The three sisters love food and are always excited about perusing a new menu. We hadn’t planned om eating in town that day, but our tummies said otherwise.

We started our lunch at Esquina Sanchez with refreshing Victoria beer as well as a complimentary breadbasket. We each contributed a suggestion as to what to order.

One of the primary reasons we chose the south of Spain for our second stop in Europe was because of the food. We once had an excellent tapas restaurant where we live in Winnipeg, so we thought we knew what would delight.

I chose the patatas bravas, remembering my favourite dish from that Winnipeg menu. The name of the dish is “spicy potatoes” but that is not what was served at Sanchez. In addition, I am a French fry aficionado and know that the authentic way to prepare this dish is by taking potato cubes and frying them. This version came with roasted potatoes covered by a sauce that was creamy but not spicy. I prefer when the bravas tomato sauce has a smack of hot smoky paprika.

The croguetas of ham and fish were pretty bland and not like the excellent ones that Sister #2 makes with her Mother-in-Law’s recipe. Croquettes have long been a staple in their home and are made with a thick, rich bechamel sauce, seasoned accordingly, coated in an egg wash and breadcrumbs and shallow fried until a golden.

Sister #2’s croquettes.

We all agreed that the final dish was a hit. Sister #3 chose Gambas al Pil Pil (spicy garlic shrimp). These were meaty, well prepared and lovely when the provided bread was torn and dipped into the delicioous oil.

It may sound like we are picky. Afterall we were in the heart of tapas country; couldn’t we be happy with a local version? It is not that we wanted to diss the place, but we had chosen the restaurant without research, right on the main path that tourists use to wander through Old Town. We wouldn’t let that happen again…

In addition though, I think it was a case of “you don’t know what you’ve got til its gone”. Segovia the tapas restaurant that I mentioned from back home was simply that good at serving authentic tapas with high quality ingredients.

We continued to wander through the streets, loving every minute of our day.

That evening, Sister #3 cooked for us at our Air BnB. Since we loved that shrimp that we had that day, she prepared a shrimp encore with butter, onion, garlic and lemon tossed with beautifully prepared pasta. Alongside was a salad of greens, pear, gouda and muesli enhanced by a raspberry vinagrette.

In the end, it was a good eating day.

Kath’s quote: “Food is for eating, and good food is to be enjoyed… I think food is, actually, very beautiful in itself.”-Delia Smith

Love-that is all.

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