Pincho

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A pincho (Spanish; literally, thorn or spike) or pintxo (Basque) is a small slice of bread upon which an ingredient or mixture of ingredients is put and held there using a stick, which gives the food its name. A typical dish of the Basque Country and other Spanish territories, it is usually eaten as an appetizer, accompanied by a glass of red wine (called txikito) or beer (zurito). It is very common in the taverns of the Basque Country, Cantabria, and Navarre, where a variety of pinchos are usually served on a tray at the bar.

Almost any ingredient can be put on the bread, but those most commonly found in the Basque Country include fish such as hake, cod, anchovy, and baby eels; tortilla de patatas; stuffed peppers; and croquettes.

In Puerto Rico, a different type of pincho is served by street vendors with barbecues. Unlike the Basque pincho, usually only one or two slices of bread are in the pincho, while the rest is barbecued chicken, pork, shark, or other meat. The meats and the bread are skewered on a wooden stick, rather than served on a plate; the stick is grabbed from the bottom and the contents are eaten.

They're called pinchos because many of them have a pincho (Spanish for spike), typically a toothpick, through them. The toothpick is used to keep whatever the snack is made of from falling off the bread it has been attached to, and to keep track of the number of items that the customer has eaten. Often, differently priced pinchos have toothpicks of different shape or size.