Food: Pinchos

Pincho

Thank you for that info on Pinchos Ivar. I love Spanish food.
Last year I wrote an article for a local Food magazine on Ferran Adria who owns the El Bulli restaurant in Spain and who was voted Best Chef in the World in 2006. (He was No.2 in 2005, No. 3 in 2004, No.2 in 2003 and No.1 in 2002.) Spain had 3 chefs in the Top 10 last year (and the number 11 was also Spanish).
El Bulli is only open for 6 months of the year and there is a 2 year waiting list to have a meal there! They receive a million reservation requests annually but can only accommodate up to 8 000 diners each summer. Adria spends the other six months of the year in his laboratory workshop in Barcelona, concocting extraordinary combinations of foods using scientific approaches to preparation, texture, temperature and taste.
The degustation menu - about 30 small dishes menu of about 30 dishes -
costs $265 per person.
Most of us have to settle for the pincho or tapas in the many bars in Spain and just dream about a meal at El Bulli on the Costa Brava coast.

Ivar,
You brought back many wonderful memories, my favorite is a small bar across the street from the city office building in Samos. The best! empemadas that weren't greasy, and batter fried mushrooms. I have a question about tipping in bars and restaurants along the camino. Several times when I tipped the waiters seemed really surprised and most grateful. Is the norm here different from elsewhere in the world. John

I ate out every night on the vdlp and it never occurred to me to tip-although we usually rounded up the bill for convenience.It seems to be virtually compulsory in the us but not neccesarily so elsewhere-here in australia a tip may be left in a restaurant but nobody tips in cafes or bars. The difference seems to be that waiting staff are paid a relatively decent wage. The weirdest thing I saw was in Hawaii where breakfast diners were leaving tips even though it was a self service buffet.
There's nothing wrong with tipping for good service-I must remember next time I'm in Spain!

All the guide books I've read state that tipping is not a standard practice in Spain, so waiters will look a bit surprised if you've left a substantial tip. Any small coins I received in change I left on the bar, but tipping is certainly not expected.

My best "meal" on the Camino was a breakfast I have on a rainy morning right after "climbing" the Alto Do Poio in Lugo. The bar is on the right side of the Camino. Great toast and huge cup of coffee...