Hungry T's Eating Journal

Tuesday, Jan 10 - Patanegra

Finally, I get to eat at Patanegra. I work a bit late, and try to convince CC to meet me for happy hour somewhere. We agree to meet at Patanegra instead. CC gets the Albarino by the glass, I get the by the glass Txakoli. We get small plates. Here's the rundown...

- Tortilla Espana - potato, egg, onion. Tasty and satisfying.
- Carpaccio - raw beef (duh), oil, parm., and capers. Also tasty.
- Gambas al Ajillo - Garlic shrimp. The one dish I don't taste.
- Saffron rice - Delish.
- Croquettas - Ham and cheese. Mmmm.
- Rolled pork tenderloin w/ Cheese and Serrano Ham. I realize only when the dish arrives that the cheese is blue. I squeeze it out and eat the pork anyway. It is fantastic.
- Creme Catalonia - My first time with this dish. Not too different from creme brulee.
- Coffee to accompany dessert.

Patanegra, by the way, refers to a particular type of Spanish ham. See the photo of the pig above. This blurb from the Willamette Week...

"Patanegra is a fabled ham from black pigs who feed on acorns to produce a sweet, nutty taste, thanks to meat that's cured for 18 months in mountain snow. Unfortunately, the FDA will not yet allow this delectable meat into the country. So for the moment the restaurant's name refers to the name of [Ricardo] Segura's favorite Flamenco band and a Spanish idiom meaning authentic and "of high quality," as in "he's a patanegra kind of guy." Nothing could be truer about this bright gem of a place."

posted by Hungry T @ 8:37 PM