Dining Out / A Basque revival

At his retirement speech, American general Douglas MacArthur commented that "old soldiers never die. They just fade away." So I suppose it is with some restaurants. Though Tel Aviv's Orca has closed, it has been reincarnated as Pinxos, under the same ownership and with the consultancy of their same chef.

A pinxo (also spelled pincho or pintxo) is a dish typical of Spain's Basque country and is nothing more than a small slice of bread on which a variety of ingredients - held in place with a small toothpick - can be placed. Considered a form of tapas or appetizer, one can wander into a pinchos or tapas bar in Spain to have nothing more than one or two such tidbits along with a quick glass of wine or beer, or one can make an evening of it and build a full meal with a large variety of dishes.

Meals at this new Tel Aviv establishment open when a waiter brings a tray loaded with various pinchos to the table. Because almost any ingredient can be put on the bread, the selection is large and I started off with one each of a slice of white bread with a truffle spread, another of Roquefort cheese and black olives, another of thin slices of Parmesan cheese and proscuitto ham; yet another of lightly pickled red peppers with a cheese spread that had been flavored with truffle oil; and finally, one of lightly pickled palamida fish.

Each bite sized portion was a treat, flavorful enough to make me smile. Even though red wine is considered the de rigueur accompaniment, I was in the mood for white and settled comfortably with a first glass of the Spanish Sauvignon Blanc from the Darius Winery.

Menus are not presented here, so after the pinchos I made my way to the green blackboard that hangs over the long bar to select from others of the tapas-sized dishes offered, most of which made their way to my table at the same time, much as they would in San Sebastian or Barcelona.

Considering that the talented Eran Shroitman is the consulting chef here, I was not surprised to find that nearly every dish was a success.

I was, however, surprised to find that many of the dishes were quite different than those described on the blackboard listings. The dish advertised as bacon croquettes, for example, was lovely, a potato puree that had been encrusted with seasoned breadcrumbs before deep frying. Truth be told, the croquettes were tasty enough that the fact that there was not a trace of bacon flavor to be found seemed a minor fault.

So it was also with the dish listed as a sweet potato tortilla. A tortilla, as is well known, is an unleavened Mexican flat bread, that often folded around a filling of either meat or vegetables. In this case what I received was a small casserole dish of white potatoes au gratin in a well made white sauce, all sprinkled over with breadcrumbs and cheese before being finished under a hot grill. Again, the dish was packed with rich flavor and delicious enough that I comfortably forgave its mislabeling.

I continued with a tapas-sized portion of seafood polenta, a thick, rich porridge of boiled cornflour with a generous helping of shrimp, calamari and coquilles St. Jacques bits. From there it was on to two mini-portions, one of three shrimps and the other of several small coquilles St. Jacques, those all on skewers, each of which highlighted the natural flavor of the seafood.

If there was a dish that disappointed it was an offering of anchovies served with toast and butter. The problem was that the anchovy fillets had the taste and texture not of fish fresh from the sea but of those taken from a tin.

In keeping with Spanish tradition, before dessert I went on to a plate of the La Mancha region's Manchego cheese, made famous by the exploits and dining habits of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Made from sheep's milk and aged for about six months, the semi-hard cheese had a rich golden color and a just sharp enough taste. Served with toast and butter, the cheese was lovely. Nor could I resist dessert, my choice being for a well made creme Catalan, the Spanish version of the French creme brulee. Both are topped by caramelized sugar but the Spanish version is flavored with a hint of orange juice.

Little has changed in the physical setting between the transition from Orca (a restaurant so good that I have yet to understand why it closed) and Pinxos. The long attractive bar remains in place as do the same tables. The lighting is darker and the postmodern photographs have been replaced by Spanish-style paintings.

More importantly, even though one can dine rather nicely here, the place is definitely aimed more at bar-goers than the restaurant crowd. Unfortunately, because of that, neither coffee nor tea are offered.

My food bill came to a quite reasonable NIS 180 to which glasses of wine added NIS 24 each.

The price is right and the atmosphere pleasant. Definitely worth visiting. If dining out - not serious drinking - is your primary goal, the best bet is to make your appearance from seven to ten in the evening.

Pinxos: Rehov Nachalat Binyamin 57, Tel Aviv. Open daily 19:00-03:00. Tel 03-5665505.