La Taberna del Pintxo Larios

If you aren't familiar with Pintxos, here's a great place to acquaint yourself with this custom that originates in the Basque country. It differs from tapas in the form of serving and eating. Traditionally the cold tapas are laid out across great counters, visually spectacular and seductive, a couple of dozen different little bits, skewered with a stick. The stick is important as your bill is based on topping up the different sticks on your plate. The hot pintxos exit the kitchen randomly and are carried aloft, offered around the tables until gone. So you can browse the counters, and sit back and pluck suitably attractive morsels from the circulating plates. Its a form of eating entirely under your control, and one where you sample a bewildering variety of dishes in one meal. Compare that to one plate of the same old same old and you can see the allure. Couple that with the great wine list from this the greatest wine producing country in the world, and you have a gastronomic riot going on. The pintxos are mounted variously on slices of bread, pastries, or vegetables or the hotter ones may be just skewered meat and veg. Its tapas Jim, but not as we know it...