Food on the Camino, what do you miss?

[woody66]

I agree. The Francesinha sandwich was a big mistake. I was glad to be able to share it and still couldn't eat my half; nor did I want to finish it.

Hi Chrissy!
I had heard about the Francesinha before Camino on here; thought that's for me dinner in a bun so got one in restaurant along the Douro river!
Oh my life bl**dy awful i ate the chips and left the rest; won't do that again!
Just realised that the second burger related response in about 15 minutes
I am not a philistine i do appreciate good food!
Woody

 

[Camino Chrissy]

i ate the chips and left the rest; won't do that again!

Woody, I wonder if there will be any replies from pilgrims who loved that "sandwich". The leftovers on the plate are probably fed to the dog out back.

 

[Bradypus]

Woody, I wonder if there will be any replies from pilgrims who loved that "sandwich". The leftovers on the plate are probably fed to the dog out back.

I loved mine! But my tastes in food and drink are generally not very subtle. I lean towards strong flavours and calorie-dense foods. More likely to choose tinto rather than blanco, stout rather than lager, and a huge steaming pile of meat and fat surrounded by chips rather than the quinoa and lettuce alternative....

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I loved mine! But my tastes in food and drink are generally not very subtle. I lean towards strong flavours and calorie-dense foods. More likely to choose tinto rather than blanco, stout rather than lager, and a huge steaming pile of meat and fat surrounded by chips rather than the quinoa and lettuce alternative....

I love both dense foods and lighter fare. There was "almost" nothing I disliked on my Caminos and never left anything on my plate except most of that sandwich, and later a small bucket of tiny snails. They were slimey and you pulled them out of their shell with a toothpick...totally disgusting to me and I generally love seafood. I even wondered if they were raw.

 

[Former member 92300]

Tortilla de potata is what I miss the most. I even bought one of those pans to make it - but still haven't made it! Don't miss much else - my stomach issues made it hard for me to find foods I am allowed to eat that satisfy me. But what I do miss more is the communal meals with friends - whether at an albergue or a meetup at some bar/restaurant along the way.

 

[flewitheagles]

Pulpo!

It's my reward dish that I eat every time I arrive in SdC! I try to add sangria when it's available.

 

[Jean-Pierre]

During my first Camino I was introduced to the scrumptious tortilla. You know that thing that looked like a pie made with eggs and potatoes. Well today, the Mrs. (@J Willhaus )made one for breakfast. What a delight!

What Camino food do you miss?

View attachment 140506View attachment 140507

I miss nothing.

 

[WGroleau]

During my first Camino I was introduced to the scrumptious tortilla. You know that thing that looked like a pie made with eggs and potatoes. Well today, the Mrs. (@J Willhaus )made one for breakfast. What a delight!

What Camino food do you miss?

While I like Spanish tortilla, I'd like it more if it had a little less potato and a little more meat/cheese/egg.

Another thing I liked about northern Spain was that every bar made cafë con leche with the same machine and the same settings. So it always tasted "just right." (Except for the one place where someone had apparently changed some settings on the machine.)

 

[DJwalKing]

Favorite meals:

• Paella and sangria in Santiago
• Amazing tapas (pintxos) and rioja in Pamplona
• gazpacho and huge white asparagus (anywhere I could get it!)

 

[Canche]

Torta de Santiago

 

[MarkN]

Dessert flan from a little plastic cup (just kidding!! )

Fresh and sweet orange juice for breakfast!

Also we have made some pretty good Santiago Tortes here at home as we missed the simple sweet treat so much.

 

[David61]

The only cold eggs I like are hard boiled with a bit of S&P.
I've never seen pre-packaged tortillas. They must be like the "Frisbees" mentioned above, so if I ever see them I'll be sure to steer clear.

Morrisons in the UK do/did three of four versions of these. I have tried a couple and as Trecile says above how on earth can you take basic ingredients and make something so bad!

