More tapas action, this time Pamplona

(If you are reading this post on a RSS reader, you might want to click through to Chez Pim for the slideshow.

Here are some photos from another tapas crawl, this time Pamplona. Admittedly it wasn't such a successful one, so I'm afraid I might not have much to tell. It was something of a surprise, actually, since Pamplona is practically a stone's throw from San Sebastian, which has long ago staked the claim as the birthplace of tapas.

I should also admit though that we didn't give the town much of a chance. We didn't set out on the crawl until well after ten, which would have been a great time to begin had we been in San Sebastian or Barcelona, but, as it turns out, the denizens of Pamplona go to bed much earlier than their compatriots. We stopped first at a 'nouveau' tapas bar called Gaucho. The fares didn't look so good, but the bar came with such a good recommendation that we decided to pick a few things to try. We should have listened to our eyes and nose, actually, as we were even less impressed after tasting them.

Having consoled ourselves properly with a sherry and a beer or two, we set out to Calle San Nicolas to find other recommended places. Unfortunately, we found one place after another closed, or in the process of closing. The few remaining places were sparsely populated, and the food didn't look so good.

The persnickety French chef in our party wrinkled his nose at the empty rooms and all the tired-looking food on the counters, shaking his head, barely concealing the indescribable look on his face, and quickly stepped out. "Do you know how to tell a good tapas bar, Pim?", asked said chef. "You're asking me?", I mumbled, rolling my eyes. My foodie street cred assaulted, unprovoked no less, I was about to launch into a thesis on deconstructing tapas bars, he said, simply, "A good tapas bar is a full tapas bar".

Dude. I hate it when you are so right.

We finally settled on one that was more than decently populated. The food on the bar itself didn't look so great, but David noticed an interesting a la carte menu so - being the only one in our party not deaf and mute while in Spain - he ordered a few things for us to try. I was by then famished so I might not be such a good judge of quality at that point, but everything came out fresh, simply done, and quite delicious.

We had cured anchovies with a hefty dose of garlic, cuttlefish with caramelized onions, served with a sauce made of its ink, and a big plate of octopus with olive oil and pimente d'espalette. As food arrived, David, Julie and I grabbed our forks and attacked the plates right on the bar - comme il faut. The fastidious French chef piped up that we should go get a table and sit down properly. "At a tapas bar?", I asked, incredulous, my eyes rolling to the back of my head. Seriously.

Dude. I love it when you are so, so wrong.

Comments

[Pille]

I visited Madrid, Pamplona and Barcelona during August 2004, and must admit that food-wise, Pamplona was the least interesting. Whereas I had great food in Madrid and wonderful tapas in Barcelona, the pintxos I had in Pamplona just didn't impress me..

[Ed]

So is it me, or are you hanging with Alain Passard? Pretty strong resemblence if not...If so, damn you Pim!

[agnes]

All these tapas that you have shown us are so grotesque to look at.On a trip to Bilbao, I was inspired by the creativity of the presentation and the variety of the ingredients. the ones that you have had may have tasted great but please no more slimy seafood in a pool of oil....

[barbara]

My first tapas crawl was in Pamplona in 2004 and I loved it. Of course I had nothing to compare it to as it was my first visit to Spain. It was a Saturday night, the streets and bars were full and people were still out singing in the streets when we were trying to sleep at 2AM.

[Stephen]

That's too bad. I hate when a lousy experience ruins a city for me. Sometimes luck just runs that way I guess.

[Scott Solomon]

I don't know why, but sometimes I get the feeling that Spanish restaurants like to serve octopus.

[EDA SUNER]

Hi
I’m from Turkey İstanbul I find your link and I love all posts. I visit every day :)
By the way can you also please visit my blog www.edasuner.com and maybe share some comments under the pictures I will be ver happy. Unfortunately its in Turkish language ,in my blog I give some examples about some succesful art Works. When you click “BİZ KİM MİYİZ?” link in the right upside main menu you can find some pictures of me and my husband , and when you click “KATEGORİLER” you find every categories abot my blog. And if you say ok I write your blog name on my "Sevdiğim Linkler" category is it ok? If you say ok can you write me please? Hope you enjoy your time swetty friend.

www.edasuner.com

[Dani]

Hey, I spent a semester in Sevilla where the tapas were my favorite part of the sometimes bland dining experience. The trick seemed to be to stay away from any tourist filled area (hard to do) and to not be afraid of ordering things with bull in them. I found your blog scanning the Blogger's Choice Awards Best Food Blog category. Did you know you'd been nominated? You've won my vote by making me remember that there was more to my semester in Sevilla than a horrible stomache virus. If you want to make it easy for people to vote for you, you can add a "Brag Badge". http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/10593 Seems like a cool opportunity. Plenty of time, results don't come out till Nov. Good luck!

