Category: Spain
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Karak is Back with a Great New Tasting Menu

By the time the bowl of creamy, crunchy, gooey chocolate textures was cleared from the table, we had surrendered to a state of pure contentment. At the end of a twelve course tasting menu, we’d had plenty of food but we didn’t want to budge. Would we like coffee? Yes, please. Anything to stay a…
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Finding Fusion: The Search for Modern Cuisine in a City Steeped in Tradition

One of the things we enjoy most here in Valencia is the diversity of restaurants available, despite it being a very traditional Spanish city. Fusion restaurants are among some of the most interesting and innovative. I use the term “fusion” loosely, as it’s becoming more commonplace for chefs to explore the cuisines of other cultures…
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Requena Wine Fair and Harvest Festival

Two days ago we boarded a train to the wine village of Requena for the Feria Requenense del Vino – the Requena Wine Fair. Requena is part of the Utiel-Requena D.O. (Denomination of Origin), the most extensive wine producing region of the Valencian community. The native red grape Bobal makes up 75% of the…
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Day Trip to Sagunto

The Castle of Sagunto—It draws our eyes up the hillside above the small city of Sagunto every time we take the train between Valencia and Barcelona. We go by in a few seconds, but that’s long enough to inspire wonder in us passengers. Sagunto is an easy day trip from Valencia. It is only about…
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Bioparc Valencia: A little piece of Africa in Spain

The city of Valencia holds some unexpected surprises. We recently discovered the Bioparc Valencia, a unique 25-acre zoo located at the western end of the Turia Garden in the Parque de Cabecera. With friends visiting from the U.S., we thought the zoo would be a nice way to spend the morning. To our delight, this…
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Avant-Garde Cuisine in the Medieval City of Girona

The city of Girona in northeastern Spain overwhelms your senses with beautiful scenery and some of the best food in the world. These days Girona seems to be best known for two things: as a filming location for HBO’s Game of Thrones and home to the famous Michelin three-star restaurant El Celler de Can Roca.…
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Snacking Galician Style at Atlántico Casa de Petiscos

**PERMANENTLY CLOSED** Update January 2018: It makes me very sad to see that Atlántico has closed its doors in Valencia. I don’t always understand why some of my favorite restaurants close down. In this case, maybe the location was just enough off the beaten path to prevent walk-in traffic? Out of sight, out of mind? We…