 

[Goyo]

I agree with J Willhaus - Padron peppers. I cannot find a decent source in England. Any tips?

Padron peppers? I’ve lived in México for a spell, and know a bit about chiles, or at least the ones from south of the border, but had to look these babies up. And having done so and seen some fotos, they remind of los jalapeños y los sushitos. I attach an article I found, but do believe it’s a “gringo” source. Yep, from Alabama. But there must be a place across the pond there where you can get them. Thank you all for adding to my ever-continuing education about what to expect and look forward to en el camino.

Padrón Peppers From Galicia, Spain Are a Deliciously Spicy Tapa

Padrón peppers are small and green with an intense flavor that is piquant, sweet, and a little nutty. They are best fried and a popular Spanish tapa.

www.thespruceeats.com

 

[David61]

Folks: you are alil talking about food on the various caminos. Do any of you ever find good food in France?

Toured France a few times by motorbike and can honestly say every meal was superb, some fine cooking, some rustic and everything in between. The French way (and English ex-pats in a couple of cases) of eating dinner makes it an event in itself. One evening dinner ran on to gone 10pm from a round a 7.30 start. My fellow biker the next day said I hope dinner does not last as long (we had moved to our next destination) and it was a lovely ex-pat retired couple but the husband was a chef and oh my! Gone 11pm by the time dinner finished!

 

[trecile]

Padron peppers? I’ve lived in México for a spell, and know a bit about chiles, or at least the ones from south of the border, but had to look these babies up. And having done so and seen some fotos, they remind of los jalapeños y los sushitos. I attach an article I found, but do believe it’s a “gringo” source.

They are most like shishito peppers, and most are rather mild, though they say that one in 10 is spicy, but I still don't think that they reach the level of jalapeños.

Padron Peppers (Pimiento de Padron)

The Padron peppers (Pimiento de Padrón) are chili pepper originating from Padrón, Spain. They are typically mild but about 1 in 10 delivers a blast of heat.

www.chilipeppermadness.com

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I do not enjoy hot, spicy peppers, but I loved the Padron peppers in Spain and ordered them often. They were served grilled, slathered in olive oil, and salt. I thankfully never had any jolts of surprise with hot ones.

 

[Goyo]

They are most like shishito peppers, and most are rather mild, though they say that one in 10 is spicy, but I still don't think that they reach the level of jalapeños.

Padron Peppers (Pimiento de Padron)

The Padron peppers (Pimiento de Padrón) are chili pepper originating from Padrón, Spain. They are typically mild but about 1 in 10 delivers a blast of heat.

www.chilipeppermadness.com

Ah, ok. Thanks for the info. I eat some kind of chile así no más or in freshly made salsa with almost every meal, and look forward to trying the padrón on the camino, hopefully sooner than later.

 

[Goyo]

I do not enjoy hot, spicy peppers, but I loved the Padron peppers in Spain and ordered them often. They were served grilled, slathered in olive oil, and salt. I thankfully never had any jolts of surprise with hot ones.

You got me droolin, Camino Crissy! In México, we prepare chiles serranos, jalapeños and chiles güeros in a similar fashion, and top them off with a good squeeze of lime juice. More times than not, however, they will have some kick to them. Can’t wait to try the Padrón variety. Thanks!

Dang! All this talk of grilled chiles has opened up my appetite!

 

[dick bird]

The humble but delicious pan con tomate is what I miss most. And I have finally figured out how to make it. But it's not as good.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I avoided francesinha when I was in Portugal last year, but hmmmm, thinking now of getting to one of the Portuguese places down here to see what all the fuss is about. If they do it.

One of their bars down here is actually called Café or Bar or something Francesinha, so sounds possible.

 

[DwainS]

On BBC News today there was an article on a bunch of people that got salmonella from a Madrid restaurant known for its egg tortillas. Now a Spanish debate on should eggs be runny in a tortilla.

