the door at the opening time at 8:30. There were around 6 people before us. All of them were informed that there are no available tables. Proudly we walked to one of the nicest tables in the restaurant and enjoyed our meal. From the get go our waiter, who let us in, told that “the arroz is a must” in this restaurant. We took it under serious consideration.

We tried:

• mussels in escabeche - so-so.

• cantabrian anchoas with mousse de queso - delicious. Cantabrian anchoas is one of my Spanish addictions.

• croquetas de bacalao - as well, fantastic. Excellent flavor and texture

• mollejas with mushrooms. The dish was very good, but I have a problem. I know my mushrooms. I have asked: what kind? Whas told - niscalos. I got all excited, knowing that it is a bit early in season for those… Niscalos (once again I do not know the English name) are my favorites! You can not get it in the US! It is translated as Chanterells, but those are not chanterels.
  I found this link: https://medium.com/@me2sense/níscalos-or-robellones-ca12226ad110

• Well.. Those were not niscalos…Shitaki…

• We went with arroz de magret de pato con berenjena, soia y miel. It was amazing. Honestly, one of the best I have ever had. Alicante style. Smallish portion is perfect to share. The texture and FLAVOR of the rice was spot on! I was trying to whizzle out the stock ingredients, but was quickly told that “everyone wants to know, but we will have to kill you if we will tell you”.

The restaurant is totally worth the effort. Do not skip the rice!

2. The second dinner was in 55 pasos. Not rated anywhere but very popular and requiring reservation 2 weeks prior - online only - through Instagram. Once again you have to pay attention to the calendar or you are not going to get in. Was recommended to me by a few Gallegos and confirmed by the staff in other Galician restaurants as “the place” to eat in A Coruna. From the online info: “A little restaurant with a lot of personality was created by a Hungarian and a Corsican who named it after the 55 stairs that separate it from the street Troncoso”. Apparently they travel a lot and try to create some dishes on the basis of their experience… It is a preset menu for about 50 euro/ person.

We had:

• anchoa “la maduna” - huge, on battered by the french batter on grilled slice of focaccia - excellent

• cecina, pan tomate - delicious, but not as great as one in Bodega el Capricho

• Beets/ higos/ huitlacoche - Shockingly bad dish. Prior to getting it I asked if huitlacoche was fresh. No. It is canned. Immediately I knew it would be difficult to eat. One of the worst things I had in a long time.

• Foie presco, pistacho/ kumquat - decent lightly fried with few sauces.

• molleja a la brasa - pretty much it. well made, but very plain.

-torrija (french toast?) a la hungara - probably a reference to the Hungarian origin of the chef. I am not very familiar with Hungarian food. The dish was good with cream anglaise type of sauce.

My general impression of the place is good, but the horrible

huitlacoche dish was too appalling to dismiss. Here is another problem. As I mentioned, it is a two person operation. One cooking and one serving. They were serving about 24 full diners inside and a couple people outside for drinks and snacks. Although we came at 8:45, we were served somewhere from the 3rd dish at the same time as people who came at 10. I understand that it is difficult to prepare individual plates by the only chef. Understanding does not make me happier during the long expectation times between the plates. It was a very long dinner.

During the lunch of the same day we decided to venture to Costa del Morte. We drove to the sleepy seaside town of Malpica de Brigantines. After a pleasant walk along the beach we went to have lunch in As Garzas (2 soles, 1 star) a few miles away. The scenery around is breathtaking. The restaurant has a nice view from the dining area. I was a bit put off by the attempt to impose on us a tasting menu. I have specifically requested the reservation for a la cart. They were not happy but complied in the end.

My wife had a local scallops dish, which was not very interesting. I had escabeche mackerel. It was not bad. We shared arroz de bogavante. It was meant to be dry and was not very flavorful. We had two very nice desserts. “Mojito” mousse and milojas.

The atmosphere was very pleasant. I guess the food was not bad either, but we were spoiled by the fantastic meals in the previous days.

The next morning we headed for Asturias.

