Instead of planning how we’ll spend each travel day, Dan and I prefer to start with a general idea and stop when something catches our eye. Sometimes it’s a world-class museum, other times it’s a fabulous view along the side of the road or an inviting coffee house. It paid off in Andorra when we discovered a tiny restaurant called l’Hort de Casa.
While we were driving around the country’s northwest we decided to stop for lunch. Not having any recommendations in tow, we did our usual routine: Look for something that looks like a restaurant, then check for full tables or cars in the parking lot, especially cars with local plates. (That’s a good clue to good food, because locals know where the best restaurants are.)
We finally ended up on a small side street in a town called Erts and found a small stone-and-wood building with a sign over the door proclaiming “RESTAURANT.” It looked so inviting, what with all the vines and greenery and a small terrace in the front overlooking the mountains, that we decided to stop.
Inside: mountain ambiance
Although it was a nice October day, the air was a bit too cool for us so we decided to eat indoors. The aromas of fire-grilled food greeted us as we entered and were warmly welcomed and seated by a very friendly woman.
We could tell that we were in for a treat.
Aragon? I didn’t know that it had its own cuisine, or even exactly what part of Spain it’s in. All I knew of it was that it was once a kingdom (Catherine of Aragon was the first wife of Henry the 8th).
Whatever. Everything on the menu looked delicious.
The menu offered a lot of dining options, all fairly priced. We ordered local beers and were brought a basket of crusty bread and a dish of Spanish olives while we made our selections.
Then while we were waiting for our meal, I made a 17-second video clip of the interior of L’Hort de Casa in Andorra and learned that the woman who we thought was the waitress is actually the owner. She was, in fact, the only one working in the restaurant.
Our first taste of Aragonese cuisine
Dan took the waitress’ recommendation and ordered a flavorful homemade beef noodle soup to start. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try a wild mushroom salad with a balsamic reduction dressing. When it came I was thrilled to see palm hearts in it as well. And yes, it was delicious and the mushrooms were tender, not woody.
Apparently Aragonese cuisine includes snails, because it’s the restaurant’s specialty. Not for us though; when we saw the duck breast on the menu, we went no further. We both ordered it.
The duck breast was sprinkled with kosher salt before meeting the grill. It was accompanied on the plate by grilled pepper and potato that were drizzled with a fragrant Spanish olive oil. A bit of smoke and salt was all it took to make this an amazingly flavorful dish, so tender that we might have cut it with a fork.
Then the bill came
The final bill for two beers, starters and entrees came to €36.50, about US$50, plus service charge.
