Heavenly food in one of the smallest countries in the world – Borda Vella

My quest to visit every country in the world brings me to country #78 for me – Andorra. I will post about the top things to do in the country later, but first, some background. Andorra is the 16th smallest country in the world. Located between Spain and France, the country is only about 40 Kms (24 miles) wide from east to west and has a population of about 80,000. I loved the 3 days I spent in the country, and today’s post, is about my first meal in the country. I chose a place called Borda Della. A borda is a traditional mountain house in Andorra, that was used to store grain and cattle, but today, has been transformed into restaurants. I wanted to have some traditional Andorran food for my first meal, but sadly, according to the owner, they didn’t really serve this. However, they did use a lot of local ingredients, and the owner’s first words to us were a proud story about how his restaurant uses only organic ingredients. I did not take a picture of the whole menu, but some pages containing items we ordered. Here’s a look:

I wanted to try some local wine but they did not have any. Apparently, it was hard to find as I would later find out throughout the trip (I left the country without being able to try it anywhere). Either the production was too small and there was none available, or people claimed that the price to value ratio was better with Spanish wines and so they didn’t carry local wines. Anyway, the first dish was a ravioli with duck and black truffle. The dish reminded me of one of my favorite Italian dishes – tortellini en brodo. This dish was perfectly. The pasta was cooked well, and the flavors were delicious. The meal started off on a happy happy note.

Next, one of the best, if not the best cured meats I have ever had. Although it was labelled as a carpaccio on the menu, it was basically cured meat. In this case, 48 month aged Galician beef. It was produced by Albert Adria, brother of the famous El Bulli chef Ferran Adria (though also famous in his own right). To say it was good would be an understatement. I was heavenly. The aging gave it a perfect umami funk and the texture was as soft as possible. Melt in your mouth butter like. Prior to this, culatello was my favorite cured meat, but this just blew it away. If you have the chance to travel JUST for this, DO IT!

Next, some house made foie gras:

…and then for the main, steak with foie gras. Everything was delicious. Interestingly, I later found out that the owner and his wife used to be bankers and then quit to start this restaurant. I am so happy they did. Also, although I only ordered a glass of wine, the owner brought a half bottle and just gave me the whole thing. Thank you! For dessert, almond ice cream that was so good, we ended up also ordering the tiramisu one also.

Overall, this was one of the most memorable dinners I have had, not just in Andorra, but of the 78 countries I have been. Everything was delicious. The atmosphere was traditional even though the food was not, and the service from the owner was personal and very good. I would return in a heartbeat and highly recommend.