Hi everyone, welcome to Pot Luck Food Talks. Today we have a special episode on bizarre food experiences, and eating on a podnet on places that you won't find on the internet in I'm here with my friend John Mujica. Hello everyone. So I remember this one time John brought me to this place. That's one of the most surrealistic experiences I've had going out to eat. It was this Chinese restaurant, but here in San Sebastian.
So we walk in, you see all this Chinese decoration with dragons and Chinese letterings and everything. But then everybody was like Latino working there. They were from Nicaragua, if I'm not wrong. And they were like, yeah, we bought the place and we started here, like just making food from our country.
And I really felt like what like in the middle of the Caribbean, because this typical fried fish you find in a Caribbean beach with Patacones and this kind of cold slow salad and that Chinese wet pot in San Sebastian for super tea. Yeah, well, stories like this Chinese restaurant was around the corner where I used to live.
And, you know, I used to go there when I got laid from work and they have like, you know, it's five euro noodle topper, which obviously they were not great, but it was like five euros. I just want to put some some food in my stomach. So I don't know how come I went there with you and something felt like kind of odd inside. Like, OK, these are not Chinese people working here. I said, like, I want to have the noodles. No, we only have fried chicken. All right. But no, we are Nicaraguan.
Like, now we serve fried chicken here and Patacones and stuff. You know, this is kind of Nicaraguan food. And I said, OK, why not? And yeah, funny thing was that it still looked like a Chinese restaurant. So I said, OK, did you open like I think I asked them like, do you open a couple of days ago? No, we've been open for two months. And I was like, all right. And the way to have all the Chinese stuff hanging there. We have time for that, like in two months. And the place was kind of empty.
Like, I but the best thing like the food was was good. You know, like it was super good and super cheap. I actually got a delivery a couple of times. And it's like getting super authentic Latino food. Yeah, yeah. And ultimately, they open like a second place in the city. It's, you know, like simple Nicaraguan food. Maybe you can get like for 10 euros a big plate with, you know, fried chicken, Patacones, salad, Nicaraguan cheese, whatever. And I mean, it does the trick.
The best thing is the name. I think it's called like Chicken World, something like that. Chicken World number one. And then they open another one. It was called Chicken World number two. But the funny thing is like the second place used to be a Japanese restaurant. Yeah, they did. They did the Japanese place and transformed it into. They kept all the decoration. Oh, they didn't just from a shit. They just started serving different food.
I don't know if the Japanese are Korean because on the table they have this, you know, these grills. I think it's Korean, right? So they still give the grills in the middle. They don't use them, of course. Yeah, probably. Yeah, but it's funny that, you know, they take over a Chinese place. They change thoroughly the food, but they keep the decoration and they take over Japanese place and they serve the same food that they serve in the Chinese place, but they keep the Japanese decoration.
It's a local concept for sure. Yeah. I usually like when I go there, I'm like the only local. It's Latino people, which is, you know, it's a good sign. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. What's the deal with eating in casinos or this place that you can play like with these machines and roulette and different casino games? That's a bit controversial topic. There's like a casino kind of chain here.
And next colleague of mine, I was working as a driver, and he started working there and he told me they have only like three or four small casinos here in the city. And they have a chef who just goes through all the casinos to teach the workers there how to prepare food. And this food is for free for gamblers. And it's actually very good pinches.
They don't charge any money for that, because imagine how much money they make, like, you know, like with all these gamblers, like playing slot machines, whatever. And the pitches are actually great, but I wouldn't recommend to go there because I guess like you're going to end up paying way more money there than in a real bar because they give it for free for a reason. Now, for sure, and there's a lot of, I guess, money laundering in those places going. Well, I don't think they need that.
They make so much money that maybe then they don't even need that. I'm actually like I got to know like the the owner of this company was casinos and they go like twice a year to Las Vegas just to see how things work there to try to make even more money here. But I think we are we're digressing here. So, yeah. But I would I would recommend to go there for pinches. Absolutely. Pitches are pitches are good, but you're going to be a senior
if you go there. The only thing I wanted to ask you, because you're like the most knowledgeable person I know. Like, where do you go for non so that you think this is a good deal? You get this or that much. All right. For me, best deal is like this. Oh, got to the jubilados. It's kind of a senior house for retired people, you know, like where old people live. Yeah. And they usually have like like a menu. The idea. I don't know how much it is now because I've been there.
