<p>Basaras is another legend in the Bilbao bar scene. When a bar manages to stick around for over eight decades, watching a faithful flow of regulars ebb in and out, it’s no wonder that it achieves heroic status. Basaras was founded in 1940 and is today run by Jon <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Ocaña, son of founder Pepe. </span>Its tiny interior is packed to the brim with wine bottles and a traditional pintxo offering that showcases some of Bilbao’s most famous bites. This is a great spot to try the grillo, a pintxo with nearly a century of history that is jokingly referred to as the first vegan pintxo.&nbsp;Born in times of scarcity, the skewer of boiled potato, spring onion, lettuce, and olive, drizzled with golden olive oil, is more than the sum of its parts. Pair with a <em>Bilbainito</em> (boiled egg, shrimp, and mayonnaise), and the juicy Spanish omelet, and you have the holy trinity of Bilbao bar hopping. Be sure to save room for the Cantabrian anchovies, which are prepared in house, tender and scraped clean of bones until just the buttery taste of pure umami is left.</p>

Read more

<p>Follow the smell of roasting coffee through Lisbon’s Madragoa neighborhood and you might find Flor da Selva, one of the stops on our "<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/lisbon/song-of-the-sea-fish-seafood-and-tradition-in-lisbons-port-zone">Song of the Sea" food tour</a>, where three generations of the Monteiro family have kept an increasingly rare tradition alive. Founded in 1950 by Manuel Alves Monteiro, the roastery still fires its enormous roasting machine with cork wood, a labor-intensive process that few European roasters continue to use. Today, Manuel’s son Jorge and grandson Francisco carry the business forward, while longtime roaster Delmar relies on 25 years of experience to judge the beans by smell, temperature, and instinct. In a city fueled by coffee, Flor da Selva is a reminder of the craft behind every cup.</p>

Read more

<p>In a city famous for its enormous steaks, Juan Vargas gets more excited about a bunch of leeks. At Muka, the Andalusian-born chef puts vegetables center stage, grilling them over fire and turning meat into the supporting act. It's this unexpected side of San Sebastián's food scene that makes Muka a fitting stop on our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/san-sebastian/the-real-basque-way-san-sebastian-beyond-the-stars">food tour, "The Real Basque Way: San Sebastian, Beyond the Stars."</a> His obsession with ingredients extends to knowing exactly which varieties of strawberries, mushrooms, and onions are in season, and even producing his own olive oil with his twin sister, Ana, using olives grown on small plots in Spain. For Vargas, a humble vegetable can be every bit as exciting as a prized txuleta.</p>

Read more

<p>By 5:20 a.m., Lurdes and Ermelinda Neves are already setting up their seafood stall at Lisbon's Mercado da Ribeira, preparing clams, cockles, gooseneck barnacles, and other treasures of the Portuguese coast for the day's customers. Lurdes began working at the market in 1968 and eventually opened her own stall in 1983, earning a devoted following among home cooks and restaurant chefs. Her daughter Ermelinda took an unusual route into the family business: she trained as a lawyer and opened her own practice before giving it up to work alongside her mother. Together, they've become two of the market's most beloved vendors, known as much for their knowledge of seafood as for the warmth with which they welcome customers. And a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/lisbon/song-of-the-sea-fish-seafood-and-tradition-in-lisbons-port-zone">stop on our Lisbon "Song of the Sea" food tour</a>!</p>

Read more

<p>When brothers Carlos and David Montero bought Bar Bodega Quimet in 2010, they made a rather unusual decision for new bar owners in Barcelona: change almost nothing. The worn Spanish tiles, wooden barrels of vermouth, low prices, and even the original house vermouth recipe stayed. Today, three generations of customers, including <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/barcelona/made-in-catalonia">guests on our "</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="/food-tours/barcelona/bodega-barcelona-barrio-tradition-in-bulk">Bodega: Barcelona Barrio Tradition, in Bulk" tour,</a> still come to this Gràcia institution to <em>fer el vermut</em>, sipping vermouth alongside banderillas, tinned seafood, and other tapas. The Montero brothers understood that what made Quimet special was precisely what didn't need fixing.</p>

