Lunch amid the palms
The Dátil de Oro is one of Elche's premier restaurants and its privileged location amid the palms in the UNESCO-awarded Palmeral de Elche is not bad either. They restaurant is classy in and old-fashioned sort of way, but they have a populist menu for all. Their daily menu runs for 13.50 € and is exquisite. First they give you a round of appetizers: ours included homemade gazpacho, a terrine made daily, spinach, cheese, and honey pastry, and a tostada with garlicky roasted red peppers and tuna.
For entrées, they have a choice of fish, various cuts of meat, and a few kinds of rice. I'd suggest trying the local specialty: "arroz con costra". It's essentially a paella-like rice dish with tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, saffron, and rabbit, with a crust of beaten eggs and various kinds of regional Spanish sausage. It comes out looking like a bizarre pizza, but then they slice it, open it up, and spoon out all the gooey goodness below. It was delicious, and very filling! For dessert, we had a homemade pomegranate sorbet and they even brought out two cute mini-bottles of traditional herb liqueur and a homemade date-raisin liqueur, both reputed to aid in digestion.
