Shilpa eats a three course Basque meal

...And cries little tears of joy.

So I've been in Spanish Basque country for a while now, and if you haven't heard me whine and complain (which is highly unlikely) then let me just tell you, the food has been a struggle.

The most popular food in Basque country is Pinxtos (pronounced Pinchos) which in Spanish  is Tapas. Bars basically have food laid out on the table and you go and pick things you want to eat. The problem with this is, I have absolutely NO idea what anything contains.

Most of the places only have Basque/Spanish menus and they don't really spell out specific ingredients i.e. Shellfish. And since we're so close to the ocean, it's easy to presume most things have shellfish in them. Even the hotel I'm staying at has a vegetarian wonton soup, which lo and behold, is made of shrimp broth.

Because of this, I tend to eat a lot of bread, cheese and sausage to be on the safe side all the while cursing the fates for my allergy. (I think the allergy was an evolutionary process for the benefit of shellfish at large. I was probably eating them out of existence.)

Pinxtos - meats, cheeses and ground up tuna on bread

Meet my new best friend - Flan. 

So anyway, tired of my finger food diet and standing shyly in doorways saying "english?", I decided to make a reservation at a restaurant whose menu I could study beforehand and determine that I would get to eat more than a few paltry bites.

Please note, that the reason I've been eating Pinxtos as opposed to proper dinners is that kitchens usually only open past nine and that's wayy past my bedtime. 

Back to my story - I make my way to restaurant Ni Neu for my reservation at 8.30, and the entire place is deserted. So I sit and wait outside while enjoying the ocean breeze and the lovely music for a good 15 minutes before I'm ushered inside and seated at my table for 1. I am then presented with a bottle of water and a bowl of pickled olives.

The waitress then comes by and takes my three-course order, and asks if I will be drinking red or white wine.

She then goes back and brings me the bottle of white, pours me a glass, and then LEAVES THE ENTIRE BOTTLE AT MY TABLE! So apparently, she was asking if I'd like a BOTTLE of red or a BOTTLE of white. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?? I think I'm in love.

I really do love when restaurants actually make a one person seating. I hate the farce of having to sit facing a setting for another person that isn't coming.

Marinated Salmon tartor with sweet onions and bacon cream sauce

Boned roasted lamb with rosemary quinoa and garlic paste

Almond sponge cake with chocolate sauce and coconut ice cream

In case the bottle of wine wasn't enough

Dark chocolate cookies, marshmellows and pistachio muffinos

I have to say, this meal was worth the week of near starvation. The vegetables were crispy and light, the salmon was fresh and the lamb was perfection. Coconut flavored anything wins over my heart every time.

The cute box of sweets at the very end was the perfect ending to a perfect meal. If you're ever in San Sebastian - I HIGHLY recommend this place (as do plenty of others on tripadvisor).

Agur!! (That's goodbye in Basque)