 

[trecile]

On BBC News today there was an article on a bunch of people that got salmonella from a Madrid restaurant known for its egg tortillas. Now a Spanish debate on should eggs be runny in a tortilla.

There's a thread on it here: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...ak-sparks-national-debate.78632/#post-1103452

 

[James Borden]

Oddly enough I miss the Burger King in Pamplona.The burger I had tasted so much better than what they serve in the U.S.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Well, place down here absolutely does do francesinha, so I'll try it in a few days. With Super Bock.

 

[RENSHAW]

The Flan! A restaurant in Viana made a wholewheat flan and then in the Burgos area one could get a goast's milk flan which was divine. A few years ago we had the same discussion and the thead can be found.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Flan Catalan is incredible.

A shop down here has 1L bottles of Super Bock, just finished one, but amazingly, also Madeira wine, that I started to greatly miss after moving on from the Porto region.

 

[Bradypus]

A shop down here has 1L bottles of Super Bock, just finished one, but amazingly, also Madeira wine, that I started to greatly miss after moving on from the Porto region.

I can imagine you as part of a Flanders and Swann tribute act....

 

[Neitz]

... champinones on Logrono's Calle Laurel!!

At Bar Angel? So good! This place really caught my attention because this is the only pintxo they sell, when so many places in El Laurel have very extensive lists. It gave me the impression of "we do one thing, and we do it well."

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I just recently learned what a champinone is, or I would have thought your picture was of donuts on a stick. I love the piece of bread you hold to keep your hand clean while savoring the mushrooms; very clever!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Francesinha Normal on the French Riviera :

€6



It's great !!

Dunno about Francesinha Especial, here it's the Lisbon version, next month maybe.

 

[WalkingInGers]

Gaspacho.

 

[Bradypus]

Francesinha Normal on the French Riviera

Normal for the French Riviera I suppose but I doubt they'd recognise it in Porto! Where is the cheese and the half-gallon of beer and tomato sauce? And the chips?

 

[JabbaPapa]

Normal for the French Riviera I suppose but I doubt they'd recognise it in Porto! Where is the cheese and the half-gallon of beer and tomato sauce? And the chips?

A fellow next to me did take the Francesinha Especial today, and it looks very different.

Besides, Lisbon version not Porto.

And mine was full of cheese.

The French Riviera peculiarity is the French bread.

 

[David Tallan]

Francesinha Normal on the French Riviera :

€6

View attachment 141225

It's great !!

Dunno about Francesinha Especial, here it's the Lisbon version, next month maybe.

That looks pretty meagre for a Francesinha! Next time you are in Porto you'll have to try the real thing.

 

[David Tallan]

A fellow next to me did take the Francesinha Especial today, and it looks very different.

Besides, Lisbon version not Porto.

And mine was full of cheese.

The French Riviera peculiarity is the French bread.

Yours looks like cheese on the inside. Every Francesinha I saw in Portugal was covered in cheese. Otherwise, it is just a fancy grilled cheese sandwich, with perhaps a smidgen of meat.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

That looks pretty meagre for a Francesinha! Next time you are in Porto you'll have to try the real thing.

I had the real thing on the Rota Vicentina in Potugal. It was absolutely humongous, at least a 6" square drenched in a rich gravy cheese and stuffed to the gills inside over 2" high...this is no fish story! My son and I shared it and still could not finish it. I think the waitress snickered when she brought it to our table. I posted a picture of it on this very thread (#100).
Btw, it was extremely rich and heavy; a little goes a l-o-n-g way.

 

[JustJack]

All this talk of tortillas had me trying once again to make one. I caramelized the onion (red onion, as that’s what I had on hand), and cooked the sliced potato separately in the microwave with just a touch of water and olive oil. Then I layered the potatoes and caramelized onions in the pan with a goodly grinding of Himalayan Rose Pink Salt Crystals (good salt makes a huge difference IMHO) and black pepper, then poured on the egg in which I had also added some salt crystals. Oh, and a touch of milk in the egg. I won’t tell you what the finished product looked like but it was delicious. And with ketchup - oh, the horror of it! - absolutely divine.

