Page 95 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2019 PORTUGAL
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French, but just settled back and basked in the   guide's favorite. The chef kept tempting us
            warmth of the scene, another future memory        with new dishes. Some highlights of how they
            from Basque Country.                              use creative combinations of ingredients to go
               We started the next day with a morning         beyond the ordinary and expected with con-
            stroll along the Playa de la Concha, a sparkling  trasting flavors and textures:
            beach lined with Belle Epoque architecture.
            For perspective and photographic fun, above it       •   Gilda – a classic pintxo found every-
            all, visit Mount Urgull to enjoy drone-level          where, with a green pepper, a pickled an-
            views of the region, city, and curving coastline      chovy, and a stuffed olive on a skewer.
            from four different vantage points.                  •   Txalupa – A baguette topped with
                                                                  creamy goat cheese and a drizzle of honey.
               Enjoying Old Town                                 •   Chistorra – Grilled Basque sausage
                                                                  served on a slice of artisan bread.
               Take a day to wander San Sebastian's Old          •   Croqueta – The Basque version of a
            Town (La Parte Vieja), located at the foot of         croquet, with a deep-fried ball of creamy
            Mount Urgull and surrounded by the sea on             bechamel sauce, with ham or cheese or
            one side and the River Urumea on the other, to        both.
            get a feeling for the city, its color, subtleties,   •   Bacalao – Salt cod served on a slice of
            sites, restaurants, bars, and examples of local       artisan bread with tomato and pepper
            culture and history. Plaza de la Constitución,        sauce (great with the local white wine).
            one of the region’s most famous squares, hums
            with activity and energy, including from the
                                                                 For going beyond grazing on our last night
            many bars and
                                                                                        in San Sebastian, we
            restaurants. It has
                                                                                        secured a table at
            two significant
                                                                                        Rekondo, a tradi-
            churches, Santa
                                                                                        tional Basque
            Maria Church and
                                                                                        restaurant known
            San Vicente Church,
                                                                                        globally as a mecca
            which are a walk
                                                                                        of wine. The restau-
            back in time and
                                                                                        rant is a short cab
            provide insights into
                                                                                        ride from town on
            the religious history
                                                                                        the road up to Mt.
            of San Sebastian and
                                                                                        Igueldo. The dining
            a serene and cerebral
                                                                                        rooms blend contem-
            contrast to the lively
                                                                                        porary design with a
            street scenes.
                                                                                        classic feel and am-
               Old Town is fa-                                                          biance from the
            mous for its vibrant                                                        tasteful furnishings,
            culinary scene and as a "pintxos paradise.”
                                                              fixtures, soft colors, and textures. The feeling
            Book a pintxo tour with one of the local guides   is high-end but relaxing and comfortable, not
            to get the most out of your gastronomic adven-    stuffy.
            tures. We grazed with our guide through sev-
                                                                 Rekondo has over 125,000 bottles in its cel-
            eral local bars and restaurants, including
                                                              lar, from century-old classics to the latest
            Ganbara, for those who enjoy a lively atmos-
                                                              wines from Rioja and other parts of Spain,
            phere with high energy, and the more tradi-
                                                              France, Italy, and Germany. We asked the
            tional Bar La Cepa (opened in 1948), our
                                                              sommelier for a recommendation in the mod-
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