Not for the Weak

Last night, J and myself ventured to the most fun, unique and expensive dinner we have ever yet experienced as a couple...which of course translates into a blog post must. In the orchestra, there are quite a few Spaniards from the Basque country. They are very proud of their heritage, and set up a dinner at an authentic Basque restaurant. Despite being a very expensive venture, we decided it would be a one-in-a-lifetime experience. Warning be to those who would rather not eat meat...there is meat to follow.

A tour of our meal is as follows. Welcome to the Basque country!

Appetizers:

These first resembled fried mozzarella, but we knew better than that, because mozzarella doesn't exist in Chile! They were filled with cheesy, potatoes and ham. Pretty good...hmmm.

Next came pimientos rellenos de balacoa, or red peppers stuffed with cod. Due to a language difference, we finally figured out it was cod. We both really enjoyed these and wished for more. We are both from the midwest, and therefore were mostly exposed to fish sticks or other forms of frozen fish. We were pleasantly surprised how much we liked a fresh fish dish.

Before arriving, a Spanish friend told us that they would have tortillas, and being fairly stupid and unaware, I asked if they would be corn or flour! Ha! He was slightly confused, and asked what I meant- then we came to the realization that I was speaking of Mexican tortillas, and he was referring to Spanish tortillas, which are deep omelettes filled with potatoes and other unique vegetables. We wish we could have had more of this!

Main dishes:

After the appetizers, then out came Babe, or his sibling. Yep, a whole pig, with skin, hair, and all. I saw similar things as a missionary, but not quite complete.

The gal next to me was from Sweden and looked at her plate of pork, and then at me, and back and forth. She then explained that because her mother is a vegetarian, she wasn't exposed to much meat growing up, and had no idea how to go about getting the meat off the bones and all. Such an delicious adventure!


Salt-encrusted sea bass came out next. There were two fish, and they had to be at least 18 inches long. The Spaniard across from us explained that they take the whole fish, and then cover it in 2-4 pounds of kosher salt- yes folks, that is 2-4 POUNDS of salt, each! The idea is that by covering it in so much salt, it helps keep the juices in and cooks as a very moist fish. Let's just say it kept quite a bit of salt as well! Once they knock off most of the baked salt, they serve the fish topped with an olive oil and lots of fresh garlic. If you ever have the chance to try this, we highly recommend it- it is called Congrio (or pescado) a la Sal.

Dessert:
After having a few different dessert choices explained in spanglish, I chose the dish closely resembling creme brulee, and J chose the safe, but not so great ice cream. Ice cream here leaves much to be desired, mostly because it's almost always made from water and milk. Creme brulee won out without even trying.

Beverage: Chile is known for it's wine selection, yet we, being non-drinkers, opted for other choices. To top off such an authentic meal, what better to accompany than the world famous, Coca-Cola!



Lesson learned...Basque food is worth the adventure and to be repeated when possible!