Help with Tapas Translation in San Sebastian
 

Four us will be staying in Barcelona for 3 days and San Sebastian at the Villa Soro for 3 days. I found a great thread about specific locations (in SS). Maribel mentioned the hot pintxos are the best--how do we order those? None of us speak or understand any Spanish. Is there a guide book or thread which I could print so we know what to order? I MUST know exactly what I am eating!

JudyADenver
<b>hot pintxos</b> probably is written in Catalan rather than Spanish. In Spanish normally it's called Pinchos orPinchitos. Maybe I'm wrong but this is the way it's written in Andalucia.

In Catalan, the &quot;X&quot; in the word &quot;pintxos&quot; could be pronunced &quot;pintchos&quot;.

Sorry that this really doesn't help your problem in San Sebastian.

Blackduff

Pintxo is the basque spelling for Pincho, which consist on, basically, a small piece of bread with anything on top. Something you hold with your fingers and eat in two bites. It is different to the concept of Tapa, that can be something you eat with spoon or fork (to put it simple).
A Pinchito is a different thing, several pieces on a stick, either pork pieces or shrimps. Comes from Pinchito Moruno, a weird name as moors eat no pork.
When I have eaten Pinchos or Pintxos, they are displayed on the counter and you just have to point. Sometimes it is obvious, others not. Sometimes it is written on a blackboard, so you can use your pocket dictionary. I'm sure the waiter shall help. And for sure any Basque poster will give you better info.
A book: Pintxos y Tapas, ISBN 8430555986
Another: Pintxos. Cocina en miniatura, ISBN 84-241-8808-5

From what I saw, hot pintxos were very rarely sitting on the bar, rather, they were made to order -- this is partially why they're so delicious. They're often written up on a blackboard as specials although sometimes they appeared on written menus at more restaurant-type places. We had a lot of trouble with translations and we just took chances. We were always very happy but we'll eat anything.

I think for someone who *must* know what they are eating, perhaps this kind of food (tapas, et al) is not the best choice?

If you must know what you are eating, it might be best to eat in the restaurant which is often found in the back room of a tapas bar. I had a fantastic grilled sea bass that way in San Sebastian.

Once again Suze you nailed it.

Half of the sport in San Sebastian is guessing and then asking the bartender what it is. Don't forget to ask for a glass of local white wine from the ice bucket and watch the bartender pour from above his head.

Does one eat pinxtos as a meal (for lunch for example) or is it just a snack?

If the pintxos as so small, is it rather easy to figure out the ingredients by looking at each one? I really am squeamish when it comes to the unusual (toes, tails, ear, brain, organs etc). Also I avoid raw meat and fish. But I am determined to be a good sport. I just want to be as informed as possible in advance.

Do all pocket dictionaries have pintxos translations?

The cold pintxos displayed on the bar -- some of them are obvious. Piece of bread with a slice of prosciutto and cheese, etc. Some things are mixed like a salad -- (think potato salad) so the ingredients aren't obvious at all. There might be anchovies mixed in (oh gawd, they are sooo good) or wondeful, tiny baby octopus in a mixed seafood salad. (the tentacles may or may not be visible)

The cold tapas get boring but if you want to play it safe, you CAN eat roughly the same things over and over -- piece of bread with some tomato on it. But why you'd do this is beyond me when the most amazing foie gras and tripe preparations are just within grasp. It makes me weepy to just think of it.

Pintxos are high cuisine in miniature. If you love food, you´ll love pintxos. Most preparations will be unknown to you, but all are delicious. And edible by all means. Choose at random and you´ll have a 99% hit.

Food is our religion over here, so be prepared for a gastronomic feast, almost anywhere. Some pintxos are big, others are small, all are different, some bars make them better than others...I live in the Bilbao area, and have my favourites, as people in SS have theirs...it´s a question of tasting and deciding

Ask for txakoli (local white wine) or sidra (natural cider, -sagardo, in Basque-), or a Rioja (you´ll get red wine) to go with your pintxos. All served by the glass, at around 1,20 euros each. Or a &quot;zurito&quot;, a small glass of beer.

Hi Judy, have a look at this web

http://www.todopintxos.com/home/home.php?lang=en It is a guide of pintxos in San Sebastian with pictures, recipes and routes!.

Hope it helps!
Cristina

Hi, Thank you all for great information. Joselle muchas gracias, siempre es bueno aprender. By the way those books, what do the numbers after the name stand for?

Graziella5b:
From Wikipedia: The International Standard Book Number, or ISBN (sometimes pronounced [ˈɪzbən]), is a unique[1] identifier for books, intended to be used commercially.

I was sure some local as mikel should come with first hand info. My experience with pintxos was in San Sebastian, several years ago.
Graziella5b, the ISBN is International Standard Book Number, the ID of every book. If you write in (let's say) Amazon book search 0140009930, you'll find John Wyndham's &quot;The Day of the Triffids&quot;, which main female character is Joselle (whilst my name is JOSELE, and I am male).