Eat Like Ushi

After sampling cheap pre-made student lunch tapas at the downstairs whitewashed haven of Bambu, I wanted to see what else Salamancan tapas had to offer. I managed to go twice to Cuzco, which is so close to the centre but far enough away that I was the only non-Spanish person in there. It's crowded at the counter but the serving staff do an excellent job of noticing everyone and taking food and drink orders.

The first night I sampled 3 delights for the tiny price of €7.70 (which can be almost considered expensive in Salamanca):
- Mini Hamburguesa de Morucha €1.9 - the cheapest turned out to be the best. My first taste of the local Morucha beef was an exceptional one with a medium rare succulent patty, as good as it could be for a patty that thickness;
- Solomillo de Cerdo con Salsa de Setas €3.5 - this was a fine slice of pork tenderloin, soft juicy and tender served with a mushroom sauce;
- Hamburguesita de Morcilla con Cebolla Caramelizada €2.3 - I adore morcilla and black pudding and this was a decent version although not the strongest in flavour. Nonetheless devoured happily.

I went back a week later and didn't take photos but tried an excellent special of grilled octopus and also what seemed to be their most popular dish in Tosta de Jamon con Foie y Cebolla Caramelizada.

A wonderful and more local feel to a tapas venue in Salamanca.

One of the most exciting food items on the Salamanca radar is hornazo. It is advertised in the shop windows of many places including bakeries, cake stores and jamonerias.

I was lucky enough to sample a few different places during my two weeks. It is a pastry crust filled with pork loin (lomo), chorizo and jamon. Apparently some also have hard boiled eggs, but none that I saw. One other thing that is quite quaint to me is that these are eaten cold. They will heat these up upon request, but they told me that isn't standard.

Santa Lucia
These were the first I tried from Plaza Mayor. I decided to get a whole single one rather than a piece of the big shared version. Whether it was because of that or just the way they make it there, it was filled with very little meat and lots of pastry. I had it mildly warmed and although ok, wasn't that exciting. It was also a little more expensive at €3.7.

Viandes de Salamanca
This was the only one I tried from a specialty jamon store. It was the most expensive at €4 or €4.5. You can see the meat busting out of this one. I ordered it takeaway and heated it up myself in the microwave at home. It was nicer with a thick slice of lomo and salami. Not bad at all.

La Tahona de la Abuela
When researching online, Abuela's hornazo was the one that I had listed. And even though they are a bakery, cakeshop and heladeria, hornazo was the only item I had written to try. I'm not sure what stopped me from getting it before the other two, but for some reason I didn't. Maybe it was the helado brightness and a not very overwhelming multicereal bread roll I got from them. Eventually I got hornazo from the Rua Mayor location (not the ones in or just east of Plaza Mayor) and so thankful I did. The lady offered to heat it up so I expect she knows foreigners prefer it this way. The pastry was soft and a little crumbly, albeit not the same a good pie pastry. But the filling was an equal fill of lomo, salchichon (I think it was this, not chorizo) and a bit of jamon. It was the best of the lot and I had it twice from there. It was also the cheapest at €3.5.

La Tahona de la Abuela's hornazo from Rua Mayor was the best of the lot I tried. Look for the cut slices from the full one so at least you can see what the filling proportions are like. And I definitely prefer it warm, which means many jamon places wouldn't be able to do it.

After staying in Salamanca for 2 weeks, I had the opportunity to try many of the gelato places. Essentially each day where the sun warmed up the afternoon in Plaza Mayor, I would enjoy my helado as the sun started to set around 6pm.

Umami
I came across this on my first afternoon in delightful sunshine along the busy Rua Mayor. It turned out to be the best of the lot, with its Italian artesenal heritage and authentic steel tins keeping the goods safe. The pistachio was strong and not overly sweet, the coconut was a bit too mild, and the unpictured avellano had a potent beautiful hazelnut flavour.

Valencia
That first day I saw people queuing at Valencia around the corner from Umami. It looked like a fairy place for children. I tried their chocolate which was a little darker than standard (which I definitely prefer) but the pistachio wasn't as good even though it had little nut bits which I do like generally.

Santa Lucia
I saw the helado here but didn't end up having it. I got a hornazo that day instead. A friend tried the kitkat flavour on a later day and thought it tasted like standard chocolate.

Novelty
I was recommended this place by the profesora at my escuela as her favourite. I must say the huge mounds visible from Plaza Mayor definitely mean it would not have been my choice if it wasn't for her recommendation. I must say it wasn't bad at all, with the chocolate not too sweet and the avellano quite strong. I did get a small rather than medium for the other places, but the serving size was significantly smaller.

Overall Umami was my favourite. I'd be happy to go back for the pistachio and avellano/hazelnut. I'd have to remind myself to get a small though as I struggle to finish medium by myself.

Some students took me to a pizza place in Plaza Mayor. Usually eating in a plaza would be a bad idea given that's how tourist traps work. However at least this place was a mixture of enticing and some imaginative interior design. It's a pizzeria and a cerveceria meaning night may be even more atmospheric.

Pizzas are shown in the window but different ones are available inside. They are about 22-27€/kg which works out to be about 3-4€ for a 140gram slice that they approximate, which makes 10€ per lunch or so. Of course you can ask for mas o menos or try more range.

The best part is that before serving, they put it in an oven/grill which crispens the oily base and also melts and chars the toppings, particularly the cheese. It's an excellent method and one I will now adopt to home cooking.

I tried 6 types of pizza in 2 sittings and all were good. My favourite would have to be one with zucchini and provolone with anchovy running through it - excellent flavour. Others include in that same photo pumpkin/panceta and cherry tomato/basil, and in the second photo mushoom/pesto/tomato, 4 cheese and anchovies/mozzarella/red peppers.

Of the pizzas I've sampled from Australia, London, Italy, NYC and Argentina, I'd probably say it resembles deepdish NYC or Argentina the closest. Very impressed.

For my last meal out in Salamanca, I finally went to the one place that was on my list. Tapas 3.0 is supposedly some new rendition tapas with both a bar and a sit down setting. It is more expensive than the other tapas places in town designed for students, but I wanted to treat myself to one meal. And at €3.5-6 per tapa, that really isn't much.

I wanted somewhere to have the local Morucha beef so was hoping it would surface.

- Canelon de rabo de vaca, boletus €6 - they didn't have truffle so I was happy to pay less to not have them. The pasta wasn't aldente but that's ok. It had a good chewy texture with shredded ox tail and a heavy mushroom sauce. A little expensive for 1 pasta but it was good;
- Patatas bravas €3.5 - I'm not sure how they received the accolade of Top 10 in Spain but it seemed worthy to try. They were ok, crisp with quite light seasoning. I've definitely had better ones around (that probably aren't the other 9 in that list). The mayo wasn't necessary but tradition and the chilli sauce could have used a stronger hit and flavour;
- Burger de ternera, cheddar y mayonesa de chipotles €5 - I was excited at how thick the patty was for what would be a slider. It was sensationally rare, juicy with an unusual flavour. Unlike the salty American burgers, this showcased the pure meat flavour with a slight sweetness (similar to the jamon pork aftertaste). It was one of the finest patties I've had and unique.

I couldn't decide between the burger and rice. The waitress said the burger is very good. She was right. I left happy.