Read more

<p>At Acarajé da Carol, Carol Alves de Brito keeps the flavors and traditions of her native Bahia alive in Lisbon. After moving to Portugal two decades ago, she began making <em>acarajé</em> for Brazilian community events before opening her own restaurant in Bairro Alto in 2016. Her specialty is the Afro-Brazilian fritter made from black-eyed peas, fried in bright orange <em>dendê</em> palm oil, and stuffed with <em>vatapá</em>, fresh vegetables, and dried shrimp. Deeply connected to Bahia's African heritage and Candomblé religious traditions, <em>acarajé</em> is much more than street food. Carol, who we visit as part of our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/lisbon/lisbons-postcolonial-feast">"Lisbon's Post-Colonial Feast" tour</a>, calls her restaurant the unofficial “Embassy of Bahia,” a fitting description for a place where food, culture, and identity are inseparable.</p>

Read more

<p>When Daniel “Dani” García and Dolores “Lola” Cuerda opened Casa Dani in Madrid’s Mercado de la Paz in the early 1990s, they probably didn't imagine they'd one day be selling some 400 tortillas a day. Their tortilla de patata, with its soft, creamy center and fiercely debated choice of onions or no onions, won a national championship in 2019, turning the modest market counter into a Madrid institution. Despite expanding to four locations and attracting visitors from around the world, Casa Dani remains a lunchtime favorite among market vendors and neighborhood regulars, who come for the tortilla, hearty stews, and daily specials.</p>

Read more

<p>At Xau Laura, a tiny Portuguese tavern in Porto’s arts district and a favorite stop on our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/porto/beyond-the-barrel-from-decadent-to-downhome-in-the-heart-of-porto">"Beyond the Barrel food tour,"</a> twin brothers Ricardo and Hélder have built a following around a particularly good pork sandwich. A whole roasted pork leg sits on a wooden board, ready to be carved to order and tucked into bread, with or without creamy Serra da Estrela cheese. Alongside traditional <em>petiscos</em>, homemade desserts, and Portuguese wines, the brothers serve the kind of unfussy food that keeps people coming back, helped along by their famously warm hospitality.</p>

Read more

<p>For generations, the women of Cambados have worked the tidal flats of Galicia's Rías Baixas, gathering clams, cockles, and razor clams by hand. But for much of that history, their labor went largely unrecognized. María José Cacabelos, a third-generation <em>mariscadora</em> (shellfish gatherer), has helped change that. As a leader in the local fishermen's guild and president of Guimatur, an association founded to celebrate the region's women of the sea, she's been a strong advocate for their rights and livelihoods. The <em>mariscadoras</em> have fought for professional recognition while preserving traditional harvesting techniques and protecting the fragile ecosystems they depend on. Guests on our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/trips/barcelona/barnacles-bluffs-and-brine-a-galician-seafood-pilgrimage">Galicia culinary trip</a> have the opportunity to meet these women and learn firsthand about their work, a tradition passed down through generations that remains essential to the region's food culture.</p>

Read more

<p>Tucked into the fish section of Lisbon’s Mercado de Campo de Ourique, Snack-Bar Palma has been a gathering place for market workers and neighborhood regulars for more than three decades. Behind the counter is Deodato Palma, known to all as Sr. Palma, whose exuberant personality and love of conversation are as much a draw as his cooking. Fishmongers, vegetable sellers, and retirees stop by for coffee, a quick lunch, or a lively debate about football. The specialty is his <em>bifana</em>, a pork sandwich prepared Alentejo-style with plenty of garlic and bay leaf. He also serves traditional soups and tinned fish with fresh cilantro and his homemade <em>piri-piri</em>, a fiery condiment he learned to make in Angola. Snack-Bar Palma is also a stop on Culinary Backstreets’ <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/lisbon/lisbon-awakens-a-culinary-crossroads-reborn">"Lisbon Awakens: A Culinary Crossroads, Reborn tour,"</a> where visitors can experience Sr. Palma’s hospitality firsthand.</p>

Read more