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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Fiona Dunlop

‘Alicante cuisine epitomises the Mediterranean’: a gastronomic journey in south-east Spain

Views of the old town of the island of Tabarca, in the Spanish Mediterranean, in front of Santa Pola, Alicante
The island of Tabarca with Santa Pola beyond. Photograph: Joan Dana/Getty Images

I’m on a quest in buzzy, beachy Alicante on the Costa Blanca to investigate the rice dishes the Valencian province is famed for, as well as explore the vast palm grove of nearby Elche. I start with a pilgrimage to a restaurant featured in my book on tapas, New Tapas, a mere 25 years ago. Mesón de Labradores in the pedestrianised old town is now engulfed by Italian eateries (so more pizza and pasta than paella) but it remains a comforting outpost of tradition and honest food.

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