[Ziggy]

That steak! You are giving me some ideas for the next trip

[dostrovs]

The drive from A Coruna to Oviedo takes about 3 hours. We have divided it into a few manageable steps. Conveniently just under 2 hours of driving, just before you enter Asturias, there is Playa Catedrales. To our luck we have arrived at the beginning of the low tide and were allowed to descend to the beach after entering our personal data into “the system”. As I was explained by the friendly guard It is done for the purpose of body identification if you do not get out by the time of the high tide. The place deserves the stop but was very crowded because of the weekend with low tide conveniently just before the lunch time.

We drove for another hour to a tiny town of Prendes. It is the location of the notorious Casa Gerardo (3 soles, 1 star). After reserving the table I started to read about the place and discovered that it the favorite of Jose Andres. There are even some PBS specials about it… As well I found the book about the restaurant sold in “El Mercado Little Spain” in Hudson Yards. I did not buy it. I figured the place is the perfect introduction to the cuisine of Asturias.

As usually we were first to arrive. The place is rather small and has few rooms, 3-4 tables each. The waiter made a sound of relief after learning that I speak Spanish. He admitted that they have difficulties serving foreign clientele…

Without any discussion he indicated that we will be served introductory menu since it is our first time. We agreed. He has found a bottle of a high end cider not requiring pouring ritual which we shared.

We tried:

• potppurie of appetizers. All of them were inventive and delicious made exclusively from the local products (croquetas, cheese crackers, stuffed ognions, cenolla soup).

• steamed lettuce with pilpil… Not much of the food..

• steamed merluza with the light sauce - delicious, but nothing special

• Fabada de Prendes - their hallmark dish served in pretty much every restaurant of Asturias… It was fairly delicate with small pieces of smoked pork, chorizo and morcilla on the side. It tasted just as any good bean dish should be. Asturians are very proud of their fabada, but i would not drive all the way to this restaurant just to try it.

• 
  Crema de arroz con leche requemada de Prendes
  - another their famous dish (see PBS special with Jose Andres). Once again, delicious, but I do not know what is so special about it.

Overall no complaints about the meal, 88 euro/ person for all of the above seems a bit excessive.

[dostrovs]

Just noted that in previous post centolla (local crab) got autocorrected for cenolla…

[Maribel]

My friend Gabriella of Tenedor Tours also ate twice at D’Berto this summer and once again sings its praises. Yes, for the acclaimed rey/virrey/alfonsino/palometa roja one just has to bite the bullet.
We enjoyed it again at Güeyu Mar at Puerto de Vega this August and this year it was priced at 98/kilo.
I see that this year at D´Berto it´s priced at 160!

It’s interesting how hard it is to snatch a rezzie at Terreo. In today’s Diario de Gastronomía an article stated that the 3 most difficult restaurant reservations in Spain today are:
Celler de Can Roca, Disfrutar and Mugaritz.
(The latter *truly" surprises me since it’s certainly not a place that hits the high notes with every diner, as Adoni’s goal is to challenge the diner with a push the envelope experience rather than to please him.)

In the Anthony Bourdain/José Andrés episode, Asturias Parts Unknown, the twosome also dined at Gúeyu Mar in the very last scene.

[dostrovs]

Vorrey was priced:
170 euros por kilo in D’Berto
100 euro por portion (minimum 2) in Gueye Mar
120 euros por kilo in La Huertona (subject to availability)
I have not seen it anywhere else

[Maribel]

I see that the price has increased a bit at D´Berto and at Güeyu Mar since we had “rey” there in August.
(Chef Álvarez calls it “rey” but our hostess at our B&B insisted that the proper name is “virrey”.)

[erica1]

Is it not also called “palometa roja?” Or is that a different fish entirely?
Those prices, though…

[Maribel]

Yes, in your report I remember that Berto called it palometa roja.
So, palometa roja/ alfonsino/rey/virrey usually refer to that same red fish with the huge bulging eye.

And the price is due to the scarcity plus the demand.
Wild caught fish has become extremely expensive here.

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

Beautiful. Great fotos.
D’Berto looks like a treasure.

[erica1]

I’ll have to look up the prices for the virrey at D’Berto when I get home; we were there last year, and in 2023.

