Txotx! Drinking Cider (and Eating Cider-House Food) in the Basque Region

Descripción

San Sebastian is located not far from the Rioja wine region, but it's even closer to a hard apple cider region, home to delicious sidra and even more delicious (in my opinion) cider-house meals.

ocio astigarraga donostia menu sidrería petritegi sidra sidrería turismo txotx

Ficha

Autor: Emiglia
Fuente: Tomatokumato
Fecha: 2018-10-18
Clasificación: 2.0. Sidrería
Tipo documento: Prensa
Fondo: Sagardoetxea fondoa

Código: NA-010267

Texto completo

San Sebastian is located not far from the Rioja wine region, but it’s even closer to a hard apple cider region, home to delicious sidra and even more delicious (in my opinion) cider-house meals. Attending one of these meals is as much a cultural experience as it is a culinary one, so I knew this was something I should share with my friends on our recent trip to the region.

Cider

There are a handful of cider houses within the city of San Sebastian, but they’re not the most traditional of the lot. Seeing as we didn’t have a car, we decided to go to the closest one we could get to by taxi – about 15 minutes’ drive from the city center but still enough into the countryside to feel authentic. Petritegi did not disappoint.

Cider

As in most Basque cider houses, there was a set menu on offer: the only choice to be made was in the fish course. Not knowing for sure whether we’d prefer the top or bottom half of a hake, we chose the most basic menu featuring cod and peppers, and then the txotx began.

Cider

Txotx is the Basque version for cheers, but more than that, it’s a term used to refer to a specific way of drinking cider: straight from the barrel. Txotx is said to be an onomatopoeia for the sound a barrel makes when punctured. In cider houses, the call of txotx is used to say “cheers!” but also to invite all participants to come up to the barrel to serve themselves.

At Petritegi, a staff member is on-hand at the beginning of the night to teach you how it’s done, but by the end of the night, you become a pro at capturing the stream of cider in your glass.

Cider

The cider is accompanied by a long list of dishes, all served to share. We started things off with pieces of a rich, savory sausage.

Cider

Soon after, a cod omelette is served. Distinct from Spanish tortillas which you’ll find in many pintxo bars, this omelette is a bit more solid and is cooked with thick pieces of salt cod and slightly-caramelized onions.

Cider

Next comes the fish course – fried salt cod with fried peppers. It’s a delicious if heavy dish that unfortunately defeated us.

Cider

It was good we stopped when we did, however: rare txuleta steak was next. One of my friends commented that she was worried, at first, when they didn’t ask us how it was cooked. Luckily, it’s because they cook every one perfectly rare. Super tender and flavorful, this steak is the stuff of legends.

Cider

Hard sheep’s milk cheese is served next, accompanied by a block of sweet quince paste. I smeared the paste on the cheese, which I’m fairly sure is frowned upon, but I was several ciders in at this point, and no one seemed too bummed.

Cider

The cheese was served with walnuts (another interactive portion of the meal).

Cider

And we finished things off with almond tuiles and buttery Russian cigarettes.

Petritegi Bidea 6, Astigarraga