You have to taste a culture to understand it. - Deborah Cater

Oh I like your way of thinking, Deborah!

Is there anything better than discovering a place and its culture through a menu and a wine list?

As I mentioned a couple of times before, my inner circle of friends doesn't live with me on the same island. That means, that we do some island hopping every now and then, to see each other, update ourselves on the latest experiences and stories, enjoy some food and drinks, live some quality time together and have a lot of fun.

Last weekend I jumped over to Tenerife where I hadn't been for a couple of months. That's always a special trip for me since I lived there before moving over to Lanzarote. When the airplane approaches the island revealing some stunning views on Mount Teide (Spanish's highest mountain), my heart starts beating faster reminding me of some excellent memories.

Here's to the wonderful culinary traditions of the Isle of Tenerife!

No roof - no problems! @surfermarly roadtripping with her friends on Tenerife

Vivan las tradiciones! 🍷

I've always been a huge fan of discovering places through their culinary treasures.

On Canary Islands we have a deeply developed culture of food and wine. Everybody who loves abundant plates, full-bodied tastes and plain fare with excellent quality will fall in love with the North of Tenerife.

Lucky me I have some local friends on Tenerife who perfectly know the area and who took me from one hot spot to the next.

When you visit Tenerife, you need to discover the culture of "Guachinches" (spoken: Whuatcheancheese).

A Guachinche is similar to a bodega. They are pure family businesses.

The difference between a regular restaurant and a Guachinche is the range of products and the way the food and wine are served.

While you are allowed to serve basically any sort of plate having a regular restaurant's licence, the licence given to Guachinches is more restricted. For instance, the're not allowed to serve bottled beer and wine. They only offer their own home-made wine, usually given in recycled and frozen (!) Coke glass bottles.

Here's how a typical situation in a Guachinche looks like: YES, we were sitting right in front of the open kitchen!

A typical starter: Red wine (from the barrel served in frozen recycled Coke bottles), bread, goat cheese and olives.

The second plate is 100% Canarian: "Escaldón de Gofio" (Gofio flour, onions, broth, vinegar, olive oil, salt). That one won't win a price for beauty, but I swear that the taste fully compensates the lack of visual effects :-)

In a few words: At a Guachinche you will eat what mom cooked that day.

And as we all know: nobody cooks better than mommie does :-)

Usually you start with a bit of bread, goat cheese (often their own home-made one) and red wine, served in the frozen bottles I mentioned before.

While you're eating at the counter right in front of the kitchen, you witness the whole family preparing the menu of the day. More authenticity is impossible!

You won't find much of these spots in ordinary travel guides, however there is an application for that.

guachapp.com: "Find typical Canarian food & wine via application"

Obviously, the best tour guide in the world is a local best friend.

When I organized my island hopping from Lanzarote to Tenerife, my friends and I quickly knew how we wanted to spend our quality time together.

Whenever I'm on their island, I love driving through the forests with them and stop every now and then at one of the Guachinches, have some tapas and go ahead.

Pole position!

Cruising through some little streets on the Northern side of Tenerife

The journey is the reward on Tenerife: Blue skies, clean and fresh air, infinite green vineyards and stunning views on the coast with its dark blue Atlantic Ocean being on the horizon.

Everybody who had ever the chance to visit Tenerife would probably agree: the North of the island is a real feast for the eyes.

This place is full of vitality!

The first Guachiche on our route was called "Parralito". You wouldn't find it without knowing the exact address, since it's perfectly hidden in a Residencial area up on the mountain of La Matanza. Only a little sign at the entrance suggested some culinary treasures.

Here's where you litterally make yourself a home.

"Vino de mi cosecha" = Wine from our own grape harvest

The entrace of "Parralito"

This tour is not suitable for fussy eaters!

Different cultures = different tastes! Plain fare is always a challenge for your palate.

People who are picky with food wouldn't enjoy such a roadtrip, so I'm happy my parents educated me to try everything no matter how strange it looks like :-)

As I mentioned showing the example of 'Escaldón de Gofio': sometimes the plate doesn't look very appetizing, but then you are rewarded with an explosion of flavors in your mouth!

After having a maximally nutritive 'breakfast', we headed towards the next yummy stop.

It was time to meet 'Doña Candelaria'!

The address gave the name to this 'Guachinche'

The spot! As simple as you might imagine it. Do you see the wine barrel at the left hand side and the Coke bottle on the counter?

View from the outside: my friends Jorge (George) and Alfonso - los quiero!!!

@surfermarly having some extra yummy grilled quail, super delicious home-made 'papas' (potatoe chips) and (of course) the 'vino de la casa' (home-made wine)

Guess how much we paid for grilled quail, fried potatoe chips and red wine the three of us?

The bill was 13.89 Euros which is about 16.30 USD (less than 6 USD per person!).

Yes, a Guachinche tour is not only freaking delicious, it's also freaking cheap - haha!

Now you know how to make me happy in one day :-)

Our third and last stop of this culinary fun tour was the City of La Laguna which is part of the world cultural heritage.

I'm not exagerating if I tell you that in one of the 'Tascas' (taverns) in the centre, we enjoyed the probably best 'pata asada' (roast pork) I've had in my life so far.

I'll take you there in one of my next articles, so stay tuned :-)

Have a great and yummy day, steemians!

Marly -

PS: Don't forget: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach (and the way to a girl's heart, too). 😋

Thanks for your valuable time!
This blog was launched at the end of July 2016
aiming to provide stories for open-minded
people who enjoy living on the edge of their lives,
stepping out of comfort zones, going on adventure,
doing extreme sports and embracing the new.
Welcome to the too-much-energy-blog!

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