Hostal Plaza Mayor, Salamanca, April 1, 2013—
WHAT A FINE restaurant we found tonight, after poring through the usual Internet sites, and reading between the usual lines. This place serves interesting evolutions of traditional dishes, full of vibrant flavor, attractive to the eye, in a pleasant, colorful, optimistic setting. Various press we'd read mentioned recent enthusiasts by the name of Almodóvar and Adria, but we didn't see them; on our departure at about 11:30 only two other tables had been served on this Easter Monday evening, in the tiny, beautifully decorated room.
We shards two first courses and went individual ways on the second. First, patatas bravas, a dependable vernacular tapa, usually blanched-then-deep-fried potatoes served with a more or less piquant tomato-inflected mayonnaise. These, as you see above, were a witty update: a tray with eight potato croquettes, feathery light, and six porcelain spoonfuls of sauce: left to right, salsa verde, New Mexico-style chili sauce, mustardy sweet mayonnaise, honey-mustard, smoked chili sauce, and mustard sauce.
The potatoes were light and delicate; the sauces clean and, in varying degrees, assertive. I was glad we had good bread on the table; one doesn't waste sauces like these.
Next, an even more interesting dish: a sformato of redolent potatoes, akin to pommes Dauphinois, with crossed skewers of clices of boudin, one, the farinata, nearly blanc except for a delicate wash of tomato, the other, morcilla, a fabulous noir of pig's blood, sweet white onion, pepper, and cloves — one of the finest things I've ever tasted, especially paired with the plain but splendid wine we'd ordered.
After these dishes I expected a bit of a disappointment, but my magret of duck was meaty, well flavored, and respectfully cooked, with stewed dried apricots alongside. Dessert might well have been anticlimax, though, so I made do with a digestive.
Crianza, Pago del Oro, 2003: rich, deep, beautifully balanced
• El Pecado, Plaza del Poeta Inglese 12, Salamanca; 923.266.558
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