This article was translated by John R. Bopp
Richard Moreno, aka “The Nevada Traveler”, is a journalist and author who has spent years writing, in newspapers, books, and his blog, about places in the US West. The Carson City Nevada Appeal has just published an interesting article of his telling us his first-hand experiences about what we can find in one of the twelve Basque restaurants that can still be found in the Silver State.
In his tale, we get to discover the ambiance, workings, and types of food served at communal tables that we can find in these refuges of those who had to leave their home to make a living on the frontier.
We’re sure there are Basques who live in the inland part of our country who would find the menus offered in these Far West Basque restaurants strange, just like those who are mystified that paella has become a symbol of the Basque community in many places in the New World. Nevertheless, there are those who consider Basque food to be the “typical cuisine” of the Intermountain West, between the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies.
One must remember that it is one’s environment that makes a culture’s cuisine, and that the Basques who went anywhere in the New World often found themselves in places that bore no resemblance to their homeland, and that they had to adapt to new foods. But if we were able to integrate corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers into our “local” cuisine, and turn them into basic foodstuffs, how are we not going to also be able to adapt our cuisine when we travel abroad and find even more new things?
Please enjoy this story and the description of the ambiance that can be found in these “Basque embassies” in the US. And we encourage Richard Moreno to get inspired and sing our national anthem the next time he visits one of these Basque hideaways in the US, to ensure he gets the fullest, most immersive Basque experience!
Nevada Appeal -10/5/2018 – USA
Nevada’s Basque hotels serve up food and conversation
You never eat alone at a Basque hotel. A unique aspect about dining at one of Nevada’s dozen or so Basque boardinghouses is that the meals are served family-style — so you sit at a long table, usually covered with a red and white-checked tablecloth, and dine next to complete strangers.
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Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country