The Pilgrim Menu

The Pilgrim Menu is basically the Menu del Día that is served all over Spain usually between 2:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon.  Bars and restaurants along the Camino simply designate it as something special for pilgrims.

It is a 3 course meal that includes a starter plate, a main course and dessert.  It also includes bread (unlimited) and a beverage of choice.

The average price is usually between 7-10 euros but can vary depending on several factors....location, competition and quality.  Paying between 12-15 euros usually is a guarantee of some higher quality fare but not always.

For each course there are usually various options to choose from.  Some examples of the first plate or primer plato might be:
rice, pasta, salad, a vegetable (often asparagus), melon with a little ham or garbanzos

Sometimes in a large hostal or albergue, the Pilgrim Menu will be shared buy all the pilgrims that wish to dine together.  This was one super sized dish of garbanzos, potatoes and chorizo, a spicy pork sausage.  The second plate on this menu was an equally sized dish of roast lamb, potatoes and red peppers ;-)

Main dish or segundo platos are always meat or fish and accompanied by even more starchy sides, often fries or other style of potato.

These meals are very high in carbohydrates as you can tell but walking all those kilometers requires a lot of calories.  Before the meal I always say to myself...I am NOT going to eat all the bread in that basket nor ALL THOSE FRENCH FRIES ON MY PLATE!

Oh well.....