Tapas! Tapas! Tapas!
There's one particular Spanish tradition that I so wish America would adopt: TAPAS! Tapas are perfect someone with food-related-ADD like me: just a little bit of this, then a little bit of that, then a little bit of this, and so on and so on. Considering my fondness for these little Spanish wonders, I figured they deserved their own entry.
Tapas are as Spanish as bullfighting and flamenco. It's not just a type of food, it's a way of life here, and the Spanish even have a verb that means "going out for tapas." If you have never heard of 'tapas', in short, they are small portions of seafood, salads, meat-filled pastries, and other goodies, often served on top of a slice of baguette. They are like appetizers, except much much much better.
Spaniards don't just go to one bar and order a bunch of tapas. They eat one or two at bar X, then head over to bar Y for another one, then move onto bar Z for several more. The typical 'tapas run' involves four or five bars, and sampling a whole array of tasty tapas. So, in true Madrileno style, Welmoud, Tom, Alan and I went on a 'tapas run' last Friday night, hitting five tapas bars and sampling over a dozen of different dishes.
Before getting to the plot (the food), let me introduce the characters: that's Alan (a retired union negotiator from England) at left, Welmoud (a geologist from Holland) in the middle, and Tom (an artist from Canada) at right. Tom had just bought a rose from a roaming salesperson, and had rigged it into the wall of the bar. (Can you tell from his pose that he is the artist of the group?)
We arrived at our first tapas bar at 7:30, and in true Spanish style, they were just opening for the night. Since we were "so early", we were only able to order drinks, since food wouldn't even be ready until after 8pm. So we drank a round (and yes, I stuck with my oh-so-classy Diet Coke), then headed to bar #2, which specialized in tapas from the Basque country. DELICIOUS--my favorite of the night! After four different tapas here, we headed to bar #3 at about 9pm, a standing room only bar that has absolutely delicious (if a bit pricy at $4 a pop) tapas. We had four different tapas here as well, then, at about 10pm, wandered into bar #4, which had been recommended to us by an elemadrid teacher.
I was less impressed with the three tapas we had here--kind of bland--but that's the beauty of the system. Low commitment! At about 11:30pm, we hit bar #5 for two more tapas. We could hardly find a place to sit it was so crowded (and actually this was after giving up on several other tapas bars that were just way too packed). For bar #6, we returned to the bar that we started at, and had another round of drinks until 2am.
Sound late to be eating? Not for Madrid. At 2am, when we left our last bar for the night, the streets of Madrid's "La Latina" neighborhood were full. Madrilenos are nicknames 'gatos' (cats) for their incurable night prowling. By Madrid standards, we actually headed in early.
So how does one choose which tapas to eat?
At most of the tapas bars that I have been to, the tapas are displayed under glass at the bar, so you don't really have to know Spanish to order. You just see what looks good and point.
But, if you don't have the option to preview your selection ahead of time...no matter. It's just a tapa. If you order badly, oh well. Just order something else. It's not like ordering an entire entree that you end up disliking. It's just a little tapa!
Tortillas, Spanish style
Of the hundreds (or more?) different kind of tapas, perhaps the most traditional and popular one is the tortilla. However, the Spanish tortilla is NOTHING like the Mexican tortilla. In Spain, the tortilla is a dense and buttery potato omelet that somewhat resembles a less cheesy version of potatoes-au-gratin. I've had "Madrid's best tortillas" at the atmospheric, 100+ year old Cerveceria Alemana, and (at other non-disclosed locations) I've had some not-so-delicious versions, like the one pictured at right. But, in general, I give the Spanish tortilla two thumbs up.
A future full of FREE tapas...
I'm going to be in Granada for the month of May, and I've heard from several sources that most Granada tapas bars give a free plate of tapas with every drink you buy. Count me in! Of course, the going rate in restaurants for my drink of choice--Diet Coke--is about $2.50-$3.00 a can, so it's not the amazing savings it sounds like. But, it's better than paying for both.
As if I needed another reason to spend a month in Granada.
Tapas are as Spanish as bullfighting and flamenco. It's not just a type of food, it's a way of life here, and the Spanish even have a verb that means "going out for tapas." If you have never heard of 'tapas', in short, they are small portions of seafood, salads, meat-filled pastries, and other goodies, often served on top of a slice of baguette. They are like appetizers, except much much much better.
Spaniards don't just go to one bar and order a bunch of tapas. They eat one or two at bar X, then head over to bar Y for another one, then move onto bar Z for several more. The typical 'tapas run' involves four or five bars, and sampling a whole array of tasty tapas. So, in true Madrileno style, Welmoud, Tom, Alan and I went on a 'tapas run' last Friday night, hitting five tapas bars and sampling over a dozen of different dishes.
Before getting to the plot (the food), let me introduce the characters: that's Alan (a retired union negotiator from England) at left, Welmoud (a geologist from Holland) in the middle, and Tom (an artist from Canada) at right. Tom had just bought a rose from a roaming salesperson, and had rigged it into the wall of the bar. (Can you tell from his pose that he is the artist of the group?)We arrived at our first tapas bar at 7:30, and in true Spanish style, they were just opening for the night. Since we were "so early", we were only able to order drinks, since food wouldn't even be ready until after 8pm. So we drank a round (and yes, I stuck with my oh-so-classy Diet Coke), then headed to bar #2, which specialized in tapas from the Basque country. DELICIOUS--my favorite of the night! After four different tapas here, we headed to bar #3 at about 9pm, a standing room only bar that has absolutely delicious (if a bit pricy at $4 a pop) tapas. We had four different tapas here as well, then, at about 10pm, wandered into bar #4, which had been recommended to us by an elemadrid teacher.
I was less impressed with the three tapas we had here--kind of bland--but that's the beauty of the system. Low commitment! At about 11:30pm, we hit bar #5 for two more tapas. We could hardly find a place to sit it was so crowded (and actually this was after giving up on several other tapas bars that were just way too packed). For bar #6, we returned to the bar that we started at, and had another round of drinks until 2am. Sound late to be eating? Not for Madrid. At 2am, when we left our last bar for the night, the streets of Madrid's "La Latina" neighborhood were full. Madrilenos are nicknames 'gatos' (cats) for their incurable night prowling. By Madrid standards, we actually headed in early.
So how does one choose which tapas to eat?
At most of the tapas bars that I have been to, the tapas are displayed under glass at the bar, so you don't really have to know Spanish to order. You just see what looks good and point.
But, if you don't have the option to preview your selection ahead of time...no matter. It's just a tapa. If you order badly, oh well. Just order something else. It's not like ordering an entire entree that you end up disliking. It's just a little tapa! 
Tortillas, Spanish styleOf the hundreds (or more?) different kind of tapas, perhaps the most traditional and popular one is the tortilla. However, the Spanish tortilla is NOTHING like the Mexican tortilla. In Spain, the tortilla is a dense and buttery potato omelet that somewhat resembles a less cheesy version of potatoes-au-gratin. I've had "Madrid's best tortillas" at the atmospheric, 100+ year old Cerveceria Alemana, and (at other non-disclosed locations) I've had some not-so-delicious versions, like the one pictured at right. But, in general, I give the Spanish tortilla two thumbs up.
A future full of FREE tapas...
I'm going to be in Granada for the month of May, and I've heard from several sources that most Granada tapas bars give a free plate of tapas with every drink you buy. Count me in! Of course, the going rate in restaurants for my drink of choice--Diet Coke--is about $2.50-$3.00 a can, so it's not the amazing savings it sounds like. But, it's better than paying for both.
As if I needed another reason to spend a month in Granada.