TRAVEL SPECIAL...Travel planner - When in Andalucia feed your hunger

Travel planner - When in Andalucia feed your hunger





Ever thought that a gust of wind laden with sand, a famished king and a smart waitress together could discover (invent, cook, begin... choose your word!) a style of eating that would become synonymous with a nation?
Sounds like an insipid story? Not quite. In Spain, this tale, like tapas, is oft retold. A king fatigued after a day-out hunting stopped at a tavern to quench his thirst.Just when the waitress poured the wine into a tulip glass, a wanton gust of wind swirled like the devil. What if sand sullied the drink? Wary of the king's ire, the wait ress covered the glass with a piece of toast.That was tapa (cover). And lo! That moment tapas was born in Spain.

The king got the tapa free. In Granada, you could be king too. It is the only city in Spain where food comes free with the drink. Yes, free. Order a drink and layer the stomach with unending tapas ­ salmorejo (cold soup), salad, pescaito frito (fried fish), flat beans, pestinos de miel (honeycoated sweet fritter). Keep tapas crawling, keep layering, till you are too full to walk, your wallet still heavy and your calories still not sinful ­ you are in an olive region, so no loaded transfat! In Andalucia, a foodie has so many choices he'd beseech the lord for two extra pairs of stomach to savour all that the Spanish region has to offer. From the most virgin olive oil and the fattest omelette to the fluffiest pastries, fruit-filled Sangria and lard-fried fish, the Andalucian cuisine can satiate the crabbiest gourmand. So evolved is the region's gastronomy that one can do food routes: Olive Oil route takes one through 43 boroughs to savour different kinds of olives and en joy typical dishes based on olive oil; Rice Route meanders through 12 paddy towns and their rice dishes (rice with snails in Lebrija; with crayfish tails in Isla; with chorizo sausage in Gelves). Add to it the Pork Route, Game Mat Route; Must Route (Must is local wine).

As they, say, the proof of the pudding lies in the eating. So, in Andalucia feed your hunger. With surprises and scrumptious stuff. In Seville, do not baulk if you see a life-size bull on the counter of restaurant Robles Placentines and gigantic chunks of meat hanging like buntings from the ceiling. In the land that loves its matadors, bulls standing by a pile of wine bottles are happily forgiven. If you want to tap your feet and slurp gazpacho simultaneously, head to Tablao Flamenco El Arenal where flamenco dancers will twirl their skirt, stomp the pine dance floor, portray love and betrayal while you quaff your drink and relish a three course meal.

In Malaga, after you are done with ogling at Picasso's paintings and walking by the house where he was born, spare time for the other fave local lad ­ Antonio Banderas. When he is in town, he is a heartthrob hugging and kissing strangers. Sigh, he is often not in Malaga. However, you can dig in where he digs. In El Pimpi restaurant, where oak barrels have signatures of Banderas and Paloma Picasso. The hunk scribbles in Spanish, talks of beautiful women and great food. Listen to him, in El Pimpi food is beyond great.There's Iberian ham raised on chestnuts; toast pieces loaded with goat in muscatel salami, ham pate; octopus mini hamburger; chivifrito (fried pieces of goat); paella with squid and clams. If you are a car freak, order a No Brakes Dinner in Au tomobile Museum. Wait. Do not be scared of wicked dwarfs, Pit Babes, demons from Tasmania who nar rate stories during the lavish dinner.

Wherever you in Andalucia, carry that extra pair of stomach. Else, your gastronomy story would be half-written, your satiety quotient beyond the halfway mark. In Andalucia, do not toil about tipping dangerously on the weighing scale. The olive oil is virgin, silly!

Preeti Verma Lal

TOI12APR15