It’s that time of year where we are supposed to feeling inspired, re-energised and ready to take on the world. It’s also that time of year where we reflect on what we have done in the past year, and what we could do better next time round.
Although it almost seems like it is expected to do a yearly review post in the blogosphere, in the end I decided that I wasn’t planning to do one. I mean really, do you really want to hear about what I did this year? It’s kind of boring. Mostly I just ate. And drank vino blanco. And if you cared, you’ve probably been reading my vaguely chronological account of my year on my blog anyway.
At first, I did think about doing a review and putting a different spin on it. For example, I love Young Adventuress’s annual post with her Best Hate Comments of the year. It’s always hilarious to see the kind of brainless morons who come out of the woodwork. But aside from Hazel (hi there!) I didn’t get any hate comments this year.
Hazel W, my only troll in 2014, told me what she really thought about me after a post about this beautiful town, Nerja. It was downright nasty and uncalled for, I never approved it. I think uneducated and moronic were two of the adjectives used.
I also thought about taking the Instagram route. My year in review on Instagram. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Seems I’m not the only person who thought that. In recent weeks I’ve seen a post from Uncornered Market with their Best Travel Instagram Photos of 2014, as well as Justin + Lauren’s Instagram Travel Photo Review of 2014.
These were both great posts, but it seems Instagram reviews have been done. But just incase I felt like I might have wanted to do a year review of Instagram pictures, I took a look at my Instagram pictures from earlier on in 2014.
Ugh, no. No one wants to see that!
I didn’t start taking my Instagram “seriously” until the universe blessed me with a smashed phone, which forced me to buy a new one. So I decided to upgrade myself to an iPhone 5 – but that was only in August 2014.
A recent photo from my Instagram. I like this one. It’s pretty, if I do say so myself!
Then, the other morning, I opened my email to find a new post from one of my favourite bloggers. Waegook Tom really makes me laugh – even my boyfriend who is the anti-blogger enjoys reading his blog – and he had done a simple month by month year in review. And you know what? Even though I follow his blog, I still enjoyed reading the recap. Perhaps this month by month review thing could work after all?
But I still wasn’t convinced. Until just now, as I was mid-pee on the plane during turbulence trying to make sure no accidents occurred, when it came to me. I will review each month by my favourite new restaurant discovery. And I am such a weirdo that, with no specific notes to reflect on, I can remember a new restaurant I discovered (and loved) for every month of the year.
January – El Poeta, Baracoa, Cuba
Pretty much the whole of January was taken up by my trip to Cuba. Not only did I fall in love with Cuba, I also discovered that the rumours about how terrible Cuban food is are grossly exaggerated.
I came across several great restaurants during my month in Cuba, but I would have to say that my favourite of them was El Poeta. What made this restaurant stand out was the fact that even though Guantanamo has different cuisine to the rest of the island, thanks to its geographic position, it’s one of the few places in town serving up typical cuisine from this region. We ate a feast of fish, seafood, chicken, goat, vegetables, and amazing dessert which took advantage of one of Guantanamo’s most famous plants – the cacao tree.
El Poeta – Antonio Maceo | entre Ciro Frias y Cespedes, Baracoa, Cuba
February – El Cid, Logroño, Spain
During February I was in Logroño most of the month, trying to stay warm and occupying my time by recapping my trip to Cuba and turning my stories into some of the first posts to appear on this blog.
Some time in Logroño meant some time to explore the pintxo bars. I had steered clear of most other mushroom places in Logroño. I was always loyal to Bar Soriano, which to me is the ONLY mushroom place in Logroño. It is a Logroño institution, and all the others are phoneys. Especially that Bar Angel, which I tried once when Bar Soriano was on holidays – never again.
But then one cold February night, I suggested to C that we try something different. We like Bar Soriano for the fact that it doesn’t put on any airs and what you see is what you get – mushrooms. Nothing more, nothing less.
El Cid seemed kind of the same, and all the old local men hanging off the bar with a glass of vino tinto in hand had me intrigued.
El Cid also specialises in mushrooms, but here instead of champis the mushrooms are setas – the flat mushrooms. They are also cooked on the grill, but the garlic sauce is even stronger with more texture to it. They serve up their pintxos on bread, or as a racion (large plate) ideal for sharing – or for someone who really loves mushrooms, like me.
