Churros are a favourite snack all over Spain. They are so popular that there is a specific type of shop for them: a 'churreria'.
Generally, I'm not big on churros - deep-fried lumps of sweet dough are not my sort of thing, even when they are made in Spain. However, churros are part of Spanish culture, and Lonely Planet particularly recommends Churreria Manolo in the La Chanca barrio of Almería, so we decided to give it a go.
For those that don’t know them, churros are made from doughnut mixture that, in Australia, is usually extruded out of a machine straight into hot cooking oil. The extruding machine deeply grooves the surface to maximise the contact with the oil. In Spain, they are commonly poured from a vessel straight into the hot oil, so they tend to have more amorphous shapes. Churros are usually served with hot dipping chocolate sauce.
Churreria Manolo
Churreria Manolo is very authentic venue; it’s a tiny place run entirely by men in black, as so many Spanish cafes are. It’s in La Chanca, an old, poorer, and very non-touristy part of Almería (actually, Almería is generally not very touristy). There are a few tables on the footpath of the narrow street, and a narrow view of the Alcazaba de Almería at the end of the street.
The churros were much as expected, and the coffee was good, as it always is in Spain.
Visiting Churreria Manolo is a great experience, but mainly for its authenticity and not particularly for the churros!
Bar Abastos
While in Aguadulce we hired a car for a few days to explore a few places that we couldn’t easily get to by public transport. One of those places was Cuevas del Almanzora, which we went to for its markets.
After looking around the markets and buying some fresh produce we looked for somewhere to get coffee and morning tea. At the edge of the outdoor market there is a non-descript metal shed that houses the indoor section of the market, and a café: Bar Abastos.
We couldn’t see much that we liked for a morning tea snack, so we ordered a servings of churros to share with our coffees. Due to a translational error (a common occurrence) we ended up with three servings of churros on one plate.
This proved not to be a problem because the churros were delicious! They were more that usually amorphous in their shapes, which gave a range of flavours and eating experience. Some of them were crunchy and crispy while others were soft and chewy, and the dipping chocolate sauce was delicious, too. I can’t imagine what Bar Abastos do differently when they make their churros, but whatever it is, it works! (My mouth is watering just writing about them and seeing the photos!)
This experience hasn’t converted me to heavy churros consumption (thank goodness – I’d pile the weight on), but If I ever get back to Cuevas del Almanzora, I’ll definitely be looking for Bar Abastos and its churros!
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