La Martina

Tonight's trip is to La Martina, an Argentinean restaurant in Arona. Now that the school holidays have begun, this area of Las Americas has become noticably busier, with its range of hotels and apartments catering much more to the package holiday market.

The restaurant is relatively large and attractive, with an adjacent outside circular bar and a decor of murals, paintings and shelves holding a diverse range of wines.

The kitchen is open until 11.30pm so there is no rush to eat, leaving plenty of time to enjoy a pre-meal cocktail and watch the Argentinean tango performance. The staff are very accommodating and the service, both on the floor and from the kitchen is impressively fast.

Many of the meats are imported from Argentina and everything is cooked on an open plan charcoal grill. To the side of the kitchen is a display cabinet showcasing the variety on offer, from which you can select your individual cut.

If you're not in the mood for meat, there is a wide range of other dishes to suit all tastes. Char-grilled sea bass served with roasted vegetables and potatoes is €15.95 and an accompanying Vodka Sour a reasonable €5.95. The fish is cooked beautifully and the vegetables are fresh and delicious.

All in all, it's a memorable experience and excellent value for money. With so many establishments to choose from along this stretch, it is satisfying to find one that is well worth a return visit.

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Et voila!

As I noted Independence Day last week, I thought it would be appropriate today to give a French nod to Bastille Day. Known in France as Fete la Nationale, it is celebrated every year to commemorate the Fete de la Federation, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on the 14th July 1789.

Tuna Nicoise is, of course, a traditional French classic, to which I’m going to add my own personal touch, known as ‘dans la frigidaire’ (aka whatever’s in the fridge). Instead of plain tuna, I make my favourite and extremely simple tuna pate, which consists of a tin of tuna, a tub of cream cheese, about a fifth of a red onion and some salt and pepper. Put in the blender et voila, plenty for the salad and a few brunches of toast afterwards.

For dinner, a French-style lentil soup. Another very easy dish – fry an onion then add a jar of red lentils and the veg (potato, leek, carrot…again, la frigidaire) into a pot with some stock and seasoning. Boil, cool, straight into the lovable blender with some chilli. Usually I add gammon or in today’s case, some leftover bacon and then my own personal indulgence, a strong cheese, stirred in until it’s just melted.

The perfect accompaniment may be a nice Muscadet or similar but today is too hot even for white wine so instead it’s a can of the Swedish cider, Kopparberg. (Sadly, the local supermarket has run out of my favourite wild berry flavour so I settle for the almost-as-good pear).

C’est la vie…

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Beside the seaside...

If there's one place that you can rely on finding great food in Las Americas, it's along the seafront. The cafes and restaurants are vast and varied and all have both daytime and evening menus to ensure a good meal whatever time you choose to dine.

With its large outside seating area just a pebble's throw from the sea, the Royal Garden restaurant is a wonderfully relaxing venue for an afternoon snack. A special is Canarian soup, made with mixed vegetables and flavoured with paprika. It's nicely thick and spicy and at €4.50 is perfect to tide you over until dinner.

I have always been somewhat of a fish and seafood fanatic, spending many an evening attempting to impersonate Rick Stein (in terms of cooking, that is, not appearance). Therefore, this Mejillones Marinera dish, served at the Little Italy restaurant is an ideal treat. The mussels are cooked in a wine, garlic and chilli salsa and at €5.75 it's excellent value for a dinner dish.

Great local food and fresh sea air are an irresistible combination on a sunny afternoon and there's nothing left to do now but sit back and relax.

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Cadillacs and Collins

It's the fourth of July so let's have an American-themed blog today.

Harley's American restaurant and cocktail bar in Adeje is a large venue, complete with a cocktail lounge, sports bar, and outdoor seating area. The decor is an array of American memorabilia including a Cadillac pool table, Harley Davisons and Oscar statues in the entrance.

One of the first establishments to introduce cocktail flairing to Tenerife, it continues to produce flair shows on a regular basis. Live rock bands play every night and I imagine the evenings pull in the crowds, but as a sunny afternoon goes, it's nicely peaceful and service is fast.

The menu is a combination of American, Mexican and Italian food and is reasonably priced for a tourist attraction. Barbecued baby back ribs and chilli cheese potato skins total  €10.50 and are plenty enough for two people as a light lunch.

There is an extensive cocktail menu, featuring classics, specials, coolers and frozen cocktails. A Tom Collins is the ideal, refreshing accompaniment to our food and costs just  €4.95 for an impressively large glass. All in all, it's a good day for a holiday.

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4-0

It's the night of the Euro 2012 final and where better to watch it than Las Rosa's, the local Spanish bar.

The venue has an American diner feel to it. There is a restaurant and snacks menu, plus a tapas counter that runs the full length of the bar. On the whole, it's a 'free for all' kitchen - if you want it and they can cook it, then it's yours.

I arrive and take a seat at the bar. Within seconds, one of the female staff runs over, equipped with a Spanish flag pen and gleefully draws red and yellow stripes down both of my arms and across my cheeks. I have been officially branded a Spanish supporter for the night.

The atmosphere is amazing and the record-breaking result sees fans running around the bar, holding four fingers in the air. Almost immediately, the sky fills with echoes of car horns as scores of locals take to the streets to party in celebration.

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