DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 73
from Gijón. What we are doing here couldn’t happen in Oviedo.”
The following morning I visit the Museum of the Asturian
People, which sits just east of downtown Gijón. It sounds like a
Cold War tourist attraction in an Eastern-bloc capital, but actually
it’s a re-creation of a traditional Asturian village. The grounds
include a 17th-century peasant house, a covered alley where the
recreational bowling game called cuatreada is played, a bagpipe
museum (bagpipes are a common musical instrument in Asturias
and Galicia), and several of the granaries—called hórreos—that
are ubiquitous in the area. Inside the exhibition space, the topic
of the day is food. I am astonished to see how rudimentary the
kitchens were, even in urban areas, into the 1950s and 1960s.
Many of the dishes made in those kitchens are now served
at Esther Manzano’s restaurant, La Salgar, named after the
Manzanos’ hometown. A modern glass box attached to the
museum, the restaurant isn’t officially affiliated with it, but their
missions are aligned. If Casa Marcial is where the Manzano family
adds an Asturian element to high gastronomy, La Salgar rewards
Asturians with deliciously familiar food amid Gijón’s clamor. The
idea was to have local diners taste quintessential versions of dishes
they’ve been eating all their lives, such as arroz con pitu, a version
of chicken, rice, and red pepper that every Asturian remembers
from childhood. “Dishes of the home,” Esther declares, “served
in a restaurant.”Town and Country
Like San Francisco and Scotland, bad weather suits Asturias. I
leave Gijón and head east along the coast under a steady drizzle.
In August, Ribadesella attracts Spaniards who are desperate for
a respite from oppressive heat. In November, with rain misting
a cool morning, it becomes a particularly lovely local fishing
village. Kids splash through puddles in the streets. Adults walk
dogs. Shop owners stand in the doorways greeting friends.
Not far away is the Tito Bustillo Cave, site of one of the more
remarkable discoveries of the last century. In 1968 a group of
amateur spelunkers realized that falling rocks many centuriesIn the village of Arriondas, lavender scents the garden at Michelin-starred Casa Marcial, headed by chef Nacho Manzano, who grew up in the now
renovated farmhouse. Drawing from seasonal local ingredients, he creates dishes (right) such as vieira con velo marino, made with scallop and oyster.