"Papa" is used in many South American countries, as well as in the Canary Islands. In continental Spain and the Balearics, it´s "patata". The "tortilla de Betanzos" is the same thing, it´s just the way they call it there, in Betanzos :). Never heard of "tortilla vaga"!

Thanks, Mike! I looked up tortilla vaga and it seems that this might be an invention of a restaurant in Madrid, Sacha. Here is part of an article written by a chef in North Caroline who owns a Spanish restaurant in that state. (I've not been there):

<<<<At my restaurant, La Bodega in Asheville, NC, inspiration for tortilla vaga comes from Sacha in Madrid, a cozy restaurant featuring hearty dishes from the Basque Country and Galicia. As soon as the open-faced omelet landed on the table, it was clear this dish deserved a place on our menu. The word vaga translates as lazy, among other meanings. For me, it means that it’s perfect in its imperfection. Without the fussiness and added pressure of the roll, tortilla vaga gives permission to focus on the savory flavor and custardy texture.>>>


I looked at the menu in her NC restaurant: $12 us for pan con tomate, plus another $12 if you want that topped with anchoa.

No word on how much a drizzle of olive oil would add to the tab? Wow. (As I sit at my table at home, enjoying pan con tomate topped with some of the spoils of my travels, ventresca de atún claro and delicious AOVE.)

Welcome home!!
Sounds like my kind of snack!!

I'm about to open my can of ventresca con manteca (from the South, so red tuna from the almadraba), which you know is lard.....I think I will serve it on bread but maybe drizzle oil on top, or would that be overkill?? I bought it because I was curious and have had it at home for a year now, so it's time!

Yeah, better rotate that stock! To me, adding oil when it's already preserved in manteca sounds like it might be overkill. But that's just me.

Here's a pic of breakfast last Friday, waking up to a house with little fresh food, but bread in the freezer and a well-stocked pantry (tuna from Despana Foods). Pan con tomate was the last meal we had on the ground in Spain, and the first one we had back in NYC.

I've never been to Bilbao, so I will cease and desist from further hijacking this thread. (But will add to the ongoing conversation, that I reflexively kept calling potatoes "papas" during our trip, and it all seemed to work out. Never went hungry.)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f90f6606ce.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7410297908.jpg

Papas is understood, as we are all familiar with the word, although it's mainly used in South and Central America. So you can also use it in Spain!

I also know personally Marti Buckley, as mikelg does, and I have her well researched cookbooks in English (now translated into Spanish), Basque Country and her recent tome, The Book of Pintxos. She has lived in Donostia for over 12 years and contributes to a slew of magazine articles, podcasts, etc. in English and also in Spanish, including a lengthy profile article about her in El País Semanal. She is also the current reviewer for San Sebastián hotels for The Telegraph.
So her Saveur article is solid, although as mikelg notes, there are dozens of solid places in Donostia that aren't mentioned due to the limitations of any magazine article. Mikelg and I follow her on Instagram.
Her blog:
https://www.travelcookeat.com
I subscribe to El Diaro Vasco, so this may be behind a pay wall,
https://www.diariovasco.com/san-sebastian/comer-san-sebastian-segun-gastronoma-marti-buckley-20250408065105-nt.html

Yes, ekscrunchy, the "tortilla vaga" is indeed the original invention of Sacha Hormaechea of the eponymous restaurant Sacha, an open faced omelet with a variety of ingredients, not flipped, (that Arzak actually didn't like) and has been imitated in many restaurants, both in Spain and the US. I recently had one at Petit Comité in Sevilla, a place that I love (as does our friend, Shawn, Azahar, the Seville "queen of tapas" anointed by the London Times!)

These restaurant lists and the explanations of the various pintxos are wonderful! Mikel and Maribel, you both are treasures. Thank you, all of you, for the detailed replies, and I give a special thank you to the original poster, chale1, for the question.
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As to $$$ information, I don't go out of my way to say how much we spent on a meal, but at the same time, I certainly have always researched how much we're going to be shelling out and base some choices on that. So I do appreciate anyone's giving a price range. By the way, if someone asks me about cost, I'm more than willing to share the ballpark range--as long as I can remember it.

And I so agree that experiencing a super expensive meal is NOT indicative of income. In our early years of travel with our daughters, we flew in the cheapest seats (usually bought in part with FF miles), compared every kind of transport and museum pass for the best deal, and stayed in 3* (or frequently less) hotels, but we splurged on stunning dining experiences, especially in Paris. We were happy to alternate street food with Michelin stars to make it all work, and I'm sure others here do so too.