To tapa or not to tapa?

Tapas with beer in Madrid

When you think of Spain and if you are a foodie, I bet that the first word that springs to your mind is 'TAPA'. In English, it means 'cover' or 'lid'. A 'tapa' traditionally could have been a free piece of bread or sliced ham/dried sausage on top of a glass of wine. Over the ages, it has now come to embrace a huge array of food which comes in typically small portions and, is commonly served to quash hunger before lunch or dinner.

There are many stories about the origin of the 'tapa' and they are all quite entertaining. According to one, the tapa was born when, due to an illness, the Spanish king Alfonso X, had to take small bites of food with some wine between meals. Once recovered from the disease, the king decreed that no wine was to be served in Castile, unless accompanied by something to eat. I don't get the logic of that but, oh well.

As per good ol' Wikipedia, before the 19th century when many were illiterate, Spanish innkeepers offered their guests a sample of the dishes available, on a "tapa" rather than a written menu. 

Yet another story, in 'The Joy of Cooking', is that the original tapas were the slices of bread or meat with which sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips. This was a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry.  Also, as the meat used to cover the sherry was normally ham or chorizo, which are both very salty and activate thirst, bartenders and restaurant owners increased their alcohol sales. Very nifty. 

My favourite story though, is that of king Felipe who, to prevent the soldiers from coming home drunk after a night out and subsequently suffering from hangovers the next morning, thus reducing their performance, made it law that all alcoholic drinks be served with a 'tapa'. That makes sense. 

La Cervecería Catalana

One of my favourite place to go and eat some lovely tapas has got to be the 'Cervecería Catalana' which translates as the Catalan Beer place. The food is fresh, the place bustles with good energy and despite the crowds, I always manage to get a seat at the bar with the lucky person I am showing the place to ;-) The service is decent but the mostly S.E Asian bartenders don't have the easy banter you can get from Spanish barmen (women). A lot of my purist friends will tell me that it is where all foreigners go and so be it but I always have a great time. A note of warning though - either order a bottle or be prepared for a really mediocre house wine/ cava. Oh, and watch out for the pickpockets!

The photo on the right shows: 
(Bottom L to R) Brined anchovies ('boquerones'), thinly sliced artichoke fritters ('alcachofa frita') ,croquettes ('croquetas').
(Center L to R) Bread with tomato rubbed on it and a drizzling of olive oil (''pan con tomate or as the Catalans call it, 'pan amb tomaquet'), delicious JAMÓN (Spanish ham, which deserves a post all on it´s own), more 'pan con tomate.
(Top L to R) Fried eggs with french fries ( 'huevos estrellados' - make sure you ask them to sprinkle paprika on top) and some mushroom croquettes.

Fried bites of seventh heaven

If you have been to Spain, you are probably also familiar with 'Patatas bravas', a SIMPLE fried potato dish which most places have NO CLUE about making so you just fill your stomach with stodge and drink beer in the hopes of masking the stale oil and refried potato taste. UGH. But before you lose hope or the contents of your stomach, I know of at least TWO places where you will repeat your order, diet or no diet. I mean, just FEAST your eyes on the above photograph. Hungry? Let me tempt you further for you won't come across a more delicious, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, ali-oli (garlic mayonaise) topped, hot sauce festooned, parsley sprayed fried wonder ever... And where can you eat this calorie laden bit of yummiliciousness? In a place called 'Biercab' which serves about 30-40 draft beers too. I haven't been in over a year but I suggest you take your sunglasses and a gun with you because their eye-level, very powerful, operating theatre lighting needs to be shot! 

And the second place, you ask me, anxiously? "Where is the second place where I can gorge on the BEST patatas bravas in town?". Relax, take a deep breath and prepare your belly for yet another morsel sized, baby potato version. Happily, the portion is small and the bill is large so there won't be much gorging to be done. The place? Restaurante Cheri, Barcelona. 

More Patatas Bravas

I can't mention Tapas and not mention this great place on the outskirts of Barcelona, in a village called Alella, Companyia d'Alella Celler I Taverna. Just. Look. At.That. 
The Spanish have a huge variety of conserves and the below is a variety of some of the finest.
From bottom R to L: Mussels in marinated brine ('mejillones en escabeche'), Tuna in marinated brine ('atún en escabeche'), assorted dried sausages and 'Manchego' cheese, anchovies in olive oil, chips with paprika sauce, peasant bread, olives and crayfish tails ( 'cola de langostino'). All washed down with jugs of white wine which left my friend and I quite drunk! 

Oh, My, God

As a final piece and to get your saliva flowing even more freely, I thought I would gratuitously add a couple more photographs of some lip-lickingly good tapas I had in Santander. On the left you have cod stewed in white wine and olive oil. On the right is a mini beef burger with fried onions and chives. Ok, I need a tissue to wipe my own saliva now...