The best potato chips in Spain
Gastronomic guilty pleasures. We put them on the table and now we are going to bite them with rage, premeditation and treachery. We start (how not to do it) with the quintessential Guilty Gastro Pleasure, the guilty pleasure by definition, the one most responsible for our 'Bikini operation' (or rather 'Chulazo operation') not coming together beyond good intentions. We talked, of course, about the damn bag of chips. The chips. Potatoes.
They were invented in 1853 by chef George Crum. , owner of Moon's Lake House restaurant in New York. Interestingly, they were known as 'Saratoga Chips' (and the place was near the lake) and they soon became popular in clubs and cocktail bars. -aha, chips and drink, great pairing- ; the seed of the potato-addiction was already sown.
Would you be able to catch just one?
But there was two key moments in its overcrowding . The first, when the United States government declared them essential food in 1942, allowing their mass production during the Second World War (I imagine Yankee soldiers devouring potatoes incessantly during the Normandy landings) the second, 1929, when Procter & Gamble decides to create the Pringles brand. BOOM.
But let's stop history lessons and gibberish, let's go with the list. It's been hard weeks of tastings, tests and nights in front of a -several, actually- solitary plate of chips and a bottle of palo cortado. Weeks of thousands of calories, Moleskine sheets smeared with oil and two sizes too big in my pants from Zegna. All for the cause:
1)BONILLA IN SIGHT
I met them not long ago at a fantastic aperitif at Casa Mariol: vermouth+potatoes, an essential combination. And I fell madly in love with these perfect potatoes, the Eldorado of every sin-lover, Arthur's Knights of the Round Table eating potatoes in Camelot. The Bonillas were born in a churrería in Ferrol in 1949 And the recipe couldn't be simpler: Galician potato, 100% olive oil and love, kilos of love. perfect.
2) BLONDE POTATOES
Until Bonilla, my favorites. Once again, it shares the simplicity of its preparation: selected potatoes, olive oil and salt. But it has a characteristic that makes them unique: the texture.
Bonilla potatoes: perfect
The thickness of the potato - three times normal - means that his bite be a daft punk concert in your living room , a crackle that will make the grayest snack tremble, the terror of the malenis. Crispy no, the following neither, the following.
3) DUSO POTATOES
The TOP3, three family businesses, as it should be. Duso potatoes are born in Alberic in a small company (Lorenzo Duato and Julia Soriano) whose motto is artisan production. ** Crafts, from the potato section to the making of the mythical bag**. Duso potatoes they are the antithesis of a Pringles And if each Pringle is a perfect circle, each Duso chip has a misshapen and crusty appearance. Again, as it should be.
4) SAN NICASIO
We entered the Club del Gourmet area. San Nicasio are produced in limited editions with a container to frame. Y his chipmaster -great word, goodbye- Rafael del Rosal has won four gold medals consecutive in the Bruselles World Selection of Quality for the best snack in the world, which is said soon. These Cordovan potatoes are characterized by being made with extra virgin olive oil of the Denomination of Origin Priego de Córdoba and himalayan pink salt . And for the cute bag , I add.
5) SARRIEGUI POTATOES
Tradition. A small and historic shop in Lo Viejo de San Sebastián, San Jerónimo potatoes. 2.55 bucks for a 150-g bag, but every gram is worth it. The Sarriegui sell 'The taste of always' And that's how it is: selection of raw potatoes and extra virgin olive oil of the picual variety. As a curiosity: two gold stars in the Great Taste Awards 2012-13 contest. As you can see, it will not be for prizes; La Roja wins soccer world championships but also potatoes.
If the process is handmade, better
6) THE CHINATA
Again, gourmet zone. As you well know, luxury wears black . Coco Chanel's fault? "Three things a woman needs: a black skirt, a black sweater and the arm of a man who loves her." Monocle's fault? We do not care. The thing is that for a while now, every self-respecting gourmet product has been packaged in elegant black packaging. It doesn't matter if they are vulgar Lay's, you plant a black container and English typography and et voilà, luxury. Well, La Chinata is. Spectacular.
7) THE LILY
If you have tapas in Madrid, you have done it with La Azucena. That's how it is. In the classics of tapas in Madrid, a plate of Lilies is always sneaked in, and that is because the history of the most traditional churrería dates back to 1943, when Melchor de la Hija began peel potatoes by hand just as they still do today.
8)TYRRELL'S
Allow me this boutade of the Perfidious Albion. Not so much for its craftsmanship but for its variety of flavors . Take note that curves are coming in Tyrrell's: cheddar cheese & chives, chicken & tarragon, vinegar, summer barbecue, sweet chili & red pepper, honey & cranberry roast or sour cream tortilla . There is nothing. My favourites? smoked paprika . Since you wear...
Tyrrell's: delicious and varied English potatoes
9) THE MARKET BADGE
Each market is a treasure. Each food market **(Mercado Central, Boquería, San Miguel...) ** is a jewel, an idiosyncrasy that sooner or later will perish before the nothingness of shopping centers, Starbucks and Nestlé. Each market hides stalls with Gastro Guilty Pleasures served in cardboard bags, Stalls of small churrerías and neighborhood stores with little future but a lot of love.
and potatoes