I am sorry I did not photograph tonight's meal. In most of Spain, one eats lots of tapas, but in Basque country (or, at least, in Bilbao), we eat pintxos. These are something like appetizers. Tapas, I am told, were once served for free to those drinking alcohol at establishments such as bars and cafes (probably to keep the hungry from leaving the drinking establishment in search of food). I am told that, in some places, tapas still are free. Here, though, pintxos cost a pretty penny. Examples of pintxos are:

• a slice of baguette, topped with a slice of smoked salmon, mushroom cream cheese, and a little cilantro 
• a slice of baguette topped with a small tempura cod and a mystery red sauce
• a round of fried blood topped with a cube of crystallized tomato and a crystallized pepper (ok, this one I may be totally wrong about because this description is based on a loose translation of the sign gracing the dish and my visual inspection of it)
• a crispy wonton shell with bits of chicken and fried potatoes
• a fried egg with tomato and potato on a slice of baguette
• foie gras and vegetables wrapped in bacon
• pulled pork in peanut butter sauce sandwiched between fried apple slices atop a slice of baguette
• caramelized julienned vegetables with balsamic vinegar sandwiched between two sesame crackers
• miniature subs with prosciutto/ mini hot dogs topped with some mayonnaise or condensed cream type dressing as well as a bit of green

 

We did not eat all of these, but tried most of them. All of these are finger-food sized, and tend to cost about 1.5 Euros each where we have gone to eat. Jess always orders wine for us in case the food is free (as a considerate gesture to the restaurateur). Plus, the wine is amazing. I had a dry chardonnay tonight that made me think I may actually like chardonnay after all -- like, when it does not taste like alcoholic soda pop.

 

Gracias to Steph for suggesting this post!