Pinchos

As you know, my new neighbourhood in Madrid, barrio Chamberi, is a pretty good place for a foodie  to call home. There are a ton of fun restaurants and bars in which to eat, drink and generally over indulge. One of my favourite haunts for a cerveza or two is bar Sagaretxe. The Spanish are, of course, well know for their love of eating while they drink (or drinking while they eat – I’m never quite sure which they like the most). Most places will serve some kind of tapas or snack to accompany your cold beer or vino tinto. But with the Basque Pincho, of which Sagaretxe specialises, they have perfected the art of the beer sponge.

Pinchos are traditionally seen in the north of the country, in particular the Basque region, and consist of a thin slice of bread on top of which can sit anything from a simple slice of jamon to, at the better places, some fantastically imaginative and delicious gourmet creations. The ones are Sagetxe are particularly good.

No wonder my fellow Madrilenos never seem to get too drunk, there is always a tasty snack close to hand. What a fantastic way to stay sober! If only we had something like this back in London. So many times at home, I would leave work for the pub and survive the whole evening on nothing more than a couple of bags of Walker’s crisps. Urgh.

Perhaps some creative landlord could come up with some British inspired pinchos, I am sure they would go down a bomb with tipsy punters.  They needn’t be overly fancy (although a mini yorkshire pudding, with a slice of rare roast beef and a dollop of homemade horseradish sat in the middle, would be perfect). Almost anything would be better than another bag of cheese’n’onion….

Anyway, three cheers to Sagaretxe. Keep up the good work!