Back to Madrid, via Benavente

Being a Sunday, pretty much all the wineries along the way back home - Rias Baixas, Rueda, Valdeorras, Toro, Ribera del Duero... were closed. So, the only event of any importance was to be lunch. And that was almost a disaster. One o'clock. No restaurants, certainly not here in Toral de Fondo. Two o'clock. No restaurants. Three o'clock. No restaurants. 4 o'clock... Benavente.



We saw a sign for a Parador, an assured if pricey symbol of fine accommodation and food. What was it doing out here in the Styx, we wondered? And then we missed the turn. The next turn-off was at this Farina factory, but while making our u-turn...



...this sign caught our eye. Merendero Barbacoa "La Prendera" - the path didn't inspire much confidence, nor did the Sunday plato del dia, paella... paella, in the middle of landlocked Leon.



We. Were. Wrong. Not about the paella (which we didn't have), but everything else, which was excellent.



The proprietor. Everything on the menu was made by a friend or relative. He's only open 70 days a year, only in the summer, only in the evenings, except for Sundays, when he's also open for lunch. Super guy. Couldn't care less if you didn't think so.



Ensalada del Tio, Cecina Leonesa (cured bull beef), Morcilla Salamanca, Galochinas con "mejune" (anatomically, apparently part of the back of the chicken), and Pincho Moruno.



2009 Valleoscuro Rosado, a blend of prieto picudo (a local varietal) and tempranillo, one of the proprietor's own wines, licor de hierbas made by his uncle, smoothest example we'd tried all week, and finally natillas, a sort of crème brûlée without the brûlée.



Still, we'd come for the Parador, and finished with a superb coffee in the 830 year old tower.



Hard to imagine from present circumstances that this was once the capital of the Kingdom of Leon. Benavente. Worth seeking. Imperative to stop if your timing is right.