In the previous post, I discussed my stay at Hospedería Convento de la Parra. This post continues at the same location, taking a look at the fine supper served in the restaurant there. Entering from the lobby, you’ll first encounter the bar where you might want to have a cocktail or three.
Properly fortified, enter the dining room and take a seat.
Hopefully you brought a hearty appetite and sophisticated palette. The meal began with a cup of consommé, a nice touch that I had not experienced before in Spain.
I apologize for the poor photo quality of the one above and the next one. Bear with me, they get better. The next course consisted of a bowl of tomato soup topped with a slice of toast, which is seen in the lower portion of the next photo.
At the top of the photo you see the highly creative goat cheese salad that contains toasted apples and onions. The concoction is a myriad of funky tastes that simply makes you stop and wonder who thought it up. The Convento de la Parra may be out in the country, but this is big city style food. Our main courses were more typical. On one side of the table a filet.
On the other side, a plate of fried eggs with the blessed jamón ibérico.
It should be noted here that the town of La Parra is located in the heart of the region where those black footed pigs are raised. Thus, the ibérico shown above is locally originated. The flavor was all there. Sadly, after all this food, there was no room for dessert. Let me take a moment to mention the service. The two women serving the dining room did a wonderful job, putting up with my lousy Spanish and keeping up with the tables like the professionals they were. Most important (to me) was that as high class as the food was, the mood was friendly (almost but not quite casual). A great meal with friends is hard to beat.
The Cafe Jardin not only went for the overhead banner, but also the frosted glass below. Let there be no mistake, this place serves Coca-Cola proudly. As if that were not enough, there was a delivery van parked out front as you can see in the next photo.
I was tempted to get behind the wheel and roll out of there toting dozen of cases of the beloved elixir. That would have been bad form while visiting another country. Still, the temptation was there. As it was, I settled for an ice-cold bottle and was on my way to see more fascinating sights in this old university town. There will be a few posts about Salamanca in the near future.
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