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Free food and free drinks are always great. Add fantastic local art and you have yourself a fine afternoon. Join us at 6311arts in Chicago this Saturday for all of it.
We'll be making a few montaditos for you to enjoy alongside drinks graciously provided by Taste Food & Wine, and featuring ceramics from Chicago artists Susan Volk (who made the dish above) and pearl jewelry from Nolan Code, alongside work in the gallery by Brad Gibbs and artists from Austin Special, a local non-profit serving individuals with intellectual disabilities.
6311arts is an inclusive Chicago-based art center focused on supporting and showcasing local artist talent and offering a variety of workshops. A silent auction including works created by Susan and Nolan will be held in support of the gallery.
As part of this special event, we'll have trays of our elusive boquerones available for purchase!
Currently on summer hiatus for the rest of the country, we couldn't allow fellow Chicagoans to go without (mostly because I like them so much and want to keep them in stock). If you'd like to reserve some, simply send us an email with the number of trays you'd like and we'll be sure to have them on hand for you to pick up at the event.
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If you're in Chicago, or need an excuse to visit, come by for free food, free drinks, and fantastic local art.
The pertinent event details:
6311 North Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois 60660
Saturday, June 27
4-6pm
Free Admission. Free Food. Free Drink.
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As the first day of astronomical summer approaches, thoughts of picnic blankets and sunshine and the smell of grass becoming more than just fantasies, it behooves you to begin thinking of an important feature of these dreams turned into reality: sandwiches.
Egg salad sandwiches are, of course, one of the first of the sandwiches to pop into mind when these visions of leisurely sun-drenched afternoons appear. The zest of the mayo, the crunch of the celery, the softness of the fluffy fresh bread holding it all together.
This is like that sandwich. But... not.
You see, instead of eggs, what makes up the hearty portion of this sandwich filling are our habitas, tender baby broad beans. And instead of mayo... Vegenaise. The rest? More or less the same. Astoundingly good flavor, none of the animal-product.
What you see below is a slight variation on a customer's suggestion for a chickpea-based appetizer. All credit for it's deliciousness is hers, and hers alone.
Total Time: However long it takes you to chop and dice and otherwise mix everything together, and then for maximum flavor leaving it in the fridge overnight.
Servings: Several sandwiches, depending on how generous you are with the filling.
1. Drain most of the olive oil from the jar of beans into a bowl, you may want more of it shortly. Then get those beans in a food processor and let the machine do what it was made to do. Want a smoother baby broad bean base? Add a bit more of that olive oil you've reserved, as you see fit.
2. Now, with your perfectly whipped habitas spread transferred to another bowl, fold in your shallots, celebry, guindilla peppers, dill tops, mustard, and Vegenaise. That's right fold it in. Just, fold it in, David.
3. If you've given yourself enough time, put the whole mixture in the fridge for a while, and let the flavors meld into perfection. Add a dash or more of piment d'Espelette at some point. Before, after, in the middle of the night.
4. Layer the not-egg salad between two slices of fresh bread, and make yourself a packed lunch. Best enjoyed while savoring a warm breeze while sitting on a blanket, looking out over Lake Michigan, Chicago's skyline to the south.
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After a wait rivaled in length only by that for Godot, our newest tinned seafood is here. And it's superb.
Our Mackerel Fillets in Harbor Tavern Teriyaki Sauce, inspired by a seafaring adventurer, are available for order now.
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When you're an anchovy salesman, breakfast anchovies are the norm. Featured here: Donostia Foods Cantabrian anchovies, piment d'Espelette butter (butter I just mixed with espelette), on sourdough toast.
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While It Lasts, on now at Lemon Street Gallery in Kenosha, WI. A "curated art show centered on the themes of fragility, impermanence, and fleeting moments. We are inviting local artists to create works exploring these ideas, capturing the beauty in what doesn’t last. From these submissions, six artworks will be selected to inspire custom floral arrangements crafted by local florists. These living installations will serve as a temporary extension of the original pieces as they age alongside their paired works, celebrating the intersection of visual art and the ephemeral nature of flowers."
Donostia Foods has sponsored the floral arrangement from A Summer's Garden Florist, inspired by artis Cayla Paukstat's piece, "The Wisteria Chronicles", seen above.
Lemon Street Gallery is "a community-oriented cooperative gallery that believes in the importance of the arts for all."
While It Lasts, January 8 to February 22, 2026, Lemon Street Gallery, 4601 Sheridan Road, Kenosha, WI.
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Making your own hummus is great, but... there's not always time for that. What you can grab at the store is perfectly decent, but let's say you want to invigorate it with additional flavor and visual appeal. You'll want to zhuzh it up. How to?
Just give it a drizzle of our always glass-bottled extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkle of our piment d'Espelette. You'll have exactly what you see above. That regular store-bought hummus has now been transformed into a snappy looking, snappy tasting, scoopable and spreadable delight.
All who reach for it with their baby carrots and celery sticks and pita chips will agree, and all it took was a few seconds. Zhuzh up your hummus today.
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Our boquerones are most elusive, but they'll be back... very soon. And, at least for as long as we have the first edition in stock, they are served quite nicely on our new Donostia Tinned Fish Dish.
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What you see here may become official shortly. But, as of right now, we're still in the testing phase for what will become The Official Donostia Foods Tuna Salad Sandwich.
Yes, Lilliput Capers are featured.
A full recipe will be posted, probably, at some point.
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Our newest food, amongst the Donostia Foods food? Tears of Caperberries. Seen here with simple and superb accompaniments, an aged, buttery, mild sheep's milk cheese and classic water crackers. Did I eat everything in the photo with astounding speed? I did.
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Sometimes, you're too hungry to remember to take a photo before you start eating.
Cantabrian anchovies, Lilliput capers, a touch of sherry vinegar, Campari tomatoes, toast.
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When ingredients are simple, yet exquisite, they can also be put together quite quickly. For a delicious, mid-week lunch, this is advantageous.
Seen above is my lunch: sticky rice topped with a mixture of mayo, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil; topped with Donostia Foods Ventresca of Bonito del Norte Tuna Belly Fillets (long name); topped with roasted black sesame seeds. Prep time? Negligible.
This is all based on the recipe from Eric Kim at the New York Times.
And yes, I used a plate and not a bowl. When you have plates like these, you use them.
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Making a pizza? Make it (even*) better by doing as Bob did: putting guindilla peppers on it.
*Pizza is always good, but with that threshold it still can be taken to new and heretofore unseen heights with the proper toppings.