I haven't been there since, you know, since prices got rocketed with inflation. But it used to be like eight euros for two course meal, like two dishes plus dessert, plus a bottle of wine. And actually like very good home cooked food, you know, and for eight euros, you could get like five first dishes, five seconds, whatever. Fresh fish, meat, whatever for eight fucking euros plus dessert. But that's actually like the golden rule here in San Sebastian.
If you go somewhere and you see old people eating there, it means that food is good because you can't bullshit them with, you know, with this gastro bar thing. So whatever. And of course, there are old people there because a senior house. But people who go there just just for the food. And it's like affordable, good, simple food. That's what you want. Like during the week, you know, you're not going there to impress your date or whatever.
I think since we're already talking, we have to talk about what happened last Monday, was it Monday? Oh, yeah. Monday, Monday, Monday, the Korean guy. Man, this was so crazy. I even wrote an article about it. Everybody at work is talking about this like, hey, man, have you heard about this Korean place at Okra? And then they closed because it was way too successful. And it's related to a Korean reality show here in Ferserasiam.
And they delivering real good food and everybody was talking about it. So I sent the info to John. We were chatting and then he tells me, you wonder. And it was really how was that first experience? Can you describe? Actually, like it was great. You know, I think they opened like the place we went to. But apparently it got too busy. So they closed and they opened like a smaller one in the old town. And when I wondered, there was nobody in there.
And I think they are like those kind of this kind of is like I am a Korean, like like small tapas. I think there were like five or six different dishes for two euros each. And it was like the best Korean food I've ever had. I wonder in the first place, because you can't find any Korean food in the city. I had no idea what the whole concept was. And then we found out that there was a super famous Korean chef preparing the food and he even like the like special dish for the people that were there.
And and it was actually great. It was fucking great. And and we pay like, I don't know, like for two people, like 20 euros. Yeah, you were surrounded by cameras, but you know who cares? They're going to they're going to screen it in Korea. So whatever. But one thing I found out with you is that they are like mics on the table, which I didn't know. So all our conversations were being recorded. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's the thing.
Like that on one day, John calls me today is the last day of this Korean pop up. So I had to go. So we go there and once you enter the restaurant on each corner, there were these cameras because this was all part of our reality show. That's the reason why the food was so cheap. So we started making this view. There was already this lady that was she was complaining a lot. I had a reservation and was a guest. This is why I'm not in the first place. And at some point, whatever, we got our food.
We got our place and we ended up in front of that lady. She was like a groupie in our fifties, whatever of BTS, which I kind of know this band. I mean, I don't know anything about the music, but it's I think it's the most famous K-pop boy band of all time. This woman was was a character. And I think is shit always like this. The chef that could bring the footage, like the most famous chef in Korea. So exactly. She was excited like this is the most famous chef in Korea. She shows us a picture.
Yeah, I was like fine. But she didn't know the name because she was just a fan of the of the boy band. So I just Google like Korean famous chef. And he was the first chef that that that comes up like in Google. And it was fucking true. It was like the fucking Korean of Korea serving like two Europe plates. Number 18 most popular person in Korea, something like that. Yeah, something like that. And that's cooking there cooking there.
Like, not that day, but the day before it was just cooking there in front of people. And yeah, even the waiters and the chef, they had like this neck places with cameras with GoPro. And, you know, we were talking and the lady tells us, Oh, yeah, by the way, all this like decoration of the middle of the table. There was like a little plastic bar for me. This is still with microphones and cameras. So probably our conversation was recorded. And we said something really funny.
We'll then go to the Korean reality show. I'm just looking at the name of the chef. Bike, young one. Yeah. Yeah, whatever. Well, it was great. No, no surprise. Yeah. And tell me about you told me once about like a super good deal for lunch at Casa Galicia. What was the other time? Casa Galicia is like places has been going on for decades here. And that's a very one of one of the best menudo ideas in the city. I mean, you have to spend what I mean.