El Cid – Travesía de Laurel, 1, Logroño, Spain
Mushroom pintxos in Bar Soriano. I didnt have any pictures from El Cid, so let’s look at Bar Soriano’s mushrooms instead!
March – Hashem, Amman, Jordan
The beginning of March I spent 10 days in Jordan. I have to say, my experience with food in Jordan wasn’t overwhelming. This was for two reasons.
Firstly, I had read about Amman’s great street food, but when I got there I realised that it wasn’t so easy for the average traveller to experience. Sure, if you’re on a press trip being ushered around with a private vehicle, it would be possible to sample the best. But the good places were generally spread out and it wasn’t easy to just find them. I still ate well anyway, but I guess it just wasn’t what I was expecting.
Secondly, once I began the tour – my second ever experience of being on a tour with Intrepid as a passenger – the Tour Leader said in the welcome meeting that if we didn’t eat together every meal we would break down the whole working order of Jordanian society. Not exactly in those words, but you get what I mean.
Now, the beauty of travelling with Intrepid is that you have the flexibility to do your own thing. But I didn’t want to look like the one causing problems, and seeing as we had been given such strict instructions I just went with it. This would have been okay if we weren’t being taken to the tourist buffets, or the restaurant attached to the hotel. Probably the restaurants the Tour Leader not only eats for free, but gets commissions from too. Needless to say, I was not impressed.
But one restaurant I did enjoy – before the tour – was Hashem. I had read about this place and had been recommended it by more than one person. Was it going to live up to the hype? The answer is, YES.
This was a simple place. Think an eatery sprawling over an outdoor and indoor area, crazy busy, plastic tables and chairs, and energised waiters whisking plates in every direction. Here you get hummus and falafel, with some salad and pita on the side – no frills but very tasty. And not only that, the whole thing set me back less than €2.
Hashem – King Faisal Street, Amman, Jordan
April –Vivmar, Faro, Portugal
After spending the first three months of 2014 as I pleased – which involved travelling, eating, vino tinto and The Following and Blacklist marathons on TV, it was time to think about earning a living again. I generally work from April to November, so in April I had to go to Italy for the “returning Tour Leader training” for Intrepid. I flew from Pisa Airport straight to Madrid, and started my first tour for the season immediately after.
My first trip was a two week tour of Spain and Portugal. While on this tour I stayed in Faro, a small city in Portugal’s Algarve region. It was a new city on the tour due to a change of itinerary, and also a completely new city for me. So with new cities come new restaurant discoveries.
I sampled a few different restaurants in my two days there, but Vivmar was my favourite. This little seafood restaurant down by the marina is run by the shellfishing association, meaning that the fish is not only super fresh, but good value too. Possibly the best value for mony you can find in Faro. It’s simple but a great meal – just the way I like it.
Vivmar – Rua Comandante Francisco Manuel 41, Faro, Portugal
The hugest salmon steak in the world
May – Matiz, Valencia, Spain
After my first tour in Spain and Portugal I went on to do a two week tour from Barcelona to Rome, passing through the Pyrenees in Catalunya, the South of France, then the Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome. After finishing in Rome during the first week of May, I flew straight back to Madrid to start again. Back to back tours = the life of a Tour Leader.
It was while I was doing this two week tour from Madrid to Barcelona, which after Madrid heads to Granada, then explores many cities and towns in Andalucía before jumping on the train across to Valencia and Barcelona, that I discovered Matiz.
In Valencia we were staying in a new area as we had found a new hotel, so I went out on a little exploration of my new hood. It was here I discovered this wonderful little spot. Aside from being super cute with friendly service to boot, Matiz does what I conclude must be Spain’s best value menu del día.
For €8.95 you get first course, second course, dessert and a drink, and the food is seriously good. I can’t get out of my head the starter I had the first time I ate there, it was courgette fritters with saffron cream. So tasty!
Matiz – Calle Maestro Clavé, 12, Valencia, Spain
June – Muxia, Madrid, Spain
After the two week Best of Spain tour, I had a week off. C and I spent a week down in Nerja, a little coastal town which I fell in love with, and then a wonderful two days in Álora, a tiny little pueblo blanco (white village) in Andalucía. Here we stayed at Fuego Blanco, a lovely rural guesthouse, and just generally enjoyed being away from the madness. But not for long.
After staying in Álora we jumped on the train from Malaga straight up to Madrid to get back to work. I had the Spain and Portugal tour coming up again, which started in Madrid, and I decided it was time to try somewhere new. While wandering the back streets of Madrid I came across this great little local restaurant called Muxia.
