The Shape of Taste

While two months have passed since I came home from Spain, the connection I feel to the places I visited - the colorful tabernas, boutiques, tapas counters, pintxos bars and old towns - still affect me today churning up feelings of deep-seated awe and belonging.  I went to Spain to rediscover my creativity and the parts of me that might have been buried by a decade of misdirected priorities.  I came home so restored, so energized and so hopeful.  And while a lot of this is in gratitude to Spain, the rest of it is in gratitude to intentional travel.  If we know what we’re traveling for and why, we need to have faith that if we’re present, the universe will reveal or bestow more than we might ever imagine possible. 

Building off my reflections from the Once, And Yet Again and In Between Bites posts, I wanted to shower the same love and gratitude on the other towns in Spain that resuscitated me.  Holding back San Sebastian for its own log, I am going back to March 2025 specifically to Granada and Cordoba where taste took all kinds of shape around me.

Granada is a sleepy but spirited town bursting with reasons – big and small - for us to explore its every hilltop and tucked away nook and cranny. From the formidable Alhambra and the beautiful sprawl of gardens and glute-burner hills that surround it to the Moorish old town that juts up against even more glute-burner hills to the town’s patchwork of streets that open onto festive plazas, Granada feels like a place we can embrace being that much more alive in.  It has a romantic and commanding energy that gives birth to a myriad of tastes that reward both in the moment and in the memory.

Wherever I chose to dine in Granada every dish looked, tasted and felt as if it were not only tenderly prepared from the freshest local ingredients, but inspired by the local stories of every farmer, artisan or merchant who teamed up to thankfully bring it to my table.  The tomatoes were the hero of my first course at Carmen El Agua, at La Telefonica it was the tomatoes again and their artichokes and at Taberna Tana the Blood Sausage had my mouthwatering and wondering if it was scandalous and, or sinful to order another serving. 

But as much as I loved the food, there was more than just food to love in Granada.  The Royal Chapel of Granada was an impressive piece of architecture inside and out. The fact that it houses the tombs of Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand who just happened to send Columbus to America, shaping the world as we know it today, only further magnifies and justifies Granada’s commanding air.  Beyond the town’s epic history (and I didn’t even touch on the Alhambra yet), I fell in love with a handful of tiny artisan boutiques and their passionate shopkeepers who showcased Moorish inspired jewelry, ceramics, and of course the hallmark marquetry crafts.  And as for the Alhambra, turns out advance tickets even in the off-season are the only way into that fortress.  Try learning that after a steep climb up a steep hill!

One of the more rewarding things for me about planning travel is when I get the equation, or if we want to be less scientific about it, the harmony right between three essential ingredients for a memorable meal – setting, ambiance and taste.  If this trifecta is in place, one of two things happens.  One, I know I nailed it.  I’ll reco this to friends and family and come back the first chance I get.  And two, in the best-case scenario on top of just getting it right, my meal goes onto become this crazy, next-level multi-sensory experience that I carry with me for the rest of my life.     

These ingredients are really influential in how I seek to pay respect to a city’s unique taste and style.  They’re my filters, guideposts and taste principles. Let’s start with setting – the art on the walls, the décor around it, the temperature, wine glasses, chairs, bathrooms, and so on.  This sounds superficial and to some degree it is but not when you consider setting as constructing a single but perfect stage from which to unveil our next two ingredients - ambiance and taste.  Ambiance is everything from mood or vibe in the room to personality of the waitstaff to passionate execution of a creative culinary point of view – all the intangibles in other words.  Taste is the most obvious unnegotiable ingredient in this triad and it’s just what it sounds like. However, if we want a meal we remember for the rest of our lives, we need to crank up the volume and listen for more. Does it make our mouth water, our skin breakout in goosebumps, our back sit erect in our chair?  Does it take our breath away and put everything else in the room out of focus?  Yeah, then that’s a pretty solid indication our meal is going in the annals of all-time favorites, best evers and definitely coming backs. And at the very least if we scape our plates clean and stomachs-full-be-damned still ordered dessert that’s a pretty good sign too that we carried out the trifecta and didn’t do what untethered travelers detest - waste an opportunity to eat and live well.

A welcoming, inspiring place to put this approach into practice was Cordoba, Spain. Cordoba met me with complex, unpretentious tastes, lots of rain and an unassuming almost noble kind of style. The town spreads out before us like an ancient tapestry weaving artistic, historical, religious and gastronomic pursuits and accomplishments into a charming labyrinth of cobblestone streets, squares and sites of interest. It feels quaint, jovial - especially during happy hour when the vermouth is flowing - and sophisticated without bending to the rest of the world’s definition.  Cordoba is a city that called back even before I left and its restaurants did most of the talking!

I’ll admit I reluctantly left Cordoba hungry for more but with stomach full from two amazing meals.  My first night in Cordoba I dined at Casa Pepe De La Juderia.  The anchovy on toast with sheep milk butter (Tosta de Anchoa del Cantábrico con mantequilla de oveja) shot up the list as one of the favorite plates I have ever had.  The eggplant (Las Berenjenas de Pepe con miel de Caña) was so scrumptious that I still remember tasting my way through its delectable balance of taste and texture.  Casa Pepe’s ambiance and service elevated the whole night too.  I love when a meal inspires from the inside out.  Twenty four hours later Cordoba served up my second memorable meal effectively going 2 for 2. While definitely more quiet and refined, my late lunch at Terry Olea – wasn’t just seriously delicious it was the most impressive showing of taste to price I have ever experienced behind a tasting menu anywhere in this world.  It was a Michelin star meal without the pretense or price.  

I started off by saying if we’re present, the universe will reveal or bestow more than we might ever imagine possible and sometimes that comes in bites and sips that reawaken not only tastebuds but quiet possibility from deep within.

GRANADA

For dinner with a view - Carmen El Agua

For fresh, tasty Tapas in a friendly, comfortable and easy on the eyes spot La Botilleria

For artisan jewerly with authentic origin stories shop at Platónica

Anthony Bourdain tried it, so I did too - no pretense, lots of flavor and a cool local vibe Taberna Tana

I’d have gone back again and again - delicious, fantastic service, small but lively setting in the center of town - La Telefonica

Conveniently located, quaint local charm. Unique location - not super lux but super comfortable - Hotel Palacio De Santa Paula

CORDOBA

Walk around and shop the Juderia then dine in this heavenly little spot - Casa Pepe de Juderia

Really phenomenal tasting menu with great stories in a quiet, reserved spot away from old town - Terry Olea

Artisan silver jewelry shop full of one of a kind treats! Ana Martina Silver Workshop

Lifestyle apparel brand that started in Cordoba - Silbon

Lovely hotel, peaceful, easy on the eyes with a good breakfast - would definitely go back - Hospes Palacio del Bailío