Granada Eats

Although we had been living in Spain for a month and a half already, Granada was the place where we re-discovered the joys of pan de cristal (glass bread). We knew about pan de cristal from Jaleo, a restaurant in the USA, where the pan con tomate is one of our favorite tapas. We were always curious as to why Chef José Andrés went to the trouble and expense of importing the bread from Spain.

On our first evening, at Jardines Alberto, on the hill of the Alhambra, we had a simple meal of pan con tomate and jamón Iberico. We drizzled the warm bread with a bit of olive oil and spread on some grated fresh tomato. When we took a bite, the bread’s impossibly delicate crust shattered, giving way to the soft, airy interior. It was mind-blowingly delicious. Now we understood!

We ordered pan con tomate again the very next day, on the terrace at El Huerto de Juan Ranas in Albayzín. This time, we had olives instead of jamón. Instead of grated fresh tomato, we were served a cool, chunky salmorejo to spread onto the warm glass bread. Different, but also perfect.

On our second evening, we had dinner at our hotel in the Alhambra, the Parador de Granada. We had an amuse bouche of salmorejo. Steve had the tasting menu, and I ordered a couple of lighter dishes. We both had the bregua de pollo arabé (Arab-style chicken in pastry) and sopa de legumbres harira (Moroccan soup with chickpeas and lentils).

On our last evening, we walked down to the city center for dinner at Mezze, a trendy eastern Mediterranean restaurant near Granada Cathedral. (Mezze also happened to be vegan and gluten-free.) We tried a selection of tapas, and they were all delicious: Thai red curry, kofta, tajín, and patatas napolitana. Dessert was a chocolate orange tart, accompanied by a glass of vino dulce and candied walnuts. Absolute perfection.