September 10, 2024 Lunch - BBQ Grill in Pontevedra. Dinner - Restaurant O Bocoi in Combarro
Willy and Luke were arriving at 3:20 today on the train from Madrid and we needed to go to the market and buy seafood and more vegetables and some more staples, so we decided to drive to Pontevedra and go first to the market and then a supermarket near the train station and eat lunch and then meet the boys at 3:20.
I ate the pain au chocolat and Suzette ate the croissant we bought in Combarro yesterday for breakfast. This was the best pain au chocolat I have ever eaten because it had the most chocolate. Not only was it filled with a traditional puddle of chocolate, but it also had a swizzle of chocolate on top and both ends were dipped in chocolate. I kept hearing it in the microwave to keep the chocolate from hardening.
We left for Pontevedra around 10:30 and drove to the market and parked in the parking garage under the market and took an elevator to the stalls. There were every type of food. We settled on 4.4 pounds of mussels for 6 Euros (about $1.50 per pound) and a kilo of small delicate clams for 24 Euro. There are lots of clams . I don’t know why these were so expensive. I bought nectarines, and Suzette picked some pomme de terre potatoes, a cucumber, a head of red leaf lettuce, and we picked six mushrooms. Then we walked across the road to a fruit and vegetable store and bought green beans. I then walked back across the street to a Panaderia and bought a loaf of bread.
We now had everything we needed for a Salad Nicoise and pasta with clams and mussels.
We drove to the train station and parked under a supermarket near the train station and bought milk, salt, chocolate, and a loaf of pain au chocolate.
We took our purchases to the car and then walked down the street to a 4 star restaurant that served “BBQ”. When I walked I noticed a lady eating grilled chicken scallopini.mi asked her what it was and she answered, “Chicken and it is really good.”
When we sat down I ordered one chicken and two beers.
When the chicken plate came it was five scallops of pounded chicken breasts, two ramekins of rice with peas, and a fresh salad with bits of radicchio among the usual lettuce, onion slices and tomato dressed in olive oil and vinegar. There was a spice that looks like black pepper but tastes like herbs sprinkled on the chicken before they were lightly sautéed that was surprisingly delicious. It was a perfect lunch to split.
After lunch we walked back to the train station at 3:00 and sat at an outside bar to wait for the 3:20 from Madrid’s arrival. I was feeling a little weak so I drank a coke and Suzette drank a vermouth.
At 3:25 Luke and Willy arrived. We drove back to the house and they heated up the bean stew from last night’s dinner and the salami sandwiches I made yesterday for their lunch.
We then rested and they took showers and gathered again at 7:00. We were able to reach Restaurant O Bocoi and they said to come at 8:00, so we drove to Combarro and hung the handicapped placard and parked in front of my new favorite bakery that makes the world’s best Pain au Chocolat next to the plaza. We walked across the square and along the uneven main pathway through lower Cambarro to and beyond the restaurant and then Willy and I walked back at 8:00 and Suzette and Luke joined us in a few minutes.
We ordered a bottle of Godello white wine. The Godello grape and wine is sweeter and less acidic than Albariño, so goes with cooked food better.
The waiter handed us a menu and explained the fresh fish of the day. Basically, they offered Turbot and sea bass baked for two. We ordered one of each. In about thirty minutes large copper baking dishes were served with the baked fish lying on potato slices, tomatoes, onion slices, bell pepper, and pimiento that had been baked with the fish. This was the first time I have had this dish, a whole fish baked with all the vegetables. It was fabulous. The turbot was a little better I thought because it is a flat fish and covered its baking pan and the vegetables more and because the sea bass was a little overcooked on the upper exposed side, but both were fabulous. We ate and ate until we finished the fish and asked the waiter to put the remaining vegetables in a container to take home.
We walked back to the car and at 9:45 the pastry shop was still open. I wanted to go in but everyone vetoed that idea. They know me too well, so we drove home.
Luke and Suzette went to bed and Willy and I made cups of tea and ate a few cookies and drank a little herbal licorice and talked for a while before going to bed.
I guess I had eaten too much because I woke up at 2:40 and turned on the Internet and saw that the Harris-Trump Presidential debate was starting at 3:00 our time, which was 9:00 EST, and was being live streamed on PBS on You Tube, so I called Suzette and we watched the debate.
After the debate Suzette went back to sleep and I finished this bog entry.
Every day brings wonderful new food experiences. I am sure the baked whole fish with indigenous vegetables is a dish the people of this area next to the bay have been cooking for a very long time. It was a joy to enjoy that experience, especially with our little family unit.
Bon Appetit
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