Begin Anew - 2026 Arrives

 To start the New Year with the best we had dinner at YO tonight. We did a hybrid menu between the two tasting menus, as the last time we found the longer menu just too much food. However, we couldn't pass up a couple of our favorites from the longer menu, so we added them to the shorter.  I know, "special case".  While all the food was fabulous, the welcome from Stefano and Eva (Chef and FOH respectively) made the entire experience even more wonderful. The fourteen seat cozy dining room could simply not be more gracious.

The Ajo Blanco (above) to which we added the gambas spinach wrapped dumplings (below) 

Bread (above) with the "olive" tapenade and  anchovy butter (below)

beef tartare (above) under the shiso leaf with a smoked egg yolk and a fruit sauce to add to the delight when you wrap it up by picking it up and then top it before eating it like a taco - beef tarte shown revealed (below) 

Mousse of Liver with Pedro Ximenez flavors serve with paper thin crackers 

We did the pairings but this was the WOE a magnificent version of a wine I don't really like. Light and not sweet (just a touch) - a perfect balance

Cod on a very buttery butter sauce with just a hint of lemon. (above) and Pork rib slow cooked with creamed corn and cherry (below)

Goat milk ice cream with pineapple anise geleé followed by the last dessert. Red fruit puree with a white chocolate and ginger  and a side of lemon curd with a pastry twig in the center

Our menu was a hybrid of these two with an upcharge for the extra course and substitution of shrimp over tuna.

Tried a new place for lunch Friday. One of the folks who runs Sushi Kanasawa opened up a noodle shop nearby. So we stopped in to say hello last night and to tell her we'd come back the next day for lunch. I would say this is more of a hot pot shop versus straight noodles. 

The translation of the name is "10 Second Yunnan Rice Noodles" and Professor Google helped us find that it is a Chinese franchise. 

We ordered two soups and a crispy pork starter. MORE than enough food. I found my spicy soup just right once I dug in past the pepper that was floating on the top of the lemongrass and chicken broth. Everything was super hot in temperature and stayed nicely hot throughout the meal. I would refine my ordering a bit the next time and try some new options but this particular broth would be perfect for that day you find a cold coming on. 

Phil chose the basic chicken broth and seemed to like his very much (no photo except on the menu.) The staff were all very helpful as hot pot is new here (we now have two in the old city) and people are unfamiliar with the process - hence the "how to eat" instructions that are on both the menu and the window on the outside of the restaurant. 

The street outside - the shop is on Canalejas a few doors down from our coffee place and around the corner from the fancy "big white hotel" LOL

We made all three nights of New Year's weekend as reservations for five when Lee, Nick and Aarav were going to be here but we kept them all for just the two of us - no point in our suffering because our friends couldn't be here. 

Meal for Friday evening at Augurio (every table was full and several turned over a second time, which is unusual here). The packed house is likely due to the holiday weekend. Here in Sevilla it is still Christmas. It doesn't end until Epiphany and on Three Kings Day (the day before Epiphany) there is a huge parade with floats and treats thrown to the children who line the streets awaiting the "Magic Kings". So things are still in full holiday season mode until at least mid next week. 

We had our usual favorites of the steak tartare bombitas and the pez mantequilla tacos and the foie gras along with the tuna triptico (tuna three ways) and Phil had his pan cristal sandwich of pork in whisky sauce. We headed to MITO for gelato as - believe it or not it has been at least four days since we had a MITO fix 

Turns out we are doing pretty much Asian for the bulk of the holiday weekend- with "10 second fideo" and our choices at Augurio, then sushi at Hiyoki and now we have added MING with Helena for Sunday night. 

Saturday night at our current favorite sushi place HIYOKI. Lots of sashimi and a few new to us rolls. We are still trying various things from the menu. Then we stopped on the way home at the new MITO to say hello to Gabby.

And Sunday night at MING 2 with Helena - 

And so ends our first week of 2026... 

Christmas is coming

We went over to this bar we know with good food and a relaxed atmosphere for a quick meal. Had the tortilla and a carpaccio of shrimp as well as the arroz dish. We started with two anchovies and two sardines. Nothing fancy but always a good choice.

The next night we had sushi for dinner. Our favorite Hiyoki. Missing are sashimi of red tuna and toro. (Photographer fell down on the job) Shown sashimi pez mantequilla, and salmon, okonomiyaki, gyoza de pato, unagi nigiri, gunkun ikura and langoustino tempura. Started with miso soup because temperatures  have fallen below 60* and Sevillanos are cold. Love this place.

 

on the way hoe we took this photo for Lee LOL

Dinner tonight was a close-by choice as it was raining heavily and quite chilly for us. Less than 60*.

I started with salad, Phil with the steak tartare. My main was the Presa Ibericos and Phil's was the lamb shank. We shared the fruit salad and torrija for dessert. As we have found since returning from Paris, holiday gatherings are in full swing. A table of 16+ next to us was much better behaved than the six top in the bar seated right behind us. Thankfully they left before we started our dinner. 

Still raining when we left, but we remind ourselves that it IS winter. 

Then it was Saturday night and we headed out to dinner with Helena to La Cayetana.  Sadly her hubby couldn't join us but we managed to have a nice meal. Started with the great Aperol Sevillano x3 yum! A sprig of mint and it could have been a holiday drink. We shared calamari, arroz Ibericos, buñelos de bacalao, and gambas al ajillo. Went to MITO for dessert, of course.

Then Sunday rolled around and Phi wasn't feeling well so I went to MING and got carryout soup and fried rice and kung bao chicken. Sorry no photos - of the plastic containers LOL. Then Monday we made our holiday stop at Casapuerta to bid Feliz Navid to Blanca and Manuel.

on the night before Christmas Eve we were supposed to go to Tradevo, But whatever virus felled Phil on Sunday when I got carry out from MING2 took me on that day and so he went around the corner to GOIKO for a burger and then finished off the left over Chinese later at night. Then on Christmas Eve I made spaghetti sauce for a Spaghetti dinner with salad and garlic bread (he's been complaining about not having any for about two months...)  

Merry Christmas. The view from the bedroom window. Blue blue skies but a chilly high of 60* real feel.  Coldest December in Spain in more than a decade. We'll take the blue skies and sunshine.

 

and one Phil took on his walk along the river on December 20th  

It will be a quiet holiday for us. Things pick up around new years with a visit from Lee, Nick & Aarav.