Te gustas ir al txikiteo? = Would you like to go on a fabulous bar hopping night filled with good, cheap food?

txikiteo – quick group migration from one bar to another, sampling wines and bar food, also known as "pinchos" and "caxuelitas".

After a healthy lunch chosen from the menu del dia  ( a low-cost three course lunch that by law must be offered at all Basque restaurants) and a few more hours of honest work, the masses flood the streets with laughter and chatter, hollers and handshakes. Newborns bounce on enthusiastic mums, the elderly shout wise words firmly to gaggles of girls and couples stroll on the cobble streets. They spill in and out of one bar after another. It’s what the Basque do, and they call it txikiteo, a steady migriation from one locale to another, sipping the local cidre (poured with muchos flare)and snacking on pinchos. 

In most of Spain they are referred to as tapas, but in Basque, they call them pinchos: from the Spanish verb pinchar (to prick), pinchos are little bites you can pick up with one hand - leaving the other for your glass. They are small, so they’ve got to pack a punch to fuel and satisfy the swells.  Not that they need any more seducing. With local avacados, olive oils, cheeses and chorizos to choose from, they are all bound to swallow. Gulp after satisfying gulp, they cut the rich bites with crisp apple cider or sips of Sauvignon Blanc from their neighbours in Loire. The tart drink leaves the stomach wonting; Digestivo is apertifo too, separated by bites of salt cod confit on crackers, olive oil seared scallops spiked with toothpicks and simple sandwiches made with just one slice of meat. Most of them are 1 euro. 

Typical Basque pinchos include fried Piquillo peppers, blood sausage, and the famous Gilda, which is an olive, a guindilla (a very hot pepper), an onion and a piece of cod or anchovy drenched in olive oil and vinegar. The oily, salty, sweet fish helps to calm the firey pepper and the onion helps the pepper fight back.  

After bar hopping and gaining a steady appetite, the Basque population will slowly slow down and sit down for a long and late dinner. 

Olive Oils of Spain

The mountain-sheltered land, flanked by the mediterranean encapsulates the perfect climate for tropical plants like lycees, mangos, macadamia nuts, cherimoyas, avacados and olive oils. If you keep in mind that what grows together goes together then highlighting olive oil goes from daunting to inspirational; Think olive oil drizzled over grilled mango with camerano cheese 

The Basque region is overflowing with olive oil.

In Basque alone you will find a olive oil comes in a full spectrum of greens, signifying the varying intensity and diverse applications for this celebrated oil. 

Lighter olive oil has a higher smoke point, meaning it is the perfect medium for a spanish freiduría (chip-frying shop). The lighter oils are often used in canned foods like what I imagine to be the most unctuous treat: chorizo canned in olive oil or fish out some Hojiblanca -soaked anchovies for a an easy snack. 

The darker the oil, the more complex the flavours and when the choices are endless, it can take an expert to decide a pairing that will put both the oil and the other components of the dish in the best light.  Olive grower and Chef, Jean Pierre Vandelle  introduced Spain to its first olive oil trolly, where diners at El Olvio can oogle the oils before a professional selects the perfect one for the dish. One of them is Arbequina olive oil which is slightly sweet, a little bitter, with a delicate notes of almond. It’s favoured by chefs for desserts (think olive oil chocolate truffles), but some can’t resist using it as a dressing with herbs over freshly caught, sweet lobster. 

Other oils are piquant, deep green and sometimes grassy. These are begging to meet on a plate with equally-grassy goats cheese and some crackers, or over braised lamb with fresh herbs. 

Really, there is an olive oil for every dish. ( And that’s just olive oils from Spain!)