This YouTube video shows an easy and great way of making this. It's called a Spanish Omlette in the video, but it seems the same as a tortilla.

 

[Icacos]

This YouTube video shows an easy and great way of making this. It's called a Spanish Omlette in the video, but it seems the same as a tortilla.

Interesting, thank you. I’ll try it that way next time. I think the trick might be also to ensure that the pan is hot enough - and don’t skimp on the oil - when you add the final mixture, so it doesn’t stick. We are so often instructed to use a non-stick pan (not in this video); I don’t have any non-stick pans, and I saw some very regular - and obviously well used - pans used for tortillas on the camino.

 

[J Willhaus]

Interesting, thank you. I’ll try it that way next time. I think the trick might be also to ensure that the pan is hot enough - and don’t skimp on the oil - when you add the final mixture, so it doesn’t stick. We are so often instructed to use a non-stick pan (not in this video); I don’t have any non-stick pans, and I saw some very regular - and obviously well used - pans used for tortillas on the camino.

My recipes say don't cook the potatoes until they are breaking apart like that, but I think there are lots of ways to make a tortilla.

 

[trecile]

This YouTube video shows an easy and great way of making this. It's called a Spanish Omlette in the video, but it seems the same as a tortilla.

In Spain tortilla means omelet.
If you see tortilla francesa on a menu you will get a standard omelet.

 

[JabbaPapa]

That looks pretty meagre for a Francesinha! Next time you are in Porto you'll have to try the real thing.

Seems it was a type of francesinha poveira, which is a Lisbon variant made with more sauce or less (mine had little, but it was juicy inside -- and about half and half meat and cheese), and made with baguette-like bread so that it can be eaten by hand.

https://culinariadeportugal.com/2021/06/07/francesinha-poveira/

As to the type of francesinha that people seem to be familiar with, I won't need to go to Porto, I can get it here, and in the same place and in at least one other restaurant, possibly two or three. There are four Portuguese restaurants here.

 

[lalaone]

A novel 10-minute tortilla recipe popped up for me just now. It might be shockingly disastrous or shockingly delicious, but its creativity gave me a smile anyway. Here it is for anyone adventurous enough to try: tortilla made with potato chips instead of sliced potatoes.

Tortilla Española with Potato Chips

Tortilla española is everything we love about Spanish cooking—lusty, elemental, assuredly simple. This ingenious version from chef Ferran Adrià calls for potato chips instead of the usual thinly sliced potatoes.

www.saveur.com

 

[dutchwalkagain]

Croquettes. Padron Peppers. Tapas/Pinchos in general and as a drink while walking aside from water, Aquarius . And on hot days I enjoy tinto de verano after my walk before moving on to vino tinto. But....leaving for Spain again in April so the wait is not too long

 

[David Tallan]

A novel 10-minute tortilla recipe popped up for me just now. It might be shockingly disastrous or shockingly delicious, but its creativity gave me a smile anyway. Here it is for anyone adventurous enough to try: tortilla made with potato chips instead of sliced potatoes.

Tortilla Española with Potato Chips

Tortilla española is everything we love about Spanish cooking—lusty, elemental, assuredly simple. This ingenious version from chef Ferran Adrià calls for potato chips instead of the usual thinly sliced potatoes.

www.saveur.com

I've seen several people sharing photos in a Spanish cooking Facebook group I'm part of, of the potato chip (crisp, if you are British) tortillas they've made. They didn't look that bad in the photos and the people who made them seemed happy with them. So I thought I'd give it a try. Never again! I'll go with the former description above and back to my regular way of making them.

 

[lalaone]

I've seen several people sharing photos in a Spanish cooking Facebook group I'm part of, of the potato chip (crisp, if you are British) tortillas they've made. They didn't look that bad in the photos and the people who made them seemed happy with them. So I thought I'd give it a try. Never again! I'll go with the former description above and back to my regular way of making them.

