Hearty Basque Food That Hemingway Would Have Understood

Ernesto’s, on the Lower East Side, channels San Sebastián with an unfussy menu and a generous hand.

A lot of Spanish food sold in the city appears in dainty servings that are called tapas, even when a Spaniard might not recognize them as such. New Yorkified tapas are not what you eat at Ernesto’s, a year-old Lower East Side restaurant where the cooking is under the sway of Basque cuisine. A few small plates are available, but they are called pintxos, for one, as they are in and around San Sebastián. They are also true bar snacks: txistorras, thumb-size sausages glowing red from paprika; a warm and almost puddinglike potato and egg tortilla; gildas, the tart and briny skewers made by impaling green olives, firm and chewy Cantabrian anchovies and whole pickled guindilla peppers on a cocktail spear. The pintxos at Ernesto’s are ideal for keeping occupied while you wait for your friends to walk the eight or so minutes from the East Broadway stop on the F. Ideally you will also have a glass filled with vermouth or sherry or a blend of the two called a five-finger martini. When the last gilda is gone, you will be ready for dinner.