Muxia might be the dingiest looking place around, with its bright lights, loud TV, simple tables and chairs, and no frills attached. But it is staffed by a trio of lovely – if not slightly eccentric men – and is one of the best places I’ve found for seafood in Madrid.
Muxia is a Galician restaurant, so as well as great seafood such as boquerones and almejas, they also serve up a great pulpo a feira – Galician style octopus AKA my favourite Spanish dish ever – now that’s a big call!
Aside from great food, the house vino blanco is an Albariño, a white wine produced in Galicia, and everything about this place is super good value. The wine costs €8 a bottle, and the whole affair at Muxia never costs me more than €15. Win!
Muxia – Calle Teniente Coronel Norena, 21, Madrid, Spain
July – Umm, Logroño, Spain
My first tour in July was a one week tour through Northern Spain, leaving from Barcelona and stopping in Pamplona, Logroño, San Sebastian and finishing in Madrid. I had a wonderfully energetic and fun group this time round, which was just as well because we were in Pamplona during the Fiesta de San Fermin, which also entails the famous Running of the Bulls.
While we were lucky enough to find a somewhere with places to rent on the balcony, so that some of the group could watch the bull run with front row seats, I didn’t attend the Running of the Bulls myself. However, I watched it on TV in the hotel that morning and that was enough for me.
After this tour though, disaster struck. I had been having problems with my health for awhile now, but after this tour I could not go on. First the first time ever I called in sick for my next tour.
I spent the rest of the month at home in Logroño, but the day I arrived I had no food in the house. C was also off work so we went exploring to see what new bars and restaurants had popped up in Logroño during our absence. And that’s when I discovered Umm.
This was the newest pintxo bar on Calle San Juan in Logroño, serving up a variety of new and interesting pintxos. I am a tuna addict, so they won me over from the word atún. Aside from serving up a great tuna tataki, they also poured me a glass of my favourite vino blanco from a bio-dynamic winery down the road.
Umm – Calle San Juan, 1, Logroño, Spain
August – A Caldeira, Gijón, Spain
During August I was still off work, although I did go away for a couple of weeks. For one week I did the typical Spanish thing and went on a beach side holiday to Tossa de Mar on the Costa Brava. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, though it was a totally different experience to my second week of travels in August.
At the end of August C and I went to Gijón in Asturias. Aside from checking out events going on during the annual Fiesta de la Sidra – and bear in mind, cider is the only thing I possibly love as much as vino blanco, I was in heaven – we found some great eats around Gijón too.
My favourite was one that C’s cousin, Pedro, took us to. Here they served us more pulpo a feira (told you – I love it!) but the best part was the main course – the octopus rice. Octupus done two ways – that’s my kinda thing!
The rice was cooked in a tomato broth with red peppers and plenty of octopus to boot. It was a little bit of a drive out of the city, but totally worth making the effort to get to. We were the only tourists around – the rest of the restaurant was filled with local families and friends who were also in the know about this great hidden place.
A Caldeira – Ctra. Campa Torres, 1500, Gijón, Spain
September – Los Cazadores, Ronda, Spain
The last day of August I went back to work, starting with a two week tour of Spain from Madrid to Barcelona. I love this tour – it’s one of my favourites to do and I don’t mind doing it several times a year. Partly because you can eat so damn well on this trip.
During this tour we stayed in Ronda, and we were lucky enough to be there for the first days of the Feria de Pedro Romero. We missed the most interesting days, but we still saw a parade and plenty of girls dressed up in the traje de flamenca.
Since my favourite restaurant was closed for holidays, I had to try something new. I’d heard about a great seafood place a little bit of a walk out of town, and decided to check it out.
Los Cazadores is a very local restaurant, the place to go if you want to experience the real España. There is no menu, the owner just tells you want he has that day, or even better, he will just start bringing raciones of food to the table until you’ve had enough . For me, I prefer the latter – surprise is sometimes the best element.
We ate tuna, we ate cuttlefish, we prawns and clams. Everything was simply cooked – the way seafood should be done – making best use of the fresh produce available, served with just a small side of ensalada. And not only that, it was very good value too.
Los Cazadores – Calle Rosal, 1, Ronda, Spain
Another meal without photos! What’s going on? Here are the streets of Ronda during the Feria.