I was afraid it sounded too good (easy) to be true! Thanks for taste-testing and sharing your verdict

 

[henrythedog]

A novel 10-minute tortilla recipe popped up for me just now. It might be shockingly disastrous or shockingly delicious, but its creativity gave me a smile anyway. Here it is for anyone adventurous enough to try: tortilla made with potato chips instead of sliced potatoes.

Tortilla Española with Potato Chips

Tortilla española is everything we love about Spanish cooking—lusty, elemental, assuredly simple. This ingenious version from chef Ferran Adrià calls for potato chips instead of the usual thinly sliced potatoes.

www.saveur.com

I was served one of those in Crete a few years ago. It was truly awful.

 

[lalaone]

I was served one of those in Crete a few years ago. It was truly awful.

I'm oddly curious now about just how awful this version can be.... But I'll be smart and take your & David Tallan's word for it. Appreciate being spared a big disappointment, thank you.

A favorite I haven't seen mentioned yet: fried eggs with a side of sliced chorizo. (The dry kind we carry in our packs as pilgrims, but gently warmed until the oils start to release.) So simple and satisfying.

 

[Kanga]

Yours looks like cheese on the inside. Every Francesinha I saw in Portugal was covered in cheese. Otherwise, it is just a fancy grilled cheese sandwich, with perhaps a smidgen of meat.

Smidgeon! Mine had half a cow. A tough one. Plus some other unidentified sausage type meat.

 

[David Tallan]

Smidgeon! Mine had half a cow. A tough one. Plus some other unidentified sausage type meat.

I was saying that JabbaPapa's had just a smidgen of meat. I mean look at it (in the photo he shared above) and compare it to what you faced in a  real francesinha.

 

[Former member 59618]

once or twice I would like to find a really good hamburger somewhere. I have tried a bunch, and they were just not that good--the beef tough/chewy e.g.

Galician beef is delish. I had a fantastic burger in Santiago at some nondescript bar down the street from the pilgrims office. Had to come back the next evening because I couldn't stop thinking about it.

 

[trecile]

I was saying that JabbaPapa's had just a smidgen of meat. I mean look at it (in the photo he shared above) and compare it to what you faced in a  real francesinha.

Here's my real Francesinha in Porto.

 

[Bob Howard]

Galician beef is delish. I had a fantastic burger in Santiago at some nondescript bar down the street from the pilgrims office. Had to come back the next evening because I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Thanks. That's always a good measure of food in general is you couldn't stop thinking about it. I'm going to head right there when I arrive about August 2. When you say down the street, I assume you mean back towards plaza obradoiro.

 

[nycwalking]

Although I wouldn't necessarily miss it on the Camino, once or twice I would like to find a really good hamburger somewhere. I have tried a bunch, and they were just not that good--the beef tough/chewy e.g. Of course, I'm comparing it to burgers I'm used to in the U.S. It makes me wonder if Spain beef is grass fed as opposed to grain fed. This will sound preposterous maybe, and I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit it, but the best burger I have had in Spain was at a Burger King. Spain is somewhat known for its steaks, so one would think the burger meat would be good. Anyone out there find a burger they really liked on the Camino.

Astorga 2001 I asked for a hamburger at local restaurant. The lettuce, beef, and bun were placed on grill drenched and cooked in olive oil.

Ourense 2019, I tried again and asked for a hamburger at restaurant located in the indoor mall and was literally given a “ham” burger. When I turned up my nose waitress told me to try McDonald’s.

For the most part I stick to good locale fare.

