The more I travel, the lazier I get when it comes to the final leg. Do I really want to see another church at that stage, or plan every single meal. Or do I just want to walk around the same streets multiple times, as we end up doing. Researching food can be fun and exhausting at the same time. And by the time you reach the final days of a long trip, you anticipate certain things. By this point, I would have enough Michelin, a lot of seafood, and not enough Galician meat. And if my right hand begins to twitch, I will probably be in need of a burger.
Speaking of which, it actually finally happened. As a burger lover who’s married to a burger freak lover, we had our first burger in Europe. The stars aligned. I had no plans, we had a big lunch, and it was a Sunday where in Bilbao the siesta extends into the night. Everything seems to be open for lunch and close for the remainder of the day. With that said, I do recommend the truffle burger at Hambueysería Amaren.
La Viña De Henao
Not to be confused with another La Viña across the street, and a third La Viña elsewhere in Bilbao. The owner warned us twice about that via email. A narrow, comfortable room, run by a young couple. He’s running the front (by himself!), she’s in the kitchen. A straight forward menu with every item available as a half portion. All our neighbors were locals, some of which enjoying items not on the menu, like snails.
The superb free Salmorejo and Croquettes to warm the palate were indications of things to come. Like the award winning Russian Salad. Not something I normally order anywhere but hard to pass on a best of Spain winner. Below you can see my new BFF (we ate at his little place a few days earlier) presenting the award to the owner while doing his signature “Garrote”.
We also loved the marinated raw Sea Bass swimming in creamy Ajoblanco (almond soup). The super comforting Beef ribs in red wine sauce. And one of those perfectly cooked showstopper Octopus. Though I must confess, maybe I’m not a Kokotxa (Hake Cheeks) fan after all, as I absolutely despised them here. I’m fairly sure I had them in Getaria at the great Elkano and elsewhere, but I feel like its still an acquired taste.
Txakoli Simon
For your (and ours) Chuletón fix. An institution on the hills above Bilbao. We came with our car right before dropping it off, but I get the sense that part of the experience is getting to Simon without a car. That involves a funicular, nice views of Bilbao from above, and about 10-15 min walk to this meat temple.
On a Sunday afternoons its a full blown pilgrimage. The extensive property was buzzing with families occupying the loan. If you dont have reservations, you are directed to a picnic table and serve yourself. With reservations, you get full service. We had reservations, but apparently inside an empty covered glassy structure. When I asked if we can be outside, they said no, all booked. It felt like we were being quarantined. But within minutes people started to join, all local families. And within an hour, the room was packed.
Started with an excellent Chorizo cooked with Cider. Generally I find Chorizo in the US too dry and unremarkable, but this was very flavorful. Red peppers in a surprisingly spicy (for Spain) sauce, also excellent. But too strong to pair with the steak, so we had to finish before the steak arrived.
The steak was a triumph, except that it came fairly blue. Every steak here comes with a grill for you to grill to your liking. My personal preference is whatever the chef recommends, even if it means rare. In Italy for instance, I often get it rare, even though in the US I opt for Med-Rare. But here I felt the need to cook it for a few seconds more. The meat was just glorious. Plenty of funk, and didnt require much salt. It came with fries which you could cook to a crisp as well. We tried but couldnt finish this.
Bonus: Not quite on the same level as the other two, but fun nonetheless, La Pizarra Brasa y Barra. Come for the signature Chuleta Nigiri (bottom pic), slightly smoked Chuleta on puffed bread with some sort of aioli. Stay for the Octopus, braised with a dark spicy bbq sauce.
Eating With Ziggy 