'Logroño in its bars', a book by Jorge Alacid.
It all started on a blog La Rioja Newspaper , well actually the story of the journalist George Alacid with the bars of Logroño it begins much earlier, in his childhood when he curiously observed the gatherings of his father with his comrades in the cafeteria ** La Granja **. Of course, that boy who did not reach the bar did not participate in them but he did learn great lessons, as the bars are a whole universe , which he would gradually unravel throughout his life.
'Logroño in its bars' he began to have several weekly entries and over time Jorge thought of writing a book, which he now publishes hand in hand with the publisher Pumpkin seeds.
“The book can be said to be born on its own, as a natural decanting process from the blog, but it would be insincere: behind those almost 300 pages there is a commitment , not only personal, but also editorial, substantiated by the elimination of entries that were poorly preserved or that had lost their validity. Those who deserve it survive, in Darwinian terms: those that contribute most to a certain idea of the whole and help to consolidate what is really 'Logroño in its bars':** a sentimental itinerary**,** a personal experience but also shared**.** A celebration of life**”, Jorge stresses to Traveler.es.
The book is accompanied by the wonderful images of the Logroño photojournalist Alfredo Iglesias.
And no one like him to describe it. 'Logroño in its bars' is a tour of some of the best known in the city , there is no lack of history Jubera and the patatas bravas from him, or from the soriano and the family that made its champis famous throughout Spain, or the achuri bar , is believed to have been the first bar to open on Laurel Street.
And it is also a nostalgic path, as he points out, because of the "cemetery of forgotten bars", of which there are many in the city. Although, as he explains to us, we will not find a gastronomic guide, but stories of trust bars.
“As he progressed in the collection of articles, I began to see it more as a book about Logroño , a kind of biography of the city from the end of the 1960s. But when the edition was finished and the book already adopted that definitive format, I thought that in reality it was an experience so shared by different generations from all over the country that the geographical or historical context hardly mattered at all.
Modern Cafe, Logroño.
Of course, ** when he wrote it, nothing foreshadowed that this cemetery of bars would collect more names due to a pandemic **. A situation that has not only affected the most famous street in Spain but many more.
“The situation of the bars in Logroño is as sad as the global state of the hospitality sector, leisure or general citizen life anywhere in Spain. In fact, as I tell in the prologue, I decided to end the blog the day that, just after confinement, I went out for a walk through the streets of Logroño and I did not recognize them. I didn't recognize myself in them either,” he adds.
He closed his blog and let the pages of his book speak forever. . “I really think that where it will first be noticed that we have overcome this crisis will be in the bars: we will be so eager to forget the past, that we will return to it to do what we always do, celebrate life. And socialize."
Yes, Jorge, like many of us, is nostalgic, not melancholic. “ My favorites are in a sense those that no longer exist , because they force you to exercise your memory so that at least in it they do survive. And in fact Logroño, like so many other cities, has incomprehensibly been burying a series of memorable bars that have not been replaced by better ones. The advantage of nostalgia is that it allows you to feel like a client, welcomed hospitably, both by those you have at your fingertips and by those who are already part of your personal legacy, even if they have disappeared. They are just as welcoming: just close your eyes and enter your bar again”.
Bar Tolmay, in Plaza San Bartolomé.
BARS, WHAT PLACES
'Logroño in its bars' is therefore not a gastronomic guide, but it serves as an excuse to tour the city in its best bars. Obviously we do not miss Laurel Street, nor its surroundings such as ** San Agustín Street **, "a happy excursion, essential for indigenous people and foreigners".
Following Jorge's recommendations, you have to complete this route in the nearby San Juan street . “The scene in the Argentine Republic and its surroundings, such as Gil de Gárate street, the surroundings of Gallarza park, the Menéndez Pelayo stores... And although mentioning only five bars predisposes me to earn the cordial enmity of the rest, here they go: The Soldier of Tudelilla, Barrio Bar, Café Bretón, Ibiza and Sebas . Among other factors, for sentimental, very personal reasons”, Jorge dares.
He still gives us some more interesting details.** We know that in Logroño it is customary for each bar to have a tapa. Any little known but interesting?** The teacher says yes. “There is the Achuri, with his gourmand garlic. Or the mask from La Tavina, the salad from El Soldado de Tudelilla, the ear from La Taberna de Baco, the squid sandwich with aioli from Torres. Or the sardine sandwiches with chilli from Gil. Without forgetting the succulent nose of the Amsterdam”.
And to finish something optimistic, which we need. “I like to think that we look at the bar for the opposite of what life often throws at us, often a valley of tears: to the bar, on the contrary, we go predisposed to enjoy. And that explains the reason for its success”.
'Logroño in its bars', a book by Jorge Alacid.