Everybody needs a little motivation sometimes.

Songs that sing of the bright side, of the spirit of trying, and never giving up can be found. I've rounded some up here for you and me because... there's always a silver lining somewhere.









my favorite by the coolest local band - it was just released today. I love the lyrics and the animations!

A row of Basque tapas, called pintxos, line the front of the bar counter area.


The dinner menu is split into Tapas, Appetizers, Seafood, Cold Cuts, Meats, Staples and Desserts. Prices are rather reasonable ($8-$16 for a dish, except the cold cuts platter) because the portions are not full-sized, so you can try more items. I like that! They also offer a variety of drinks from coffees, draft beers to sangrias. If you are around the area, they also have a set lunch menu for $25/30++
Well on to the food! We had a set of 3 pintxos ($12) to start with. Here are the rather exotic ingredients.

Left: Comte cheese, quince paste with pine nuts
Middle: Piquillo peppers, marinated anchovies, chopped onions
Right: Valdeon blue cheese, dried apricots, figs, walnut

It was quite fun to taste all the different flavors, all so strong, blend together on your tastebuds. The bread was slightly hard to bite off, but that is normal because they are served at room temperature.

Next we had Braised Yellowfin Tuna in Tomatoes ($14). It was served in a tuna can, which was really charming. Actually the first reaction when I tasted it was like it tasted like airplane food - which I like. Not a bad thing ok! On further tasting, you will get more addicted because of the sauce.

The huge chunks of potatoes are quite firm and not as mushy as you would expect in a braised dish, which allows the potatoes' flavors to be tasted.

The next dish we had was the most interesting of the night -- Cappuccino of pumpkin, lentils and foie gras ($14). It had a layer of milk froth on top. A salty cappuccino where first you taste the milk, then the pumpkin, and a chunk of delicious foie gras (so sinful!) followed by a thicker base of lentil puree. It was a very substantial soup. Try it if you are feeling adventurous because I don't think you can get this anywhere else!


Here's what inside when you cut open the squid, which was not rubbery. There are sautéed onions and squid tentacles stuffed inside, which tasted rather like short-grain rice! The flavours that Chef Issachar were aiming to achieve in this dish was sweetness from the squid and the savoury/saltiness from the squid ink, which reminds you of the sea. Well, it did, and it was a delicious trip!

And then something to perk us up a little bit. The cherry-flavoured gazpacho ($8) came as a surprise, but not an unpleasant one as it was just the right thing to wake up our tastebuds with the light and slightly sourish cold soup. Usually made with tomatoes, the cherry flavor was an interesting twist. I like how you can down it like a shot. Note that the pictured gazpacho is a sampler size just for us to taste - for $6 you get a bigger glass of soup.


Then the highlight of the meal that evening - roast french pigeon breast with saffron plums ($22). We were cautioned that it will be served pink, to make sure it is not too dry and the flavors are just right. Well it is actually my first time eating pigeon and I am fine with pink. What surprised me was that I had no idea it tasted not like 'white meat' (like chicken), but more of a cross between beef and chicken. The medium rare doneness made it extra juicy.

We were also surprised with a off-the-menu side of Padron (spanish) peppers and were lightly sautéed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. They are not spicy at all and in fact a bit like ladyfingers, but slightly bitter. The salt helps to complement the bitterness to bring out the green taste of the pepper.


Our last main dish for the night was the iberian pork with apple puree, potato and bacon millefeuilles ($20). It was a great dish that I highly recommend! We enjoyed it very much - the pork was done just right and it was juicy and flavorful, while sitting on top of soft bacon and potato layers. Bacon!

Lastly, a special twist to a classic Italian dessert - the white tiramisu ($10) with Spanish liqueur called orujo! It was really enjoyable and rounded our meal with a blissful full stop.



Thanks to Maggie for the invite!