[Dani]

Hey, I spent a semester in Sevilla where the tapas were my favorite part of the sometimes bland dining experience. The trick seemed to be to stay away from any tourist filled area (hard to do) and to not be afraid of ordering things with bull in them. I found your blog scanning the Blogger's Choice Awards Best Food Blog category. Did you know you'd been nominated? You've won my vote by making me remember that there was more to my semester in Sevilla than a horrible stomache virus. If you want to make it easy for people to vote for you, you can add a "Brag Badge". http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/10593 Seems like a cool opportunity. Plenty of time, results don't come out till Nov. Good luck!

[Mike Sowden]

Hm.
Yes, really doesn't sound like my idea of a fulfilling tapas experience.
Your photos are, as ever, superb but those dishes don't whet my appetite.....
....
>>'A good bar is a full bar' / 'restaurant'.
I used to think that. But I'm just back from Greece, where I relied heavily on the 'Rough Guide To Greece' (11th edition) for reputable eateries. And most of the places recommended by the guide were 1) superb, and 2) relatively empty, while the nearby glitzier bars were doing roaringly well with their pappy low-taste tourist fodder.
So now I don't know what to think.
Maybe Rough Guide exerts a strange kind of anti-charisma. Not that I'm complaining, mind.

[home cook]

I just discovered your site and I'm drooling, just looking at the pictures. Wow! That looks amazing.

[Figs Olives Wine]

How bizarre! A town in Spain that goes to bed early! I had no idea, and what a bummer about the tapas! That photo of the cod still made me jealous though. I had the best tapas of my life in Barcelona, shortly followed by the delicious tapas I had in, of all places, Torremolinos in Andalusia. Totally overrun by tourism, but still damn good tapas bars filled with locals. Go figure.

[eddybles]

My mom and I had a similar experience in Pamplona. We searched for an entire afternoon for a decent place to eat that was open and without success, stopped at the bank and hightailed it out of town. My memory of the city is basically a blank slate save for an ATM machine. We had our best tapas experience in Salamanca surrouded by the 13th century university. Gorgeous food. Gorgeous town.

[Roselyn]

Just got back from San Sebastian, Bilbao & Biarritz. Pintxos at Alona Berri were very good. Didn't make it to Mugaritz or Akelare and Arzak was closed for the season. Will definitely go back for more of the Basque region's wonderful food!

[Diogo]

Fabulous!!! Awesome!!!

I would love to go to this place. Wait for me, hahahaha...

Kisses, from a brazilian blogger,

Diogo.

[kathleencain]

Mmmmmm....Such sumptuous, beautiful photos. I'm salivating on the keyboard, trying not to take a bite out of the monitor. Fabulous, fabulous stuff, from one foodie to another!

[bopa]

The pictures on your blog are beatiful. What camera do you use? I am looking into buying myself a new camera...maybe you could help me?

Thxs

Bopa

[dessy]

Hi Cez, I 'm impressed with your fotos. If you don't mind I'd like to know how to make the foto slide? please send it to my email. Thanks, regards a lot from Netherlands.

[Jimmy-in-Seattle]

Pimmy...'Been about six months, thought i'd check-in and say hello...Saw a picture somewhere in here of you - I still think you're beautiful. Same with your photography!! It has really grown, and become an extension of you. It hits me everywhere. It fills my senses. It's soooo gratifying. So beautiful!...Your writing on the-other-hand, Oi! Yikes. Write less - mean more! Too many words dear. So much winey and bitchy stuff. That ain't you...Still, all-in-all I'm glad to see you pluggin' away. Bravo!....Your favorite critic: Jimmy-in-Seattle

[Rose Kelley]

Geee.... no new entry in almost three weeks. Do you write here any more? What's wrong?