The ´huerta riojana´ means literally the Riojan vegetable garden, or vegetable patch. Rioja is well-known for its gastronomy, as well as its wine, and this is something that you can no doubt try whilst you are in the area. Often, local wines have been elaborated to marry the local foods that are produced in this area, so local food production is also important to understanding local wine.
A local dish that you may see is called ´patatas a la riojana´, which means Riojan style potatoes. Many of these local dishes are not fine dining, but are good, local, delicious dishes made from the local produce, that are full of nutrients and made with years of tradition behind them. Patatas a la riojana is one of these such dishes, and it includes simple ingredients, like many traditional Riojan dishes, of potato, chorizo, onion, peppers, pork, salt and oil. Each of these tasty dishes of course has its variations, and many differ slightly depending on who is making them. You may also see ´pisto´, which is a dish made from local vegetables, what we may most closely relate to as a sort of vegetable ratatouille, and ´alubias pochas´(see below).