TAWOMG - Salamanca

Dear Friends,

Last week I had to drive from Portugal to Barcelona. On my way home I stopped in Salamanca, where I spent the night.

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Salamanca is one of my favourite places in this part of Spain. As so many university cities around the world, it has a fair share of young population. Young people, particularly students, help to make any place a lot livelier. Many years ago I spent a Friday night there and it was big fun. This time I enjoyed strolling in its streets in a cold and clear sky winter night.

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The city is beautiful and worth a visit. It has plenty of historical buildings. Some of them, like the Cathedral, Monterrey Palace, Casa de las Conchas or the University Building are quite impressive. Once I was amazed to learn that the Lisbon earthquake was also felt there and left its marks on the Cathedral's tower. When one sees how thick those walls are and think that Lisbon is almost 800 Km away, then we can figure out how devastating the earthquake must have been. We should be thankful that it didn't damage what many consider the most beautiful Plaza Mayor in the country. It is the jewel of the crown.

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There, at Plaza Mayor, a new restaurant was opened about two years ago. It is called Plaza 23. By now I have had dinner there in four different occasions. Each time it was an exciting experience. Their Chef, Roberto, is a very creative cook. All that I have tasted there was delicious. Maybe Europeans won't find it surprising that a city the size of Salamanca has such a good restaurant. In fact, in many European countries we can find lots of top restaurants outside the big cities. For somebody coming from the new world, that is always something amazing though.

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After dinner, I had the opportunity to chat a bit with Roberto. He is a pleasant young person, with clear ideas about his cuisine. He told me that he worked before in Catalonia and that he is very fond of it, but he preferred to go back to his hometown. I congratulated him and told that I had had an excellent dinner. He was clearly pleased to hear that.

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I wish Roberto all the very best for his future. Hope he stays in Salamanca for a long time and continues to create such good dishes. It will be an extra good reason to go back to Salamanca time and again.

Maurício