We chose Noriega’s (also called Eskualdunen Etchea-The Basque People’s House) and it was swell. You sit family style down the length of a huge table and pass the dishes as they come pouring out of the kitchen. There is always more of whatever you want near at hand.
The menu: salad, soup, beans, bread, pickled tongue (quite tasty and a favorite of many), cottage cheese with herbs, salsa, pasta and red sauce, french fries (very excellent), carrot salad, cauliflower with vinegar sauce, blue cheese, beef stew (yum), baked chicken, dessert. Bottles of house red wine line the center of the table.
And what might be missing in quality (the meal costs $20 total) they make up for in charm. Everyone, including our table mates were entirely delightful and every one was from Bakersfield or the surrounding area. Truly, we were the only genuine tourists we could find and that was most surprising of all.