| Anyone who has ever driven through parts
of Andalucia will probably have seen the occasional sign outside a venta
or restaurant offering a set lunch menu for the day, a menu del dia. The
price is usually very reasonable, the setting often wonderful and the
temptation to just drop in and give it a try can be very great. Of course
it has to be at the right time of day, usually between about 1 and 3 o’clock,
and if you have had a big breakfast, which is often the case when on a
driving holiday, you may not have the appetite for a big lunch and so
the opportunity is often left behind as a pleasant thought. Perhaps one
day.
The curiosity, though, may linger and the time may come when the menu
del dia, rather than a fleeting possibility as you speed along your merry
way, may become the specific aim of the outing, the mission del dia.
Adopting a light-hearted, philosophical attitude to the adventure is always
advisable. The dozens of missed opportunities in the past may have given
you the idea that there is a menu del dia on offer around every corner.
Not necessarily so. When you are looking for one, they can suddenly seem
as rare as a decent summer in England. It is important to remember, if
this turns out to be the case, that it is the hunt rather than the capture
that counts. Sit back in your car, put on some good music and head out
into the countryside, enjoying the inevitable spectacular views all around.
And of course, be prepared for your menu del dia to turn into an emergency
bun on the run.
And when you do find a suitable place, thankfully not on the one day of
the week when it is closed, it is also important to bear in mind, as with
anything in life, that you win some and you lose some. Bad service, although
rare, can leave one member of the group still waiting for the first course
as the others near completion of their second course and the battle for
coffee may be lost in the dust of frustration. I stress that this is rare.
Most ventas are very pleased to see you and treat you very well. Of course
the actual menu del dia is usually always written in Spanish and even
those visitors who speak the language may be puzzled by what is on offer.
Again, it is important to remember that it is an adventure as much as
a meal and bravery is often well rewarded with delight and enjoyment.
Although not everyone may enjoy boiled eggs in water as a starter!
Driving through spectacular scenery near Coin one sunny day, the rural
road we had chosen, although tarmac and, as several very stringent tests
were to prove, actually wide enough for two passing cars, seemed to offer
very little prospect of a menu del dia. Isolated houses popped into view
on the hills ahead and then receded, little hamlets filled us with hope
and then left us disappointed. Then, in the distance we saw a white pueblo
nestling into the side of a mountain. It was 1 o’clock. Things were
looking good. The road led straight to the village. We began licking our
lips in anticipation. Not long now. But the road suddenly became very
narrow, eventually, and inexplicably, turning into a staircase leading
up a very steep hill. And there wasn’t enough room to turn the car
around. A couple of very amused locals explained that there was a brand
new road at the top of the hill, but they were confused about how we would
get the car up there.
After a 25-point turn we were back on the rural road, heading in the opposite
direction, even the increasingly attractive prospect of a bun on the run
seeming rather unlikely as the minutes ticked by.
Then we spotted one. A menu del dia! Friendly faces, lovely restaurant,
the sound of Spanish guitar, an excellent glass of chilled white wine,
with a bowl of pressed olives and a basket of tasty chunks of Andalucian
bread. Having established that one of the offered starters had something
to do with chopped chicken, we chose higlado de pollo con puré
de patatas, which turned out to be chopped chicken liver in a thick potato
puré. Surprisingly different, but delicious and definitely not
something we may have chosen from the main menu, where the tendency, if
possible, is to go for something familiar, something safe. Deep fried
boquerones (anchovies) followed, best eaten with your fingers, requiring
a nibbling technique, the idea being to lift the delicious slivers of
fish off the tiny central bone. Delicious. Coffee next, hot, strong and
satisfying.
The bill? Ages in coming, traditional it seems, but exceptionally reasonable,
not a lot more in fact than the cost of a bun on the run! |
     
|
