It's been a while since I posted - between vacation and an extended bout of bronchitis, I just haven't been keeping up on mission to explore local restaurants!
Bilbao (http://www.bilbaorestaurant.com/) is one of my favorite restaurants and is the only one I've been to since returning from vacation - squeezed it in during the short period between returning from vacation and becoming sick...March 27, 2010 to be specific. Bilbao is a Spanish/Tapas restaurant located next to the Metro Cinemas at 4500 - 9th Avenue N.E.
I love the ambiance of this establishment - it has a genuinely warm, welcoming and very Spanish flavor to it. The colors, the music, the enticing aromas...allow me to fantasize that I am in Spain enjoying a leisurely meal. I have enjoyed many tapas and many bottles and glasses of wine at Bilbao over the past two + years and look forward to taste testing many more! On my very first visit over two years ago, I had a dinner instead of tapas. This was the paella and it was the only disappointing dish I have had at Bilbao. However, I love paella and hope to try it again and see if it was just a fluke that particular night.
I always go to Bilbao on either Friday or Saturday evening in order to enjoy the live music (8 p.m. - 10 p.m.)along with the awesome food. The best place to sit is near the front of the restaurant and reservations are recommended if you want a table in this area. Currently performing on Saturday (my last visit) is Paraiso - a trio featuring Miki Piza on vocals, Alex Chadsey on piano and Ernesto Pediangco - amazing percussionist. Friday night features Alfredo Chavez and friends and Thursday evening is live flamenco. The music is wonderful and definitely adds to the sabor of this restaurant, not to mention enhancing the romantic mood of the dining experience!
On this last visit I had the perfect table to enjoy Paraiso. Shared two salads - the Ensalada Bilbao (a delicious and generously sized salad of baby greens, roasted peppers, shaved manchego, avocado and sweet corn - $7) and the Ensalada de Espinacas (a tasty concoction of spinach, mushroom, candied hazelnut, valdeon bleu cheese and serrano ham lightly tossed in a raspberry vinagrette $8). Then from the hot tapas menu we selected Pintxitos de Pescado - a heavenly skewer of marinated and grilled seafood - $8.95, and Pintxitos Morunos - marinated and grilled pork skewers covered with carmelized onion and mushroom base sauce - $7.95. Fresh baked bread accompanies every order and is perfect for cleaning your tapa plates :-) Naturally, a glass (or two) of the Borsao Tinto to further enhance the evening!
I have tried MANY of the tapas on Bilbao's menu and have yet to be disappointed, but my latest favorite is definitely the above mentioned Pintxitos de Pescado - truly divine and not to be missed! This is a great place and I highly recommend it. A bit spendy sometimes since those little plates (and wine) do add up, but definitely worth it with the wonderful music!
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