Bartolo is one of the oldest pinxto bars in Donostia.
Yet it is some ways is an atypical establishment.
In most places, the cold pinxtos in the bar are the stars of the show.
The hot dishes, be they pinxtos or raciones, are plain jane stuff
more boring and more standard than the flashy-dashy pinxtos on the bar.
Reverse that thinking for Bartolo.
The bar pinxtos are perfectly nice - but relatively standard.
The hot kitchen is wow wow wow.
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Two awesome treats came out of that kitchen.
One was the best plate of tripe I have had in my life.
What is Bartolo's magical tripe secret?
Flavor the tripe with lots and lots of Basque chorizo.
The grease from the chorizo imparts an orange/red color to the dish.
The spice and meatiness of the chorizo supplant the tripe-y taste and also supplant the blandness.
But the mellow creaminess of the tripe undercut the raw edge of the chorizo.
The flavor pairing is a match made in heaven.
I am pleased to declare chorizo and tripe - man and wife!
(Chorizo, you may now kiss the bride!)
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The second treat was their homemade tarta de whiskey.
A world stopping - waves of delight dessert.
It is a vanilla ice cream pie -
with a creme brulee topping
covered in an English custard sauce that has been heavily flavored with Irish whiskey.
The flavors blend magnificently.
The ice cream and the custard are smooth creamy elements.
The creme brulee topping adds spikes of intense sweetness.
The whiskey adds, well, whiskey.
The whiskey gives the dessert an edge and an element of surprise.
All the alcohol is burned off so there is no acrid edge.
Just the warmth of a wonderful glass of Jameson's.
Conversation stopped for about eight minutes -
except for gasps of pleasure and encomiums of rapturous praise for the dessert.
Eight minutes is a long time for just gasps, oohing and aahing.
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After the tripe and the whiskey pie,
I no longer was on my pinxto binge.
I recovered my belief in real meals and real food.
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Yes Bartolo's tripe and Bartolo's whiskey pie count as treats rather than day to day meals.
Nevertheless, everybody deserves treats.
May Bartolo's tripe and Bartolo's whiskey pie become your treats with your name on them,
On your plate, and in your life! read more