 

[OTH86]

Although I wouldn't necessarily miss it on the Camino, once or twice I would like to find a really good hamburger somewhere. I have tried a bunch, and they were just not that good--the beef tough/chewy e.g. Of course, I'm comparing it to burgers I'm used to in the U.S. It makes me wonder if Spain beef is grass fed as opposed to grain fed. This will sound preposterous maybe, and I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit it, but the best burger I have had in Spain was at a Burger King. Spain is somewhat known for its steaks, so one would think the burger meat would be good. Anyone out there find a burger they really liked on the Camino.

Best Hamburger I've ever had was at the BurgerKing at Santiago airport - absolutely the freshest ingredients! Worst one was at BurgerKing in Burgos! ...but I'm not really a hamburger 'appreciator'...

 

[Former member 59618]

Thanks. That's always a good measure of food in general is you couldn't stop thinking about it. I'm going to head right there when I arrive about August 2. When you say down the street, I assume you mean back towards plaza obradoiro.

It's called Cañadu next to Restaurants Terará, and...full disclaimer: it has terrible reviews on google maps. I think a mini-hate campaign was waged online by some disgruntled customers. Back in 2016 when I popped by, I had a perfectly fine experience and the lady tending bar was lovely..can't remember if I overpaid because all I cared about was a cold Estrella Galicia and a burger.

Another yummy place I found...albeit a bit more hip, but still solid is La Pepita just outside the old city.

 

[Former member 59618]

Here's my real Francesinha in Porto.

View attachment 141300

That's the kind of food that makes you hate yourself afterwards....

 

[JabbaPapa]

I was saying that JabbaPapa's had just a smidgen of meat.

No, as much meat as cheese.

 

[trecile]

That's the kind of food that makes you hate yourself afterwards....

You're not wrong!

 

[J Willhaus]

There is some kind of national/regional hamburger contest going on in Spain right now and the Voz de Galicia has been highlighting the places who are in the running in Galicia. Also this month highlighting Cocido in various places which is a huge traditional meal for this time of year.

 

[J Willhaus]

Here's this week's version. I strayed from the traditional and made a ham and cheese tortilla which was really good. No onion the week.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I had a look at the two other places down here, and three of the four Portuguese restaurants have francesinha ; and I know which one I'll have it at next, "proper" not poveira, just not sure when.

 

[JabbaPapa]

OK -- Francesinha Especial, Lisbon version, as it comes down here on the French Riviera :





I really liked it -- except for the sauce, which was heavily sugared, and ended up leaving a persistent cloying aftertaste lasting all afternoon, and frankly still there this evening.

Bloody heavy, and I would certainly not want to eat one of these monsters on a pilgrimage lunch break, and quite possibly not ever on the Camino except into or on a rest day.

The steak and egg bits in the middle of this Lisbon recipe version were very pleasant though !!

The franceshinha normal/poveira I had last time, far simpler meats and cheese in toasted bread, far better pilgrim provender IMO.

 

[Bradypus]

Apparently today - 9 March - is International Tortilla Day!

Today is international tortilla day, but why is it celebrated on 9th March?

Potato omelette is one of the most popular tapas dishes in Spain, here’s how to make one...

www.canarianweekly.com

 

[JabbaPapa]

Good stuff, but our family (and Catalan) recipe, that I may now be the only one of us to know, is rather different, even though the basics are very similar.

Ours is I *think* amenable to some addition of slow-grilled peppers, even pimientos, but most in Valldoreix frowned upon such extravagance.

 

[ChadEstes]

Having walked the Camino last year from Lisbon what I miss the most are the Portuguese pastel de nata!

 

[WalkingInGers]

How about a good piece of manchego and a roja?

 

[JabbaPapa]

Oh !! I had been forgetting !!

In Aragón, I had the lovely experience of something I had not tasted in decades, except in some ghastly French imitation version -- roast mutton in mint sauce. The mutton perfectly roasted with garlic, as it should be, albeit small filets rather than sliced, and the mint sauce was perfection itself, but the twist was that the accompaniment was Spanish chips/"french fries" and eggs instead of typical English sides, plus delicious Spanish jamón, and it was genuinely unique albeit a very simple combination.

