La Abacería del Sur

abaceria del surco-owners Antonio M. Lebrero and Andres J. Guerrero

La Abacería del Sur, a little gourmet food shop tucked away in a quiet street just outside the main shopping district, has just celebrated its first anniversary. Founders Andres J. Guerrero and Antonio M. Lebrero were getting into the Christmas spirit today by giving a little cheese sampling outside the shop – and very nice cheeses they were too. As well an impressive range of exclusive cheeses you can find good selections of fine wines, canned fish, olive oils and, more surprisingly, a selection of English biscuits and preserves, including marmalades, from the Mrs Bridges range (named for the Upstairs, Downstairs housekeeper).

It’s a charming and well-maintained spot, a sign of the owners’ pride in their dream. Treat yourself by stopping by for a bit of fine food shopping. Ideal for unique and delicious Christmas hampers too.

La Abaceria del Sur
Calle Lagar 11
Tel: 609 049 022

Sevilla Tapas Week

seville tapas week

Today I was at the press conference announcing this year’s Sevilla Tapas Week, which will take place 6-16th November.

More than 160 bars and restaurants are participating (40 more than last year) and there will be three tapas categories: traditional, gourmet and “sabores de provincia” (not quite sure what that last one means).  People can try the special tapas on offer and then vote on line for their favourites using the SWT free app.

sevilla tapas week press conferencepress conference at El Rinconcillo, Sevilla’s oldest tapas bar

On Thursday and Friday (November 6-7th) you can check out the first Gastronomy & Networking event, being held at the Convento de San Agustín. Also make sure to download and follow the Sevilla Gastronomy Heritage Tapas Guide free app, which is a near and dear project that I helped create.

Sevilla Tapas Week
6 – 16th November

Cata de la Vaca at Milongas

cata vaca milongas

Last week I was invited to a rather unusual tasting event at Milongas Restaurant in Calle Campo de los Martires. It’s been a while since I was last there, so I was happy to accept, and duly arrived around 9.30 pm.

Milongas is one of Seville’s best Argentinian restaurants, which basically means it specialises in beef, so no prizes for guessing that this was a Cata de la Vaca (literally a cow tasting), supplemented with a wine pairing/tasting organised by Fran León featuring wines from Bodegas Salado in Umbrete, a small town in the Aljarafe to the west of Seville. The invited guests were from the worlds of journalism and social media, and it was nice to spend an evening of wine and food with a few old friends (and put faces to a few names, too) in convivial surroundings.

cata vaca 2The tasting was of five different cuts of beef, ranging from the well-known to the obscure. These were paired with the local Salado wines. I was impressed by the Fina Paloma Blanca, a sherry style wine made from Pedro Ximenez grapes and aged under flor but my favourite of the night was an oak-aged white wine called Astarte.

cata vaca entraña, punta de picaña,
entrecôte, tenderloin, lomo alto

Many thanks to the organisers for a terrific evening. It was great fun and I learned a lot too.

Noche en Blanco

noche en blanca 2014

Sevilla’s third Noche en Blanca is TONIGHT.  Organised by @SevillaSeMueve, the 2014 edition of this all-night cultural event is the most amibitious to date with more than 100 spaces participating, including theatre, music, boutiques, galleries, cinema, gastronomy, walking tours and much more.

Have a great White Night everyone!

Noche en Blanco Programme
Twitter hashtag: #nocheenblancoSEV