clairedavieswriter

A shout out first to the greengrocer in Bilbao who opened her till early to let me buy bananas. She’d initially said no. Not unreasonably, given that I’d blundered into her shop before opening time, dripping all over the floor she’d just mopped. But she must’ve taken pity on me given my bedraggled state and the downpour I’d returned to outside. She came looking for me, said she’d changed her mind and then patiently selected the necessary coins from a heap in my soggy hand. We pedalled out of Bilbao, each with the obligatory cyclist’s banana tucked in our pocket. And secondly, more notably, to the bartender at Restaurante Moreno in Quincoces de Yuso. We’d gone in search of dinner at the uncommonly early hour, for Spain, of 6.45pm. He told us the kitchen didn’t open till 9pm, but when I said we’d cycled from Bilbao and were very hungry, he said, ‘Let me make a call’ and arranged for the cook to come in at 7.30. She arrived bang on time, and came over to our table with a hand-written set menu:

We’d eaten our supper and she’d gone home again before she normally started work. Three courses, two rounds of drinks and a free digestif:

All for less than €30. For two. I love Spain. Though hungry vegetarians do need to be flexible, as you may have spotted from the menu. Even more flexible than we’d bargained for actually, since the asadurilla de cordero turned out to be, not the roast lamb we were expecting, but lamb’s liver in a spicy sauce. Every day’s a school day, I tell you.