2019 :

Totally impossible to get in France, because even though my mother's personal recipe for the meat was actually French, the French themselves despise mutton, and only eat lamb ; plus they simply do not know how to make a good mint sauce.

The other major thing that I really missed even on the Camino in most of Spain, and still miss now, including because I first discovered it as a child, is a proper Flán Catalàn.

 

[WalkingInGers]

Oh !! I had been forgetting !!

In Aragón, I had the lovely experience of something I had not tasted in decades, except in some ghastly French imitation version -- roast mutton in mint sauce. The mutton perfectly roasted with garlic, as it should be, albeit small filets rather than sliced, and the mint sauce was perfection itself, but the twist was that the accompaniment was Spanish chips/"french fries" and eggs instead of typical English sides, plus delicious Spanish jamón, and it was genuinely unique albeit a very simple combination.

2019 :

Totally impossible to get in France, because even though my mother's personal recipe for the meat was actually French, the French themselves despise mutton, and only eat lamb ; plus they simply do not know how to make a good mint sauce.

The other major thing that I really missed even on the Camino in most of Spain, and still miss now, including because I first discovered it as a child, is a proper Flán Catalàn.

indeed, we French prefer lamb and certainly not place mint on lamb or mutton. That seems very English…You must have had an English chef in your Aragon restaurant….

 

[JabbaPapa]

indeed, we French prefer lamb and certainly not put mint on lamn or mutton. That seems very English…

Mint sauce on lamb would be absolute sabotage. On either side of the Channel / la Manche.

But the French version of mint sauce (or a bad English preparation) is too strong for even mutton !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Well, I asked, and the local Portuguese restaurant number 4 does the Porto version of francesinha.

Looking forward to it.

I did though get this evening a bottle of Madeira.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Cripes but this Madeira is brilliant !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Well, I live on the Camino (Provençal Way between Rome and Santiago) -- and it it was confirmed to me today that the lemons I get for my tea are Menton lemons.

Considered by many to be the best in the world.

And yes -- I most certainly did miss them !!

Now, regionally, the lemons of Western Liguria and Nice County are nearly as good -- and to those pilgrims walking through these parts in future, these fruits are well worth learning how to miss !!

 

[WalkingInGers]

I can’t wait to eat local cheese in northern Spain. Cabra, of all sorts.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I have put my local French Riviera francesinha tasting on hold for a bit -- but I have found a fifth version !!

And it's a basic el cheapo Portuguese bar one -- €6.

Trouble though, it's only served in the evening, after my last bus. BUT in July and August, there's one more bus an hour later. So that's definitely going to be tried !!

 

[Bradypus]

This year's pimientos de Padrón. Grown from seed from last year's crop. Which were descended from seed kindly sent to me by a peregrina here on the forum. Makes them all the better! Sown early this year in the hope of having at least a handful ready for 25th July.

 

[JabbaPapa]

OK so I had some more French Riviera francesinha -- though sadly the idiot in the café decided to gouge me rather grotesquely.

Anyway it was very nice :

 

[Camino Chrissy]

the idiot in the café decided to gouge me rather grotesquely.

I think it looks similar to the "grotesque" one I had in Portugal on the Fisherman's Trail in 2019. It was definitely too much of a "not so good" thing.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Next Portuguese meal down here will instead likely be a menu in the restaurant next door to that bar.

Thinking of bacalhau ...

What I *do* and will miss is a Spanish menú del día -- and the similar (but much better) meals of that type in rural Eastern Portugal. And some incredibly good food of that type out in the sticks in Catalonia !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

I think it looks similar to the "grotesque" one I had in Portugal on the Fisherman's Trail in 2019. It was definitely too much of a "not so good" thing.

The beer & tomato sauce this time was actually palatable rather than sickly sweet ...

I found out the other day that one of the bakeries down here is a Portuguese one -- called Pastel de Nata -- might take a look-see inside one day.