"El Umm" is a new age gastrobar about four blocks from our apartment here in Logroño. Not just because it's located so conveniently close to our home, Javi and I frequent this restaurant because of the quality of their delicious tapas/plates that they prepare always with an innovative style. Though I I find it hard to decide, this is quite possibly my favorite eatery in Logroño.
Logroño, this years capital of gastronomy in Spain, is busting with new locales to eat, not including their famous pintxo streets La Laurel and La San Juan. When people come to La Rioja, they come for the wine, the beautiful landscapes, and...of course...the FOOD. So, back to "El Umm". I'd say Javi and I go to this restaurant 3-4 times a month. We love it! And it's constantly packed with people, which means it can't be bad. We've tried almost everything on the menu and we have our favorites, so let me share with you some of them.
First of all, the wine. My favorite wine of all time is a Spanish verdejo. It's white and fruity, but not sweet. Before I visited the Marques de Riscal bodegas in El Ciego (close to Logroño), I thought that this wine was a sweet, fruity white. But it tricks you. You smell the peachyness of it and you take a sip and you think, oh this is sweet, but it's not. It's a fruity white wine, but it's actually dry. Anyways, I love it, and Javi and I always order a bottle when we go to "El Umm". You can imagine that the waiters know us by name...well, almost. The service is rather good by Spanish standards (not to say that the service here is bad, but compared to the United States it's a different concept of service, but that's another blog post in and of itself). So before we even sit down, our waiter has the wine cooler out and the bottle opener movin'. This wine is well-paired with fish, chicken, vegetables, or...croquetas.
Second of all, the croquetas...a pillar in Spanish tapas. I have eaten many croquetas, seeing as they are everywhere, and usually you can't find a bad one. But hands down, "El Umm" has THE BEST croquetas I have ever had (maybe better than Javi's grandma...shhh don't tell!).
Poke your fork in and savor it or just pop one in your mouth. The creamy bechamel melts on your tongue and leaves a hint of Joselito ham lingering in your palette, while the outer crust crinkles and buttery breadcrumbs mix in. How can you pass that up?
If you have never tried Joselito ham, it's known as one of the best Iberian cured hams in Spain. A certain fascination has grown around Spanish cured ham.
"El Umm" does a "pintxo de la semana" special, which we usually try every week (well, every time we go). Every week, you can try a different pintxo. This week we tried their "tomatitos al horno rellenos de hongos y boletus". Let me translate...roasted cherry tomatoes stuffed with various mushrooms and boletus. It was scrumptious! I even recommended to the chef that they keep this one on the permanent menu. I also once told the chef that their so-called brownie was not in fact a real brownie and that it should either be changed or renamed...but they didn't listen hehe. Hopefully they'll listen to me this time!
The next dishes we ordered were a gourmet hamburger and chicken caesar salad (not the typical chicken caesar salad however). I promise to include these items in a further post but seeing as I don't have photos of them I will not describe how they taste now.
To finish off, if you are in the area and are looking for a modern, slightly more expensive pintxo experience then try out "El Umm".
Here they are on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Umm-Food-and-Drink/153620314668098
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