Pintxos: the snack with something for everyone

One of my most memorable afternoons was spent eating pintxos with friends in San Sebastian, Spain. Often called Basque tapas, pintxos are, indeed, something to nibble on while having a drink, before moving on to dinner. The trouble is, they can be so delicious that it's easy to fill up on them instead of eating a "proper" meal.

The pintxos bars we visited took pride in their display of colourful, varied snacks. Some of them were very simple - a slice of jamon on crusty bread that had been rubbed with garlic and raw tomato. Some places specialised in seafood, others were more meat-oriented. One place we visited had pintxos made almost entirely of preserved products. But it wasn't your normal (and inexpensive) canned tuna fish, anchovies, olives or white asparagus spears - what they were serving was of very high quality, and absolutely delicious. Many of the pintxos took the form of open-faced or closed sandwiches, with the toppings stuck onto the bread with a skewer (" pintxo" means "skewer" in Basque).

Eating pintxos is a sociable experience, with the potential for drunkenness, if you don't take care to pace yourself with the accompanying drinks. If it's your first time at a particular pintxos bar, it would be a good idea to look around, to see what everyone else is eating, before placing your order. Try just a few of the snacks at a time - if the quality isn't that great, cut your losses early and move onto the next venue.