October – La Boca, Cordoba, Spain
September and October was quite a busy time for work for me, and after I did the aforementioned two weeks from Madrid to Barcelona, I also did another Spain and Portugal trip, and then a one week trip around Northern Spain. My last tour of the season was the last two weeks of October, and again, two weeks around Southern Spain from Madrid to Barcelona.
It was while I was on this tour that C tipped me off about a new restaurant in Cordoba. Only it wasn’t that new. It has been opened awhile and neither of us had any idea about it at all. And it was so close to our hotel. How did we miss it? Criminal. So of course, I had to check it out.
This restaurant was made up of several different rooms, including a courtyard out the back which is where I decided I should eat that night. It was quirkily decorated – think a nightshade made out of kitchen graters – but most importantly, it had a rocking menu.
I made no bones about ordering two of my favourite things on the menu – grilled goats cheese (cheese addict alert!) and tuna tataki. Seriously, I could write a book about all the tuna tataki that I’ve eaten.
I also ordered the suckling pig, and with these three dishes we had ourselves and nice and varied meal. To make things even better, their vino blanco by the glass just happened to be a verdejo from the Rueda region called K-Naia. This is one of my favourite wines in Spain, so it’s fair to say I left La Boca happy, satisfied, and suitable jolly.
La Boca – Calle San Fernando, 39, Cordoba, Spain
November – One Up, Essaouira, Morocco
After finishing my last tour for the season on the 1st of November, and hastily moving out of our house in Logroño, it was time to head to Morocco for work. In Marrakech business was the main order of the day, as all the Tour Leaders got together in the head office to discuss the past season.
After Marrakech, we went to the Atlas Mountains for a night and onto Essaouira. The first night in Essaouira we had a free night, so a group of us went out in search of a good place to eat. C came across One Up and suggested we try it out. At first I was skeptical about the no booze situation in this particular restaurant, but once I saw the menu I decided that perhaps we could have fun without wine.
This was easily the best place I ate in Morocco. Think traditional ideas combined with modern flavours and ingredients, immaculately presented and served with a smile. I had the Monkfish Tagine. Now Monkfish is pretty much my favourite fish in the world, and cooked this way in a coconut sauce made it very enjoyable.
After Morocco we flew back to Madrid, and straight onto Australia, which brings me to December.
One Up – 1 Rue Laalouj, Essaouira, Morocco
December – El Faro, Auckland, New Zealand
C and I spent five weeks in Australia catching up with friends and family before heading to New Zealand for a two week holiday. While in New Zealand we had a whirlwind trip to Auckland, and during our time there we ended up eating at Elliot Stables.
This place was a unique concept. The dining area was common, shared by a handful of different restaurants that surrounded the perimeter of the place. I guess it was like a glorified food court. You could eat in just one of the places, or if you fancy, order from many different places.
But unlike a typical food court, the waiting staff still served you at the table – you just had to let them know that you wanted to eat from their establishment. This would be great with people who had differing opinions as to what food they enjoy. However, I planned to eat just at El Faro, so tried to put blinkers on while looking at what else was around me.
I was happy with my decision to eat at El Faro because I loved it. Here the food is Spanish inspired tapas including typical Spanish offerings, such as patatas bravas, and flavours not common in Spain, such as beetroot and blue cheese salad.
They also have huge mussel pots, with a choice of four sauces. We went for La Vera, a tomato sauce seasoned with paprika, garlic and pepper, and the mussels were green lip mussels from the Coromandel coast, just outside of Auckland. Although these mussels were huge, they were amazing, and one of the best things that I ate while I was in New Zealand.
El Faro – Elliot Stables, 39 Elliott St, Auckland, New Zealand
So that’s what my 2014 looked like. How about yours? What were your highlights? Perhaps you made some new discoveries too? Have you eaten at any of these places? Tell me all about it!
If you enjoyed this post you can keep up with my real time updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Jessica (Barcelona Blonde) says
Wow, that restaurant in Portugal looks amazing. If I ever go to Faro, I’ll definitely have to make a stop there. What a fun way to look back at 2014!
Cyra says
I wouldn’t say Faro is exactly worth making the stop for (haha) but it’s definitely somewhere you could find yourself on your travels as it’s the main airport in the Algarve region 🙂 I love eating in Portugal actually, it’s not known as a “culinary” destination but you can find yourself some damn good food!
Ance says
Will try the One Up restaurant next time we are in Essa…thanks for the suggestion!;)