A point of comparison: We are now in Puglia where much more ordinary fish (spigola, orata) hover around 75 euro per kilo at the restaurants we visited. But these were fairly ordinary restaurants, on a different level entirely than D’BERTO.

[Maribel]

erica1,
I consulted my receipt from Güeyu Mar and was mistaken. The “rey” there this July cost 90 per person, not per kilo, so we were charged 180 euros.

At Bodegón Joxe Mari in Orio we were charged 117.60 for our besugo, as it weighted 1.2 kilos and was priced at 98 per kilo.

At Katxi in Morga, Bizkaia, our huge rodaballo or turbot (far too much for 2 persons) cost 133.

I always recommend, if possible, that whole fish such as these be shared among 3 (as the threesome next to us at Joxe Mari did) or even among 4. And order several starters also to share, which is what all of our friends do. Food must be shared! But our friends weren’t with us on these trips. These specimens will always be larger than a kilo.

Sardines, pulpo, volandeiras and bonito are cheap in comparison!

[dostrovs]

Oviedo is another predisposing to a walking city. Interestingly it is one of the least “Spanish” looking cities in Spain. While the appearance of Southern Galicia definitely makes you sense that Portugal is nearby, elevated parts of Asturias give more of an Alpian feel. After an intense day we settled on Casa Fermin (2 soles) for dinner. When we arrived at the opening time, there were about 15 people standing by the entrance. The average age of the customers was well above 60. Same goes for the staff. The menu is very conservative. After some reflection we decided to go for 1/ 2 raciones of:

• jamon (our first during this trip) - good as expected

• anchoas con crema de queso Afuega’l Pitu. We could not get enough of it during this trip

• sardina escabechada - not bad, but boring

• Cochinillo confitado - very good
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Nothing was wrong with the food, but the restaurant made an impression of something from the 1980s. Very old facion with the menu remaining constant for years, but friendly ..

The next day we were wandering around Gascona (touristy street where the cider pouring restaurants are concentrated). While the biggest and most popular seems to be Tierra Astur, we decided to have a meal in La Finka Agrobar, which was recommended by Maribel in her postings. The portions were very large, we had enough courage only for two plates:

• longaniza de aviles - delicious smoked sausage of an excellent texture and flavor

• we could not leave Asturias without trying el cachopo. Unlike its most common rendition, breaded and deep fried, La Finka serves one without the breading. The size of this dish is very intimidating and we have managed to defeat only about 1/3. El cachopo is not for the faint at heart.
  

  
  
  
  

Our trip took us for a morning tour of Covadonga and Mirador Entrelagos. We enjoyed it very much and within 25 minutes drive from Picos de Europa were in Ribadesella. It is a wonderful destination with mesmerizing views and a bustling food scene. We stayed in Villa Rosario (endorsed by Maribel) and could not have been happier with the choice. My wife even expressed a wish to stay longer… As for food:

1. La Huertona (2 soles). The restaurant has breathtaking scenery and remarkable service. We tried:

• guisantes tiernos soup. local variety of something between peas and beans. It was recommended by the waiter as a seasonal special dish.

ensaladilla rusa con bogavante - one of their signature dishes. Although I have nothing against the spanish lobsters, I hold the ones from Maine in higher esteem. Now I will be making it in the US. The only challenge is to find good potatoes. My current preference is young potatoes from Food Bazar (AKA Fairway)

croqueta de manzana con higado fresco de pata - croqueta is sliced in a half with some foie in the middle.

• a 1/4 of virrey (which they called rey de costa) - delicious and the cheapest of ones we have encountered. The waiter admitted that they do not always have it.

I highly recommend the restaurant. Special bonus is their attention to seasonal products.

2. Quince nudos (1 sol). Located in the back alley of the coastal part of town. We went with the waiter’s recommendations. We tried:

• carpaccio de gamba roja - not particularly interesting

• croqueta with salmorejo - again so-so

• I requested - an exotic for an American taste - oreja guisada. I collageny stew of pig ears with a very timid amount of chipotle and for some reason red curry. The dish tasted exactly as it sounds. Not well seasoned.

