So happy to report back that we had a great visit to Cuenca and Cáceres!
We were starving on arrival in Cuenca and ate lunch in the square at Los Arcos, which was solid (eggs and mushrooms sin jamon for me, swordfish [or something similar] and potatoes for husband.
We liked the looks of the patio at Piola Gastrobar and had a pleasant dinner there. Bacalao fritters fantastic, husband’s squid ink and sea bass pasta phenomenal, fine salad with burrata and artichoke app, my hake lasagna was just too rich.
The next night we got more ambitious and had the meal of the trip at Raff (repsol solete). I was literally tearing up at how good it was, and was reminded of what I have missed about dining out the last couple years.
Amuse bouche: salmorejo and hummus with capers, followed by the most perfectly cooked asparagus ever (with romesco), husband’s trout escabeche also a wow, I had the fish stew with saffron, husband won again with octopus and winter squash. I was pleased at the care taken with the wine rec–an orange wine from the region. Dining area was well spaced out, ceilings high–I felt very comfortable eating indoors here.
The Casas Colgadas restaurant was still not open. I halfheartedly inquired through the website at Trivio, but we has decided we were not quite ready for dining in close quarters indoors. The space (at edge of old town) looks cool–possibly too hip for us, lol.
In Cáceres, we again ate with urgency the first meal–Taperia Yuste, where the tapas was forgettable but the shared late of squid and lime aioli was perhaps the finest squid I’ve ever eaten. Service was indifferent, probably the only place I ever felt that.
The next two nights we ate at the outstanding El Figón de Eustaquio. I was again nearly brought to tears, this time bu a cod puree that my husband likened to butter chicken. The mushroom croquetone was also amazing. Salads were excellent. The next night we finished off the seafood menu–tuna and gambas. I was pleasantly surprised by how good seafood was in both regions–especially in the land of jamon.
We tried plaza mayor the next night and it was loud from annoying autotune music and prep for a festival, so we headed back to the peaceful plaza San Juan and tried La Morocho. This was very different and we enjoyed it. Husband had a squid ink risotto he raved about, also liked the escarole salad with bacalao and I think some kind of pork. I needed vegetables and had a spicy rice dish with garbanzos and fried eggs–excellent but too much food (get the small portions unless sharing).
Our last meal was at El Rincon, more perfectly prepared squid, boquerones, and the best grilled vegetables I’ve ever had.
I loved the yellow herbal digestivo–need to research that.
We walked by Atrio and Torre de Sande several times, but they just did not look inviting and the weather was so perfect we wanted to be outside (having the test to return also influenced this).
The Repsol website was extremely helpful–in addition to listings for each town, there are features like “48 hours in [town].”
We ended up not going to Toledo, spent last night in Alcala de Henares where we liked the good quality beer food at Cerveceria El Hidalgo and dinner at Hostaria Estudiante.
It was so good to be in Spain and in two stunning and seemingly overlooked areas (by Americans anyway) after a long hiatus, thanks everyone!
One complaint: Spanish women wear a lot of perfume, and I have a sensitivity–especially to the one that is so extremely popular right now (everyone seemed to be wearing it). Eating indoors close to other tables would have been unbearable–it was nearly so outdoors at times. I’d rather smell cigarette smoke in all honesty. Alas, something I just have to deal with, all over the world.
