Jim:
Aranda de Duero – Dinner at Meson El Pastor on Plaza Vigencilla – This place just looked and smelled great, as it was crowded, noisy, and fronted by a very large and impressive wood burning brick oven (asador) from whose mouth beckoned the sight and smoky aroma of the regional specialty, “lechazo asado” (roast baby lamb, fed only on milk), a dish I had been craving since we began to plan the trip. Nothing formal here, large wooden tables, lots of locals as well as tourists, bottles of wine (Aranda is, after all, the heart of Ribera de Duero) and, if I recall correctly, no English and no menu. We started with a thick and delicious bready soup with lots of garlic. Then very simple, but quite tasty green salads, and then, sigh, a huge platter-bowl of wonderful, apparently very slowly roasted baby lamb, seasoned as simply as everything else that night, with nothing more than garlic, salt, and pepper, and drizzled with olive oil. Let’s just say my introduction to lechazo was heavenly. There was a ton of roast lamb there, and we devoured it all. Bottles of ‘06 Prado Rey and ‘08 Cillar de Silos were emptied. We would return for the sheer, rustic joy of perfectly prepared roasted lamb.
Aranda de Duero – Lunch at Aitana on Calle de San Gregorio – Recommended by our hotel and our friend at Cillar de Silos, this relatively modern looking restaurant provided a very pleasant, delicious lunch. We enjoyed lamb sweetbreads (even I enjoyed them), “wild” asparagus, a fantastic egg dish, and for me, some more lechazo, which was very good. Our friend Anders, who knows of such things, declared his veal dish the best veal ever. The wait staff was very welcoming, friendly, and enthusiastic, and the chef really knows how to use that beautiful oven. If in Aranda, we would return.
Aranda de Duero – Dinner at Restaurante La Raspa on Calle de San Gregorio. Another local recommendation, it was easy to find because of its fish skeleton logo. My review is short: Avoid at all costs! Why? Food poisoning! - most likely from its highly regarded (not by at least two of us) seafood rice dish known as Arroz Melosa con Bogavante (a sort of lobster). We already had eaten too much of the dish when Anders picked up some of the bogavante and smelled spoilage’s calling card – ammonia. For two of us, that night and most of the next day were highly unpleasant. If you find yourself on Aranda’s Calle de San Gregorio, or any street nearby, do yourself a huge favor and eat at Aitana instead.