Camino Paella Postcard

It’s not often that while enjoying a meal, I am reminded of the first time I had a dish. With so much trendy fusion and fashionable deconstruction, I find to my dismay that a favorite dish seldom looks and tastes like it does in my memory. So when it does, I take notice, and come back for more. That’s what happened during Camino’s paella dinners last August and September — I relived the beautiful memory of my first paella.

I was visiting my uncle in Andalucia, and we were already on our way to a family dinner when he asked, “Do you like paella?” I confessed that it was going to be my first time, and with extra enthusiasm he started to tell me all about the dish and who was going to be there. But we were not in a hurry, because it was a lazy Summer day, and when we got there, the sun was beginning to set and we all sat outside, drinking wine, talking, waiting, while the paella slowly cooked over a wood fire on the ground.
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