Food in Feria

When you spend many hours in Feria, you are bound to get hungry and since in the Spanish culture a Feria is a party and a celebration, this means there is eating, drinking and dancing.  Traditionally, people meet one day for lunch with their families and friends, and another day for lunch with co-workers.

Company lunch in Rota

After many hours of dancing, you need to re-charge batteries with food and drinks, and the kids are always hungry, mostly for anything sweet like those blue and pink cotton candies.  

Cotton Candy in Sevilla

Queso y Jamón, cheese and ham platters

Food in feria can be expensive and it consists mainly of tapas or rations of a single item (i.e. all cheese or all ham).  Some casetas will serve you a full meal, but don’t expect fancy food.  There is plenty of seafood which is always expensive, but the best way not to break the bank, is to have a pool of money or a “vaquita” (a small cow) among friends and use it to buy food or drinks.  It is far better than individually buying a platter of cured ham, or manchego cheese, or even a bottle of sherry just for you and your date.  In groups, you can order platters, with hardly any waste. 

Salmorejo soup, and toasts with olive oil, salmorejo and ham

Arranque Roteño, a great starter for lunch

Here are some of the favorite foods found in Feria. 

Pescadito frito =cubed white breaded fried fish
Puntillitas =baby fried squid
Lagrimitas de pollo = chicken fingers

Patatas fritas = french fries
Montadito = pork steak sandwich
Pimientos fritos = fried peppers with fat salt
Aceitunas = Olives
Salmorejo cordobés =thick cold tomato soup
Arranque = like pico de gallo without cilantro, typical of Rota
Gambas = Shrimp

Salpicón de marisco = Seafood marinated in vinegar and oil
Ensaladilla =potato salad
Almendras fritas = Fried salted almonds
Tortilla = egg omelet
Jamón y picos = ham and bread sticks

Queso manchego = Manchego cheese

Ensalada de tomate = tomato slices with coarse salt

Pescaito frito, fried fish

Pimientos fritos con sal gorda.  Fried peppers with coarse salt.

Garbanzos con gambas.  Chickpea stew with shrimp.

My personal favorite, alcachofas, artichokes from Bar Juanito, Jerez

To drink:

Rebujito = sherry wine and lemon soda, served in a large pitcher.  This is the star drink of all ferias.
Assorted colas/soda pops
Tinto de verano con limón= red wine and lemon diet soda, very refreshing
Fino or manzanilla = sherry or a similar wine from Sanlucar de Barrameda

Vino tinto = Red Wine (pretty awful, don’t recommend it)

Rebujito in Sanlucar

Fried salted almonds to go with Rebujito

For a big appetite you can have a baked potato topped with the works

Churros con chocolate

Churro wheel, Villamartin

If you are planning to stay up to the wee hours of the night, drink lots of water, between the drinking, dancing and the amount of dirt in the air, you will need it. If you want something sweet, there is, like in most fairs, cotton candy and a whole bunch of soft and hard candies, usually by the rides. 

 There is also Churros (like a funnel cake), hot chocolate and coffee for the ones that stay really late and need that extra energy for the a.m. hours. Mmm good.

Chocolate

Before heading home we always have Churros con chocolate in Jerez