One recent morning, I arrived in San Sebastian. It was still dark outside and there was a slight chill in the air. The overnight train from Lisbon had rattled noisily over the mountains of northern Portugal, shunting us about in our cabin half the night as we attempted to sleep; now it deposited us at Estuation Del Norte right on time before rumbling on towards the French border. On the platform, we squinted around for a map. Then we set off along the river on foot, ignoring the taxis outside the station: there is a special thrill in finding yourself in a new, unfamiliar place as the sun is coming up, and we wanted to savor it.
My wife and I were excited about San Sebastian. Located on Spain's northern coast, between the Atlantic Ocean and the hilly, fertile landscape of the Basque country, it has to be one of the most attractive destinations in southern Europe. It also has a world-beating food scene. Throughout the year, gastronomes flock here to indulge in the superb local produce cooked with care and ingenuity in the city's many kitchens - San Sebastian boasts more Michelin stars per capita than any other city on earth.
At midday, our gastronomic adventures began in earnest as we set off for Parte Viejas, the medieval old town and the city's culinary heart. En route, we meandered through handsome, modern streets and ended up on the waterfront. San Sebastian expanded beyond the walls of Parte Viejas in the late 1800s and, early last century, it became a favorite holiday spot for the Spanish royal family. You can see why they were attracted to it. Three large beaches dominate the city, the most dramatic being La Concha, which stretched before us now, a mile of beautiful white sand curving off into the distance.
Beyond city hall, we entered the old town and immediately found ourselves overwhelmed with eating options. San Sebastian is celebrated for its pintxos, the Basque version of tapas often held together by the toothpick-like spike, or pincho, from which the name is derived. If it's pintxos you're after, Parte Viejas is the place to be: the number of establishments serving them on every street is astounding.
In most pintxo bars, the focal point is a long counter laden with irresistible, bite-sized delicacies that first-timers tend to attack in a frenzy of excitement that leaves them stuffed before their pintxo tour has properly begun. Here's a tip: resist these temptations and order direct from the menu, which you'll usually find chalked up on a blackboard behind the counter. Not only will the food you order will be superbly fresh from the kitchen, but you'll also be able to pace yourself a little better. A true appreciation of pintxo culture, after all, requires movement. You sample the specialty of one place - each decent pintxo place seems to have a dish or two that it does better than anywhere else - and then you stroll on to the next.
Our first stop was La Cuchara de San Telmo, one of a new generation of pintxo spots which does away with counter food entirely. All the dishes came freshly cooked from the kitchen, and what we had - rock octopus with sautéed cabbage leaves, sea scallop wrapped in acorn-fed Iberico bacon - were every bit as good as they sounded.
My wife and I were excited about San Sebastian. Located on Spain's northern coast, between the Atlantic Ocean and the hilly, fertile landscape of the Basque country, it has to be one of the most attractive destinations in southern Europe. It also has a world-beating food scene. Throughout the year, gastronomes flock here to indulge in the superb local produce cooked with care and ingenuity in the city's many kitchens - San Sebastian boasts more Michelin stars per capita than any other city on earth.
At midday, our gastronomic adventures began in earnest as we set off for Parte Viejas, the medieval old town and the city's culinary heart. En route, we meandered through handsome, modern streets and ended up on the waterfront. San Sebastian expanded beyond the walls of Parte Viejas in the late 1800s and, early last century, it became a favorite holiday spot for the Spanish royal family. You can see why they were attracted to it. Three large beaches dominate the city, the most dramatic being La Concha, which stretched before us now, a mile of beautiful white sand curving off into the distance.
Beyond city hall, we entered the old town and immediately found ourselves overwhelmed with eating options. San Sebastian is celebrated for its pintxos, the Basque version of tapas often held together by the toothpick-like spike, or pincho, from which the name is derived. If it's pintxos you're after, Parte Viejas is the place to be: the number of establishments serving them on every street is astounding.
In most pintxo bars, the focal point is a long counter laden with irresistible, bite-sized delicacies that first-timers tend to attack in a frenzy of excitement that leaves them stuffed before their pintxo tour has properly begun. Here's a tip: resist these temptations and order direct from the menu, which you'll usually find chalked up on a blackboard behind the counter. Not only will the food you order will be superbly fresh from the kitchen, but you'll also be able to pace yourself a little better. A true appreciation of pintxo culture, after all, requires movement. You sample the specialty of one place - each decent pintxo place seems to have a dish or two that it does better than anywhere else - and then you stroll on to the next.
Our first stop was La Cuchara de San Telmo, one of a new generation of pintxo spots which does away with counter food entirely. All the dishes came freshly cooked from the kitchen, and what we had - rock octopus with sautéed cabbage leaves, sea scallop wrapped in acorn-fed Iberico bacon - were every bit as good as they sounded.
