You don’t want tapas up this opportunity

Zurita brings Mediterranean flavor to the heart of Newport

By Eliot Sekuler

For the TODAY

“There’s no better way to learn about Spanish culture than with a fork and spoon in hand,” said renowned Michelin-starred chef, Josè Andrès. And to truly grasp the subject, you’d have to do some serious traveling with those utensils: Spain’s many diverse regions each have their own culinary identity, their own style, ingredients and tastes. Fortunately for diners on the Oregon Coast, a sampling of the country’s earthily complex and endlessly pleasurable gastronomy can be found at Newport’s Zurita in Nye Beach, which offers a solid introduction to one of the world’s great cuisines.

“My hope is that people will feel a little transported to Spain when they come in,” said owner Dawn Newman, who opened the restaurant’s doors this June in the Nye Beach district building previously occupied by Café Mundo. To that end, Newman has created a relaxed ambiance, with ochre walls softly lit, a chalkboard announcing the daily specials and the action in the kitchen visible through a pair of large windows,

Although Zurita takes its name from a village in Cantabria, the autonomous northern region along the coast of the Bay of Biscay, the restaurant offers a more generalized sampling of the many styles of Spanish cooking. The menu, Newman said, will change with seasonal availability of fresh ingredients to keep things fresh for her patrons.

Prominent among the offerings are a variety of tapas, small plates designed to be savored slowly, with one or two tapas ordered at a time and shared by the table.

“We like to serve one tapa at a time and allow our customers to enjoy the flavor of each of them,” Newman said. “We want them to have a chance to talk, to linger a bit longer to enjoy their food and the experience.”

In devising a Spanish menu, Newman and her staff can draw from the enormous array of dishes in Spain’s culinary repertoire.

“Spain is a very diverse country and it’s been influenced by the cultures of many invaders,” she said. “The Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Celts and the Moors all brought their influences to different parts of the country and each region has its own specialties and different ingredients, spices and herbs.” Newman added that Spanish cuisine was quick to absorb the ingredients discovered in the New World, with potatoes, tomatoes and a variety of peppers quickly becoming staples in Spanish kitchens.

On a recent late autumn evening, the chalkboard offered a roasted carrot bisque and a red lentil and potato stew. The printed menu featured nine tapas dishes, including Spain’s iconic tortilla Española, crispy squid with piquillo peppers, chili aioli and black garlic aioli and a dish consisting of warm roasted carrots, whipped goat cheese, garlic crumble and Aleppo honey. An offering of “Bocadillo Catalan” (a small sandwich) featured Spanish sausage, sautéed onions and piquillo peppers. Larger plate offerings included adobo pork ribs, a duck breast with glazed couscous and a dish of seared Alaskan scallops served over cauliflower purée and topped with a sauce of sherry and brown butter.

To achieve authentic flavors, many of the ingredients are sourced from Spain.

Furthering Zurita’s emphasis on authenticity, the wine list consists entirely of imports, with a selection of tempranillos and the white albariños from Spain’s coastal northwest. Two house sangria recipes have proven to be crowd favorites.

“People have asked if we could fill their growlers with our sangria,” Newman said. “We don’t, but we do sell it in glass bottles.”

Three sherries are listed (there are more on the way, said Newman) and a “sherry dinner” may soon be offered after the holidays, with dishes paired to different sherry bottlings.

For the winter months, Newman plans to add a lamb dish to the menu and will feature some special desserts for the holidays.

“Spain isn’t usually that big on desserts except around the holidays, when they really do it up,” Newman said.

Surprisingly absent from the menu was the signature Valencia dish that many consider to be quintessentially Spanish: the ever-popular paella.

“I would like to offer paella on Friday and Saturday nights, prepared in the courtyard,” said Newman, pointing to the tree-shaded area near the restaurant’s entrance. “I hope we’ll get to that in the spring. There are so many things that we’ve considered, so many things we could offer. I have a wish list.”

Zurita in Nye Beach is located in Newport at the corner of 711 NW 2nd Court and Coast Street and is open Tuesday through Friday, 3 pm to 8 pm and Saturday from noon to 8 pm, with Happy Hour from 3 to 5 pm Tuesday through Friday. For more information, go to zuritainnye.com or call 541-272-5078.