San Sebastian Day 2: Pintxos at Bideluze & Rojo y Negro

The beachfront sky was a bit overcast, so we made it a lazy day and didn't venture out until mid-afternoon. Since we are still giving our systems a rest and many places here are closed on Sunday and Monday, we thought it a good time to try something unique to the local culture: pintxos. 

Pintxos (pronounced "peen-chos") are snacks eaten in bars. A pintxo bar will have plates of small sandwiches or other small delicacies with the toppings "pinched" onto the bread using toothpicks.   You can also take a look at the menu posted on a blackboard by the bar for a selection of hot dishes to request from the kitchen.

 

You take one or two pintxos along with a glass of wine or quarter pint of beer and snack while chatting. Ideally, you just have a quick sample and then move on to the next pintxo bar, which is why pintxo crawls are seen as a great way to socialize. 

We wandered until we found Bideluze, which caught our eyes since it seemed to have a local crowd and excellent coffeemaker. We tried to scope out whether folks were just taking their pintxos on their own (which is traditional) or asking the bartender to plate them with tongs. We opted to just take what we wanted, but it seemed like people here were doing both. 

We each got a coffee and later a glass of wine (which on average only costs about 2 bucks around here - sweeeet!) and enjoyed people watching.

The whole concept of pintxos is a lot of fun, and we started to wonder whether it would work in the States. We agreed that probably all the stringent restaurant health codes would make it impossible to run one as it is here. And as soon as we thought that, our point was proven as a woman (likely a tourist) picked up a sandwich, examined it with her manicured hands, and had the nerve to put it back. We're guessing such things would not score any pintxo bar an "A" grade in New York. lol 

For the quiet afternoon, we enjoyed our prime window seat for people-watching and listening to the waves. Best. Room. Ever. 

Once evening arrived, we were ready to pinch some more pinxtos. As luck would have it, a place that got great reviews for their pinxtos is right down the block from our hotel. 

Rojo y Negro is a lot brighter than Bideluze, and the folks were equally friendly. We caught on to requesting the hot pinxtos from the kitchen, so this time around we shared:

 meatballs 

(INCREDIBLE! whatever spices they use in the meat and sauce create juicy meat magic) 

 

calamari 

(best fried calamari we've had ever; barely any breading so you can focus on the natural flavor of the fish) 

 

croqueta de jamon 

(bits of ham mixed with potato and fried; tasty, but pale in comparison to the other two dishes) 

 

Overall, we think pintxos are quite cool! We'll definitely be trying them again before we leave this lovely city.