The food on the Camino was generally bland, filling, and lacked variety. We had some excellent bocadillos and some horrible Pilgrim's Menus. There are not many options, and pilgrims must be ready to accept what is available, because we have to eat something! Brush up on your Spanish food words on my "Habla Espanol?" page, and consider trying the following recommendations:
Bocadillo (pictured with cafe con leche)
At first, we were skeptical. What, just a sandwich, right? But they are ubiquitous, so sometimes you will get a really surprisingly delicious one.
Patatas (pictured patatas bravas--spicy sauce & hummus in the background)
The Spanish love their potatoes and eat them with everything. Same as with bocadillos: they're so common that statistically you're bound to stumble upon some that are really great.
Pulpo
Octopus! Specifically, I had pulpo in Pulperia Ezequiel in the town of Melide. They're apparently quite famous for it and we even saw lots of locals there, eating pulpo. It was delicious, and compared in taste and texture to large sea scallops. They served it on the traditional wooden platter with oil and paprika.
Cafe con leche (or solo)
European coffee is fabulous. I heard once that it tastes so different because rather than South American coffee, they generally import north African coffees. If you're a coffee lover, you're in for a treat. I generally drink my drip-brewed coffee black, but cafe in Europe is actually often espresso. So, if you order a "cafe solo" you might just get a single shot of espresso. Thus, "cafe con leche" is like what we call a latte. If you prefer to have your coffee black but do not want an espresso, order an "Americano", which is the solo espresso with hot water added (same as what we call an "Americano" here). This makes it roughly the consistency and strength of brewed coffee.
Arzúa cheese
This cheese is available throughout the region, and you can even buy it in Santiago. It's a soft, mild cheese, perfect for spreading on bread.
Tarte de Santiago
Santiago cake, as I like to call it, is a delightfully light almond cake. Serving portions are generous, even though the cake usually just comes from a box ;)
...
A word on Pilgrim's Menus
Most places offer a standard menu for pilgrims for dinner that usually costs only 10€. You select a primero (first) course from 3-4 choices, then a segundo (second) course from 3-4 options. The menu generally includes wine, soda, or water and either a dessert or a coffee. The options for the first and second course do not change very much from restaurant to restaurant. Usually, the menu looks like this:
Primero:
salad, spaghetti (strange but true!), rice dish, or soup (often lentil soup, pictured, which is delicious)
Segundo:
chicken, fish, or pork (pictured--really amazing pork I had in Salceda) with potatoes
Desserts seemed to be either a piece of fruit or a pre-packaged ice cream or pudding cup.
Many evenings we were just too tired to care about picking something a-la cart off the full menu, so we'd get the Pilgrim Menu. It's cheap, and, just like bocadillos and patatas, the menu is so common that once in a while you'll find a really really great course.
At first, we were skeptical. What, just a sandwich, right? But they are ubiquitous, so sometimes you will get a really surprisingly delicious one.
The Spanish love their potatoes and eat them with everything. Same as with bocadillos: they're so common that statistically you're bound to stumble upon some that are really great.
Octopus! Specifically, I had pulpo in Pulperia Ezequiel in the town of Melide. They're apparently quite famous for it and we even saw lots of locals there, eating pulpo. It was delicious, and compared in taste and texture to large sea scallops. They served it on the traditional wooden platter with oil and paprika.
Cafe con leche (or solo)
European coffee is fabulous. I heard once that it tastes so different because rather than South American coffee, they generally import north African coffees. If you're a coffee lover, you're in for a treat. I generally drink my drip-brewed coffee black, but cafe in Europe is actually often espresso. So, if you order a "cafe solo" you might just get a single shot of espresso. Thus, "cafe con leche" is like what we call a latte. If you prefer to have your coffee black but do not want an espresso, order an "Americano", which is the solo espresso with hot water added (same as what we call an "Americano" here). This makes it roughly the consistency and strength of brewed coffee.
Arzúa cheese
This cheese is available throughout the region, and you can even buy it in Santiago. It's a soft, mild cheese, perfect for spreading on bread.
Tarte de Santiago
Santiago cake, as I like to call it, is a delightfully light almond cake. Serving portions are generous, even though the cake usually just comes from a box ;)
...
A word on Pilgrim's Menus
Most places offer a standard menu for pilgrims for dinner that usually costs only 10€. You select a primero (first) course from 3-4 choices, then a segundo (second) course from 3-4 options. The menu generally includes wine, soda, or water and either a dessert or a coffee. The options for the first and second course do not change very much from restaurant to restaurant. Usually, the menu looks like this:
salad, spaghetti (strange but true!), rice dish, or soup (often lentil soup, pictured, which is delicious)
chicken, fish, or pork (pictured--really amazing pork I had in Salceda) with potatoes
Desserts seemed to be either a piece of fruit or a pre-packaged ice cream or pudding cup.
Many evenings we were just too tired to care about picking something a-la cart off the full menu, so we'd get the Pilgrim Menu. It's cheap, and, just like bocadillos and patatas, the menu is so common that once in a while you'll find a really really great course.
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