CUISINE

You can find just about any kind of food you want in all the different restaurants. But there are also some special dishes particularily associated with the Sanfermin Festival.The traditional food tends to be for strong stomachs. Not exactly a vegetarian's paradise nor for anyone on a light diet. During these days cholesterol and proteins reign.

A typical day's eating for a classic "Sanferminero" could be something like the following:

6.00 a.m. If you have been on an all-night binge, this could be a good moment to ask in the bar for a cup of broth - usually made from chicken - but who know's what it could be at that hour. The point is that it is hot and it can revive a sagging spirit no end as the long night draws to a close.

7.00 a.m. This is a good moment to take the classic Sanfermin breakfast. It consists of good thick hot chocolate with "churros" ( dough boiled in hot oil and cut into pieces as it comes out of the oil). Some places which sell these "churros" only open for the days of the Fiesta. The Mañueta is one such place (it's also open some weekends of october). A classic stopping-off place for breakfast. But some bars in the old part will serve this traditional breakfast.

11.00 a.m. If you don't fancy the idea of wasting time in bed then it's time for a good hearty snack to keep you going. Nothing better than a good plate of cured ham and eggs with tomatoes. Also a good time to try a good hot garlic soup made of garlic, olive oil, stale bread and raw egg. Some people order another classic Sanfermin dish at this hour of the morning- "Ajoarriero". This is a kind of codfish stew with peppers and things. Delicious when it's been well made. (Not an easy thing to do). This very popular dish -(Hemingway's favourite)- can be got in many different bars and restaurants but the quality doesn't depend so much on the price or category of the place as on the skilful hand of the cook. You need to be lucky. Give it a try.

13.00 a.m. Time for an apperitive. And in Pamplona this means having some tasty titbits to go down with the drink. You will see hundreds of different types of these titbits on display on the bar counters, made up of all kinds of things. Stuffed red peppers,(especially good in the bar Roch) fried shrimp (very good in the Txoco bar) ham and cheese slices, black puddings, or maybe "txistorra" which is a typical Basque salami type food. Excelent octapus in the Evaristo bar in Estafeta street and so on. One of the great pleasures of the day.

14.30 a.m. Lunch-time. And during Sanfermin it is inevitable that dishes of stewed bull will be on the menu. This dish is made up of stewed bull meat in white wine with onion and potatoe and a dash of laurel leaf to sharpen the taste. The quality of the meat is good(don't forget that the bull has spent all his life grazing plentifully in the meadow). The meat is tough and needs to be stewed slowly for a long time. Not easy to do it really well. Lots of restaurants have this dish on their menu during the Fiesta but despite what some people might tell you, this meat has not come from bulls killed in the ring during the Fiesta. The meat takes a few days to be in the right condition to be cooked and inevitably the bulls eaten in Sanfermin will have been killed in some other bull-fights held a week or so earlier in some other part of Spain.

Another popular traditional dish is Stewed Lamb with red pepper and potatoes which is made in a characteristic way in Navarra.

18.30 p.m. At the bull-fight. Althrough you might not expect it, the bull-rings is in fact a good spot to enjoy some typicals plates from the Navara region. After the third bull killef ("half-time") most people start unpacking their lunch-boxes and get out their victuals. You will see everything from the simple sandwich to fully-prepared meals which include things like stewed cod, stewed bull, hamand tomatoes etc. Usually things cooked in lots of sauce so that the food doesn't go dry. Among some groups the cuisine can reach incredible heights.

23.00 p.m. More or less time for dinner. And the same kinds of dishes thet are available for lunch-time eating. That's for those people who want a sit-down meal; many people conform with a sandwich of some kind which are readily available in most places in the old part of town.

Well, this is not the place for a gourmet's whole list but if you want to try other typical dishes from Navarra, remember"Menestra"a subtle mixture of different vegetables),"Los Cogollos"( a kind of lettuce) or for Sanfermin maybe even "Las Criadillas" (bulls testicles) !

There are also plenty of good dairy produce available in Navarra. Cheeses and Yogurts. Navarra is also a wine-growing area and there are some excellent red wines and rosés. (In the dark hours of the night the cheap wine you might be served in some bars is not very good, nor is it Navarran, nor, at times, is it wine !

Anyway, On daizula ! (Bon Apetit !)