If it has seemed a bit quiet here the last week, it can all be blamed on the Spokane Food Blog Editorial Board™ embarking on a Food Fact Finding Mission on the east coast of Spain. And for your enjoyment, here is the dossier of what we found.

Murcia

Murcia received some (I assume) unwanted attention for having the first death in Europe related to some sort of flu bug that was going around. Odds are that is the only time you’ve heard of the region as it is often described as a place both Spaniards and tourists avoid. This is really too bad as Murcia, the city, really is a pretty awesome place, with an old town that consists of dozens of sizable plazas, all equipped with cafes and tapas bars. And churches. Not sure why, but there were at least one per plaza, but I digress…

This is definitely a place to sit down and try out some hot chocolate or a coffee based drinks. While Italy might have made more of a name for itself for the latter, I can truly say that any espresso based drink I tried was awesome. Pretty refreshing, after the common “oh, stop inconveniencing me with your fancy schmancy cappuccino order” attitude we see here. Anyway…

While I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the tapas place we tried, it had some of the better beef tenderloin I’ve had in a while. Being a bit more inland, Murcia’s tapas are mostly meat based, and often served on slices of baguette.

Valencia

The third largest city in Spain is in many ways probably the one city anybody should visit if they’re in the south-eastern part of the country. And, again, the food is awesome here.

La Taberna de la Reina, located centrally in Plaza de la Reina, is a pretty big lunch place for workers in the area. Again, the tapas here are served on bread, though the majority of it is seafood. Very very fresh seafood, some smoked, some fried, and all delicious. Make sure to sample a variety of the cheeses too, as, and you probably already know this, Spanish cheese are really quite great.

Also, and this goes for most cities in Spain, make sure to check out the food section in the department store El Corte Ingles. If a major chain can hold as high standard they do in Spain, a country with nearly 20% unemployment, I can’t help but think Fred Meyer is looking a bit puny.

Cartagena

Another city with a nice old town. This is where I probably had my favorite meal of the trip, though I didn’t note down the name of the place, nor did I take a picture of it. But, let’s try to describe it: Walk from the water up the main pedestrian street in old town (you really can’t miss it) and a few blocks up, on the left, you’ll see a restaurant with an outside seating area that stretches almost a block. Go in, and order the shrimp in garlic, and then cry over how good it tastes. Fresh shrimp and perfectly balanced garlic sauce. Man. I miss it already.

Torre de la Horadada

This little town, where we spent the majority of the time, is difficult to find as it’s not marked on any road signs. Follow Pilar de la Horadada, south of Torrevieja, however, and you should be able to locate it. It’s a beautiful little sea town, with a boardwalk that leads you to a small plaza with about a dozen restaurants. Here there are three you need to try:

First, there’s Lilly’s, a continental European style restaurant owned by a German. Their pate platter is delicious, with cheeses and olives, and is a flavor-kick that suits any warm Mediterranean evening. And the savory crepes? Unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and I mean that in a good way.

Also in the plaza is one called Manuel’s or something similar. Try the plate with tomato jam, goat cheese, and bread, and you will be a happy person. The same goes for the pizzas which are great.

Finally, there’s Heladeria Galan. If you follow us on Twitter, you might already have seen the gelato they serve there. And it was good. It was oh so good.

Furthermore…

And lastly… Worth trying is churros and chocolate. The churro is a bit different than its Mexican cousin, in that it’s thinner and more dense. It goes perfectly for dipping in a hot chocolate sauce, in other words.