PINTXOS PERFECTION
It’s close to midnight on a weekday, and San Sebastián’s Parte Vieja—or Old Town—is heaving. Crowds spill out onto the streets, some gathered around communal benches and tables, others sitting on the steps of the baroque Santa María church. It could well be a post-football gathering, except that everyone here tonight is eating, drinking, and being entirely sociable. Snappy waiters deliver small plates and pour wine; there’s friendly jostling to get to the bar; and live music and loud banter in Basque—the preferred language in this northern Spanish city—fill the air.
Eli Susperregui is our host for this evening’s , a tradition of bar-hopping with a drink (), our penultimate stop on this tastebud-awakening tour of San Sebastián’s best places, Susperregui advises us to order gin and tonics to go with the foie gras in front of us. “Spread it on the raisin bread like butter,” she commands, motioning to the rich plate of duck liver.
