C/31 de Agosto, 23
http://www.restaurantegandarias.com/en/
This was our third and last stop on our tapas crawl. We also stopped at La Cepa after Astelena but the food was so lackluster that we're not even going to blog about it - we left after ordering 1 croquette. We ended at Bar Gandarias as it was one of the few open places on Monday night that actually had an impressive crowd gathered inside.
Love seeing all the yummy food on the counters - although I'm not quite sure how displays like this would fare against LA's restaurant sanitation inspections...
Again, we opted for both items on the counter as well as on the Daily Specials menu behind the bar. Of course, we couldn't understand anything on the board so we just picked two things that sounded cool.
1. Milhojas de hongas y manita de cerdo- Reason #1 to not just order things that sound cool. You end up with a plate of mushroom strudel and pig trotters. One bite and I left the rest for Ray to finish.
2.Brocheta de chipiron - Another cool sounding item that ended up not so cool. Grilled squid with ink sauce. The squid wasn't as sweet as I would have liked it but was grilled to a nice consistency. More flavor in the sauce would have been much appreciated.
3. Mushrooms and prosciutto - I didn't intend on ordering this. The bartender misinterpreted my bad Spanish and pointing gestures. Nothing too special - it tastes like it looks: grilled mushrooms, meat and bread. As it was sitting on the counter, the mushrooms were cold and very oily. I would have loved to try a hot version of this.
4. Angulas and roasted red peppers - THIS was the dish I was intending to order. It looked so cool on the counter - reminded me of Medusa's head. Not quite sure what I was expecting but it was surprisingly yummy. The angulas or baby eels were tangy - most likely pickled or tossed in a vinaigrette of sorts. This was our favorite dish from Bar Gandarias - would love to try and reconstruct this at home.
We had tried to avoid ordering the wrong things by choosing dishes off the counter as well as off the Special menu. Apparently, I forgot to do my homework. Bar Gandarias is known for their sirloin and green pepper pintxos and their Ensaladilla Rusa or Russian salad. There was a noticeable difference in the type of tapas we ate at Astelena when compared to here. Bar Gandarias serves up traditional tapas - classic dishes, fewer frills, less emphasis on presentation. Astelena was definitely more creative, appealing to both your visual and taste palates. It was disappointing to go from Astelena to Bar Gandarias but the angulas saved the day, keeping us from completely writing off this tapas bar.
http://www.restaurantegandarias.com/en/
This was our third and last stop on our tapas crawl. We also stopped at La Cepa after Astelena but the food was so lackluster that we're not even going to blog about it - we left after ordering 1 croquette. We ended at Bar Gandarias as it was one of the few open places on Monday night that actually had an impressive crowd gathered inside.
Love seeing all the yummy food on the counters - although I'm not quite sure how displays like this would fare against LA's restaurant sanitation inspections...
Again, we opted for both items on the counter as well as on the Daily Specials menu behind the bar. Of course, we couldn't understand anything on the board so we just picked two things that sounded cool.
1. Milhojas de hongas y manita de cerdo- Reason #1 to not just order things that sound cool. You end up with a plate of mushroom strudel and pig trotters. One bite and I left the rest for Ray to finish.
2.Brocheta de chipiron - Another cool sounding item that ended up not so cool. Grilled squid with ink sauce. The squid wasn't as sweet as I would have liked it but was grilled to a nice consistency. More flavor in the sauce would have been much appreciated.
3. Mushrooms and prosciutto - I didn't intend on ordering this. The bartender misinterpreted my bad Spanish and pointing gestures. Nothing too special - it tastes like it looks: grilled mushrooms, meat and bread. As it was sitting on the counter, the mushrooms were cold and very oily. I would have loved to try a hot version of this.
4. Angulas and roasted red peppers - THIS was the dish I was intending to order. It looked so cool on the counter - reminded me of Medusa's head. Not quite sure what I was expecting but it was surprisingly yummy. The angulas or baby eels were tangy - most likely pickled or tossed in a vinaigrette of sorts. This was our favorite dish from Bar Gandarias - would love to try and reconstruct this at home.
We had tried to avoid ordering the wrong things by choosing dishes off the counter as well as off the Special menu. Apparently, I forgot to do my homework. Bar Gandarias is known for their sirloin and green pepper pintxos and their Ensaladilla Rusa or Russian salad. There was a noticeable difference in the type of tapas we ate at Astelena when compared to here. Bar Gandarias serves up traditional tapas - classic dishes, fewer frills, less emphasis on presentation. Astelena was definitely more creative, appealing to both your visual and taste palates. It was disappointing to go from Astelena to Bar Gandarias but the angulas saved the day, keeping us from completely writing off this tapas bar.
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