What I mean, it's a it's a it's a kind of a set price menu, you know, you can you know, where it is, you can explain it better than me. Yeah, like a business lunch with a fixed price. Yeah. Two courses, dessert plus bottle of wine, whatever you want to drink. Yeah, it's it's not one of the cheapest one in the city, but very good food. Yeah, that's for sure. But you would get like octopus with potatoes for lunch for like what? Like 10 years or something like that?
No, no, no, it's a little more expensive. I think it's like 16, 17 euros a man. Right now, yeah, but it's definitely definitely worth the price. Tell me the story about that time at the festival that you walked into the bar of Maria Cristina. How was that? The grand view? No, you know, the film festival that it's actually going on right now in the last day, I think it started yesterday.
The most famous film festival in Spain, I think, like after Berlinale and Cannes is like the most important in Europe. And when the festival is going on, you will see like any major movie star just walking here in the city. Like, you know, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen. In the city, there's always been only one five star hotel and this is where the older stars, you know, will go off the film festival.
And people will just like wait outside for, I don't know, 12, 20 hours just to take a picture. So I was like kind of drunk and after the bar's closed, I said, let's have a drink in the bar of the hotel. Like just go, like if you will be fucking, you know, guests there. And we just got in, like, you know, on the fucking red carpet and yeah, we had some drinks in the bar with... How's the name of the director of Sixth Sense? Whatever, this kind of, this Indian director.
Anyway, it doesn't have much to do with food. No, but I mean, that's like a super nice bar. I've been there a couple of times. Big prize. Now they changed the whole decoration. I think it's inspired in a dress of Jackie Kennedy or something like that. It's like this blue color. And you can like really classic cocktails, like for 20 euros, but they're really good cocktails. Since we're already talking about cocktails, like secret places and stuff. Have you ever been to a black beach?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was there once. It's kind of, you know, you to get in, they make it look kind of secret. So you have to send like a WhatsApp message and they give you a code and you have to tell the code on the door. And then you get in and you have this, you know, Italian mixologist, whatever. Who, I mean, I don't want to talk shit about anyone, but he was kind of, you know, trying talking too much. So it was, they were good cocktails. Yeah, I went with Pert Berling.
He's like a super cool food writer from Berlin and his friends. They brought me there and they were the one who went through this whole thing. And they were like, this is the merriest mixologist we've ever seen. And like the guy was really good. The cocktails were worldwide, but it was not like for me, like a super memorable place. Like it was just nice. And that's it. Like I enjoyed it, you know. Yeah, yeah, so did I. But it's mostly show there.
Like I think for me, the best place for cocktails in the Nostia right now, it's around, which is like in the old town. And they have very good cocktails, actually cheaper than there. And these guys do it very well around in the old town, like next to the pier. Yeah, they're just to close the episode. I also want to mention like John, he has like a burger joint here in San Sebastian. And they do not too pale. So they buy like whole animals and process the whole thing until they get the burgers.
Like the potatoes are fried in cow's fat. They do their own, put the osmones for the burger and sauces and everything. Why don't you tell a little bit about what you played, man? Well, yeah, I'm not the chef, but you know, like my chef and partner Adam, he comes from LA. So he actually moved here to San Sebastian to open this restaurant because they are like old traditional LA style hamburgers. You know, we do only use like old cow meat, like at least eight years old.
And we do everything in the house, like the buns and everything. And the funny story or the interesting story about it is like he moved here because he told me like when... 50, 60 years ago, like the hamburgers in LA were like really good because there were a lot of gardens there. So they are like fresh vegetables and stuff. But LA now, now it's like everything concrete. There are no gardens. So you can get fresh vegetables.
So the burgers right now, they are like more meat, not so well balanced. So he felt like where can I get like fresh vegetables and very cool like grass meat? Cows that eat grass, actually. So he said he moved here because of that. Now we have our small garden and we got like meat from local cows. And yeah, and since we are conscious, like it's very important for us to be like sustainable. So as I said, we got like the whole egg of a cow, whatever, but we use everything out of it.
We use the fat for frying potatoes or the meat itself, for grilling it. And we use, we do like a very good stock with a bone. Sometimes we have bone marrow also, you name it. So he even does like with the fat, he does like the soap that we use for washing dishes. That's amazing. And it's super small. So yeah, that's it. But I'm just a bartender. That's it for this week's episode of Potluck Food Talks.
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