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Alt- Magazine - Can You Tapa This? by Matt Borden

Can You Tapa This? by Matt Borden Average rating: 5.0

Posted: 7/1/2008
Category: Dine and Altdash
Rating: 13 rating(s)
Views: 948

 

Have you ever been to a tapas bar? No you haven’t. Oh you probably think you have, but you really haven’t. Not unless you actually visited Spain of course. Let me tell you why, and this is something the so-called tapas bars and restaurants in the States wouldn’t want you to know. There are two main characteristics of an authentic tapas establishment: 1) the food is entirely Spanish, and 2) the tapas are free. Yes, free, with every drink you purchase. Knowing this, you can understand more easily why the notion of tapas is so popular in Spain. In the U.S., places claiming to sell tapas usually are hawking hybrid appetizers with only a tangential connection to Iberia. The case in Spain, as Spaniards like to point out, is different.

Spaniards do love their food, and I mean their food: Spanish food. The entire Midwest has only a handful of supposedly Spanish restaurants, most of which at least offer some version of paella. And it’s possible that your favorite so-called tapas locale in the U.S. serves Serrano ham, smoked salmon, and Spanish tortilla. But do they also sell octopus with paprika or blood sausage? How about baby eels with garlic or white anchovies marinated in olive oil? Virtually every bar in Spain, no matter how small, will have most of these items readily available, along with dozens of others. And if you order an alcoholic drink, you could receive a small sample of any one of them for free. Your local tapas place in the States may have good food, but it almost certainly is not Spanish.

The Spanish word tapa literally means “cover.” The origin of this usage related to food in a bar is probably due to the discarded practice of actually covering a drink with a small plate to protect the liquid from spillage, contamination, or simply as an efficient way to transport two items (the food and the drink) in one hand. When you ordered a drink, it came with a cover, a tapa, upon which was placed a little bite to eat. The natural connection between drinking and eating guaranteed the success of the format.

One of the best places in Spain for tapas is the southern city of Granada, where the inhabitants have come to expect (and generally receive) bigger and heartier amounts of food with their drinks. It must be noted that Seville, to the west of Granada, is a rare exception in Spain in that its citizens must pay for tapas, although it’s also true that they have some of the best offerings and the portion sizes are significant. A typical cost for a tapa in Seville is about $2. Madrid reflects the national standard, where the tapas are free, and eating and drinking are always paired in a single enterprise with myriad choices for both. For Spaniards, it is unthinkable to drink without eating, and to eat without drinking as well. This fact is reflected in the terminology. In Spain one doesn’t have to look for a “tapas place”, one only needs to go to the nearest bar. The tapas will be there waiting for you.

Rijoa says:
Tio,  

el vino es muy importante tambien.  me gusta el mejor la Rijoa con los tapas.

Buen Provecho
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 2:13 PM
Venga Vale says:
...I've heard that old Spanish generals enforced tapas with each drink so that their troops wouldn't become too inebriated too often ;-).

Monday, July 07, 2008 9:01 AM
Matt Borden says:
Hi folks,

Rijoa (sic) makes a good point about wine. The Rioja region is highly valued, both in domestic circles and abroad, for its yearly vintage.

I've never heard Venga Vale's tale before, but it sounds like that would be a delightful order to follow: "Private, make sure you eat some garlic shrimp or Manchego cheese with that drink!"
Wednesday, July 09, 2008 1:27 PM
Rijoa says:
Nice work there, dude.  I am pretty bad at writing words correctly.  Try that garlic chicken.  Not the biggest fan to pulpo (sic?), but the acetuna(sic?) is the bomb!  unless it is one of the types that doesn't suit you.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008 7:26 PM
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