Do you love Paella? I do!! However, sometimes it’s hard to find good Paella in the Midwest. I will let you in on a little secret of mine. There is great Paella hiding in the Midwest. If you are looking for rich history and culture, come to Don Quijote. This place has been a staple of Valparaiso since 1985.
I had family visiting me and I wanted to take them somewhere special before they left. My husband and I love this place. The restaurant occasionally has events like flamenco dancers, Spanish guitarists and wine tastings. It was even more exciting for me because my family had never been here before and I got to enjoy their experience with them. After a quick reservation to give them a heads up that many of us were on our way, they happily accommodated our large party and had one long table waiting for us outside at the restaurant, family style. 🙂 The day was so beautiful we enjoyed great conversation, great wine and yummy yummy food.
As a family, we decided to try tapas and paella. Everyone looked over the tapas menu and ordered what they wanted to try and share. My husband and I knew the paella would take a while, so we gave the server a heads up for the Paella Marinera for Two. Although the menu says its for two, with Tapas, Wine and Dessert, it could easily feed 4 to 6 people (small portions of course and is dependent on how much tapas you’ve ingested with bread).
I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to discuss my favorite wine, the “Marques de Caceras Crianza,” it’s a tempranillo AND it’s delicious! However check out the wine list for yourself, it is a manual that shares not only what wines they offer but also the region where the wines come from. Picking a wine is an experience all on its own.
After the refreshments of homemade sangria and fresh tapas, we were ready to see this paella that I had been talking about all day. The restaurant did not disappoint, the presentation of the food was amazing.
We split the Paella among everyone and talked about the amazing smells, the fluffiness of the rice, and the blended flavors of the seafood, yummy!
Afterward, while comically discussing (comically, because we ate SO much food!) how full we were, we were presented with some of the restaurants homemade port! So good! My husband and I love this port so much that we make sure to always have a bottle of it for our guests after Thanksgiving dinner. It really is THAT good. It’s one of the Owner’s (Carlos) homemade concoction. Unfortunately, by the time dessert was offered we had to decline. We were all way too full to eat another bite. Plus, it would give me an opportunity to come back and write a new post ;). If any of you out there decide to come to this amazing place, let me know! I always like reading what dish you tried and what your favorite wine is. So please share!!
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