• the rice seems to be their specialty and we went along with: sidra, anguilla ahumada and foie. Listed as “seco” it was more like “meloso”. The flavor was good, but the smoked eel was overpowering everything else including the flavor of foie.

If I would go to the place again, I would probably select the different dishes.

3. The highlight of Asturias visit was Gueyu Mar (2 soles) on the other side of town - Playa de Vega.

The place attracts a lot of attention from the foodies with the numerous reviews online in different languages. I believe it deserves all the attention, but the prices reflect it. Senior Alvarez grills all the fish by himself. After a long discussion with him and the waiter we went along with:

• fish pate (on the house)

• navajas. As in every place we tried, it was delicious. This time with some smoky overtones.

• Portuguese sardines. Just arrived in front of us. Chef Alvarez quickly roasted it. Super fresh and tender.

• the waiter convinced us to try fabada de erizo. The sea urchins were fresh, super sweet and surprisingly good together with the beans. I forgot to ask where they were sourced from. One of the most unusual things I tried on this trip.

• after trying virrey twice we opted to give a chance to the slice of grouper. The fish was very large and tasted different from the American variety. This is the plate where the asador skill of the chef Alvarez can be detected. I am sure his virrey is even more impressive. Please do not leave the restaurant without sampling his roasted fish.

We tried some tarta de queso for dessert. The waiter explained the desserts are made by the chef’s aunt.

I would like to point out an excellent sommelier who provided us with a few glasses of the most exceptional local wines. Asturain albarin was the one I particularly enjoyed.

I still owe you 2 days in Madrid.

[Maribel]

So much to comment on, dostrovs! First, your photos are terrific and much better than mine!

About Oviedo’s Casa Fermín,
yes, it has a very unprepossessing entrance (to a commercial shopping gallery) and seems not to have been redecorated since the 80s, but as you noticed, it’s much loved by locals (and Antonio Banderas & Meryl Streep). I have a soft spot still for Madame, as she graciously seated us when we arrived (not knowing) without a reservation, assuming that our concierge had reserved for us when he couldn’t because they were full. She didn’t bat an eye and seated us in the center by ourselves rather than upstairs then apologized for the poor table and gave us a more comfortable one. What a lovely lady. She suggested half portions so as to try more dishes and we really enjoyed the cochinillo.

If you return to Oviedo, I recommend Ca Suso and a Nacho Manzano recommendation, Casa Laure on the Plaza Trascorrales with an exceptional! wine list and fine rollo de bonito.

For that gigantic cachopo we tried La Corte de Pelayo (open Mondays), but their award winning cachopo easily feeds four!

La Finca Gastrobar is our favorite on “cider house row”, as it offers farm to table dining and fewer tourists than the always packed Tierra Astura (with a new, huge branch in the El Vasco shopping mall).

So happy you enjoyed Villa Rosario and my favorite Asturian beach town/fishing village, Ribadesella. If you return to Quince Nudos, try the arroz seco a banda con vieiras and the pitu caleya croquettes.

It was so fortunate that you dined in both La Huertona & Güeyu Mar, as they’re totally different experiences. We did the latter for lunch and the former for dinner.

Güeyu Mar’s sommelier, Chema, is delightful. We were headed to Abel’s wife’s chiringuito but my husband sensed that I really was pining for another “rey”, so I went in at 1 pm and asked Chema (Batalla) to work a miracle for me on an August Saturday!. He seated us on the terrace but warned that if a storm arrived, he couldn’t accommodate us inside, as it was fully booked. Luckily, the weather gods complied.
Abel certainly is a one man show at the grill. He says " My job is to barely touch the product".
And his aunt’s cheesecake is exceptional, made from Gamoneu. And that fish paté, extraordinary. We brought some home. I’ve never had fabada con erizos de mar because they aren’t in season in summer.

I often recommend that visitors to Asturias try the Cangas de Narcea produced wines (heroic viticulture down there), especially those made of the albarín blanco, along with its ice cider, sidra de hilo Valverán.

Looking forward to your Madrid report!