Catalan Rambles: L’Escala

Beach towns in winter can be depressing. There is sometimes an air of abandonment. Did everyone just move out? On the other there are no parking problems and you can get a table at the best restaurant in town without booking ahead.

We had flown San Francisco-Paris-Barcelona and had planned to drive straight through to France and home base at Maison Voltaire in Maury. About 30 minutes up the A7, we realized that we had not slept well on the flight, that we were hungry and, most important, we wanted a good dinner in Spain.

Turning virtually at random off the A7, we head for L’Escala, a town of about 20,000 people (maybe 100,000 in the summer) on the Mediterranean east of Girona. We had never been there before, but someone had told us about Hotel Miryam. It’s at the top of town, a 20 minute walk from the tourist beach tacky. From the outside, it looked a little somber, quietly brooding in a chilly April breeze off the Sea.

Ann checked the menu, which was posted beside the dark entry. “A little pricey, but seafood should be,” she said. We walked about for a few minutes and got a good feeling from the town, so checked into one of the six rooms. (One upside of traveling out of season.) The room was comfortable in a mid-20th century kind of way, don’t look for WiFi or flat screen 800-channel television here.

Dinner service began at 8pm, a little early for Spanish Catalonia, and we were prompt. It was superb. For starters, they brought us a small plate of local anchovies in olive oil and an interesting riff on the traditional Catalan pan con tomate{ round flat bread, split like an English muffin leaving tufty bits that the tomato stuck to. We ordered a plate of Jamon Jabugo from Salamanca, which was properly cut, that is chipped away not sliced slice prosciutto, and meltingly delicious. We also had escalivada: roasted red bell peppers, eggplant, onions and (in this case) slices of potato. It was excellent. When Ann tasted the peppers she actually swooned.

Our main dish was a seafood parrillada, which included hake, monkfish and turbot, all grilled on the plancha, with razor clams, cigales, gambas and squid, served with a side dish of small clams and mussels, steamed. Ann asked for aioli, which was made in house and stiff with garlic.

The wine was Espelt 08 Mareny White, 2008, a blend of Muscat and Sauvignon Blanc. It opened with an inviting floral nose, followed by bright typically Muscat flavors. A fairly simple wine, but it worked well with the fish. Espelt is a largish winery (for the area) with grapes sourced entirely from the local Empordà-Costa Brava wine region.

We finished with a Coca de Pinoñes and the house treated us to a small platter of assorted desserts, including chocolate-coated strawberries. Strawberries have been so delicious in California this year and were in Catalonia, too.

We finished them off in good fashion and were rewarded with a glass of Orujo. The waiter thoughtfully left the bottle on the table. I must admit to a great fondness of Orujo, a liqueur originally from the region of Galicia in northwestern Spain but now found all over northern Spain. This was a particularly good one, honey-colored and rich on the palate. I exercised great self control in not finishing the bottle.

Only Connect:

Hotel Miryam, Tel: 34 372 77 02 87. Low season rate, 70 Euros. Dinner was 120 Euros.

--Larry Walker