La Espicha

Dear Blog, 

On July 10th our program went on a little trip to a restaurant to have an Espicha! I guess an espicha is like a dinner tradition with cider and wine and little bites of food and some bagpipe looking instruments. (Upon further research, they are bagpipes )

We got there and there were a bunch of cider bottles hanging around the lights, making them a bit softer and giving the restaurant a fancy feel. It was pretty fancy for a popular chain for sure! There was a lot of wood everywhere on the walls and big ass barrels for people to sit inside of. The traditional cider made in barrels so I get why they got barrel decor. 

After everyone got settled standing around their tables (no sitting allowed at the espicha), we got to sipping our cider sangria, wine and sparkling cider. All of our professors warned us about the secret sneaky strength of the cider and to proceed with caution. Some people did not. After a couple rounds of food I peeked into one of the barrels to find one of the girls from our program slumped with a glass of water and a piece of bread in front of her on the table....real. 

Everything was a traditional Asturian dish, and everything was either meat, cheese, or carbs. 

To start us off, they placed a little meat plate with salami, chorizo, and some other cuts of the pig. All of the meats were tough in texture and strong in flavor.

Then we got the "tortilla" which was eggs and potatoes in about an inch thick and the perfect breakfast food, but I believe they don’t usually have it for breakfast.

Then we got my favorite dish of them all: the torto. Wow was this rich. It had what I believe to be goat cheese, carmelized onions, paprika and something else all resting upon a freshly fried corn “tortilla”. We had other dishes like fish cake that went with crackers, fried cod with lemon and mayonnaise, chorizo slow cooked in their traditional cider, and…. hard boiled eggs? 

Interesting pull on their part.... I did not munch on the hard boiled egg that night. 

Then we watched some old Asturian women dance around on the stage while the guys played their bagpipes. The cider was hitting me at this point and my roommate Caroline and I danced around as the music played. 

Then we socialized around, grazed, took cute photos, etc. 

A bit later they came out with more plates!! The final savory plate was fried chicken little bites and fries that had a little garlic on them. That shit was FIRE! Mostly everyone was full from the plates before but that gently fried chicken and fries plate unlocked something within me. I ate about 8 chicken bites and hella fries which is a lot taking into account everyone else ate maybe 1 fry or 2. 

My sangria buzz had gone away at this point and because I was so full I was about to get my drink on. I saddled up and downed about 1 or 2 cups of sangria and then went to chat with some people in the barrel. I went back for more chicken and more sangria. Though it sounds a bit intense, this was essential preparation for the night out, as I did not plan on paying for drinks after leaving the espicha. 

Lastly they put out some cinnamon sugar crepes and a pastry filled with nut paste. I was chatting with some old Mormon dude and my stomach was doing backflips from everything I had eaten. Everything settled when we went on the bus. Me and the girls who sat at the back of the bus were fairly tipsy, singing and laughing on the bus on the way back. Then we went out! I practiced my Spanish and only ended up buying one drink; I consider it a success. 

If I am ever invited back to an espicha, you can bet I am going to be there.