A selection of Pintxos including fois gras and asparagus

Pintxos is the Basque equivalent of tapas. It is a popular staple and there is nothing that the Basque in San Sebastian likes more then to hit one of the many pintxos bars for a couple of snacks accompanied by a glass of two of Rioja or local cider.

Our first taste of Pintxos was the afternoon that we arrived, when we walked down to the waterfront. We had been warned that while the Spanish like dogs, unlike the French and Italians, they do not usually allow dogs into the cafes and restaurants. So it was a nice surprise when a cafe/bar was happy to let Magnus and us in. Since we were peckish, we ordered some of the bar food including a slice or tortilla, which is a thick omelete crammed with potato and sometimes also peppers and ham, and a ham (jamon) sandwich. And at the barman's suggestion we ordered a pair of Gildas, pronounced Xilda,...and then two more.

Apparently, the Gilda was invented by a barman, who was a great fan of Rita Hayworth and, in particular, her role in the film of the same name, Gilda. The Gilda is supposed to reflect the strength of the character. It is composed of a pitted green olive, then a marinated green pepper, then a marinated anchovy slice and finally another pitted green olive, skewered and then immersed in olive oil. It is delicious and has a distinctive piquant taste. If that was what Rita Hayworth in Gilda meant to him, he succeeded.

Pinxtos bars and cafes can be found all over town and are also very busy at lunchtime, but if you are in San Sebastian, the place to have them is in the old town of an evening. These bars are generally heaving and people are spilling into the streets. Orders are placed at the bar with your name and as and when something is ready, the barmen screams your name. When you have eaten and drunk your fill, you go to the bar to pay. So, there is a lot of honesty involved because anyone could slip away and no one would know or perhaps even realise later that a group had eaten for free. On two occasions, I even had to tell the barman what we had eaten and drunk.

There is a great deal of snobbery amongst Basque about which bars make good pintxos and how it should be served. Ideally, you should frequent a bar, which makes the pintxos fresh after you order. Many bars have the pintxos on the counter, but for many, that won't do as they aren't fresh and might be dusty. From my own observations, the pintxos on the bar counters and displays are consumed so quickly that they is no time for them to go off, let alone get dusty.