It's Still Possible to Eat Well and not Spend a Fortune

She is so Shellfish.

4 Likes

Pardon my ignorance… how do you eat those?

With gusto!

You hold the “foot” and twist to pull off the “condom.” The meat stays attached to the foot and you bite it off.

I bet there are videos online. I have shown lots of confused diners what to do with them, so no pardons necessary - they are one of the weirdest foods of the sea!

1 Like

From one of the restaurants I frequent within the area I live. Chef is a Spaniard who spent many years working in London Michelin starred restaurants. I recently hosted a dinner for 9 persons with the following dishes. Came out to only approximately US$70 per person all in (wine not included as I brought my own bottles; no corkage as I’ve been a regular customer ever since they opened around 12 years ago).


Canapés of wagyu beef tartare on custard brioche.


Fried oyster, ajo blanco, grapes, red pepper oil. Visually captivating, and absolutely delicious.


The chef’s spin on boeuf bourguignon, but using Japanese scallops, morcilla, crispy lardo, apple & beef jus.


Pan-fried foie gras, cherries, onion soubise, almonds, port & chicken sauce.


Baby scallops, Beurre Blanc, paccheri & rosemary.


Ibérico secreto, mojo verde, grilled piquillo pepper, caramelized apple, and thyme & rosemary sauce.


Crème brûlée.


Salted caramel-chocolate tartlet & chocolate coated figs.

12 Likes

This $13 all-Japanese-beef burger that was my dinner 2 nights ago @craftburgerosaka, a neighborhood joint in Osaka, will be offered in a New York restaurant for $40+ if they can only figure out how to come up with something as tasty.

Downed with a very nice pale ale from Minoh, a local Osaka brewery.

6 Likes

Unlike some other postings in this thread, this one hits the mark!!!

This was a place called Sangourmand in the Kita ward in Osaka, under 30m walk from my apartment in Miyakojima. Salad (not pictured), poached egg, and an unusual hamburger steak with demiglace and a choice of tongue or roast beef plus a side of steamed rice (other options available). I can’t upload a video of the “squirt” but you can easily find them on YT and google reviews. Under $20 and one of the most interesting and delicious lunches I’ve ever had. I don’t think it’s quite yet hit the tourist radar since I was the only foreigner each visit. There was always a line and seemed to be a hot neighborhood joint. I wouldn’t attempt to recreate this; I don’t understand the science etc behind the whole exploding thing, and it was by no means a gimmick.

2 Likes

There could be an entire thread on eating well and inexpensively in Osaka.

3 Likes

I’ll describe, to the best of my ability, the complicated method of eating percebes or barnacles..
With index finger and thumb, firmly clamp on to the hoof part and with the other hand, squeeze-pinch with a twisting motion to peel out the rest of skin or outer layer. Juice normally squirts out. My photo of the “wormy” flesh that you bite off to eat. I love this stuff. Yum!

1 Like

Thanks! And to @Ramon_C too.

What posts you have a problem with?

I have a problem with zero posts-some are just a bit more in line with the title than others .

An example of pintxos value - last night 5 glasses of rosé, 4 x tuna stuffed peppers, 2 gilda pintxos, a big plate of padron peppers (mostly gone before my picture they were so good), and a large plate of tomatoes and tuna for €56.

7 Likes

Lunch today at Mannix, a temple of lamb in the middle of what would be nowhere, except that Vega Sicilia is not far. For €148 we had stuffed peppers, lamb sweatbreads, lamb kidneys, lamb blood sausage (morcilla), a huge portion of lechazo, salad (no picture), rice pudding, two bottles of water, two corkage, bread, and coffee. While 150 isn’t 50, this thread isn’t about cheap eats, getting calories in the body for pennies - it’s about great food at good prices. This is arguably the best lechazo in all of Spain, and all portions are generous. Wish wish wish anything like this existed in the US.

12 Likes

This is straight up my straße! Looks amazing in all its simplicity.

Dinner last night Barra Alta in Barcelona. Excellent tapas-style tasting menu for €65, was something like 10 courses. Great ingredients, thoughtful execution. Quality well above a “typical tapas” place - referenced back to London it’s a step below Sabor but several steps above Barrafina.

Wines paired great and crazy cheap. €20-€35 for most bottles on the list. We pushed the boat out on a €56 Priorat :rofl:.

2 Likes

Six of us last night at Barbena in Barcelona. I lost count of everything but it was something like:

8-9 apps
6 mains
6 cheeses
3 desserts

6 bottles of wine (Champagne, a Cava from 2009, and then a mix of Spanish and Catalan wines)

4 dessert wines

€944 all in. Value is relative but it would have easily been 1.5x in London.

Edit: All the London friends I’m with say London would have been closer to 2x.

Reminder to myself to reach out to you before my wife and I go to Spain next year. You find the best spots!!

1 Like

Ate at Eyval again last night. One of the best meals I have had all year. Our bill was $207. BUT that included two bottles of corkage at $40. Incredible. Just incredible! Large portion sizes. Excellent food. Our average dinner bill in NYC is typically 3x that.

1 Like