The cruise we are on has no overnight stays in ports save for the last night in CapeTown, so with an 11pm departure last night we decided to head into Santa Cruz to a wonderful place recommended by our guide that day, Blanca. She was spot on and while the menu was large, our server guided us well and the three of us had some superb and thrilling local dishes including two we loved on our previous visit 8+ years ago!
La Hierbita is tiny and had about a dozen tables outside with about the same number indoors, it was about 74degrees, and outside dining was calling on this quiet little side street. The wine list was two whites and a red that the server brought, and we started with the white, an organic wine from south Tenerife, Tierra D Frontos Blanco Sec with no clue what the grapes were, but we loved it.
Red and Green Mojo (the local sauces used on everything) arrived and while the green was magnificent, the spicier red was quite salty indeed. Large rolls for dipping in the bread also arrived, but we tried to keep them to a minimum. The three cheese Queso del Pais platter arrived with a local hard cheese akin to parmesan, an amazing cheese spread called Almogrote made from red peppers and cured cheese and our favorite the Queso di Cabra with Miel di Palma, a local goat cheese that is melted and served with the local palm honey drizzled on top; think goaty gooey mozzarella on crack!
Next came Revuelto de Champinones y Gambas, a magnificent scramble of scrambled poached eggs with mushrooms and shrimp which was even better with the Mojo Verde!
Another dish we had last time was the Berenjenas a la Miel or grilled eggplant with palm honey. The eggplant is cut in thick sticks and grilled to perfection and drizzled with the honey and a savory crunchy crumble (no clue what it was) that we all went nuts over. Not being an eggplant fan, this is truly one of my fave dishes ever and makes eggplant a truly magnificent star.
We switched to red and enjoyed the Rivendel Roble Cinco Mesas 2023 from Ribera del Duero in Spain and ordered the Pulpo Guisado estilo Hierbita which was one monstrous octopus tentacle (check out the FB pics) with Salt-crusted roasted potatoes. There was a BBQ-y sauce that was superb and more mojo on the potatoes made them not as salty and the red wine was ideal with this.
There was no room for more or dessert, but we sat around for a tad finishing the red and then had a treat of a street parade with guys playing instruments dressed in quasi-medieval minstrel costumes, also on FB!
Cruising south today towards Cabo Verde (Cape Verde Islands) and then onto the African continent where we arrive in CapeTown in early December, so probably no reviews until then! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
