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The Flavors of Spain

Jane Gregg

The 1:00 PM pre-lunch crowds spill out of the bars lining the streets of Sevilla’s Barrio de Santa Cruz onto the sidewalk. Everyone seems to be energetically discussing political events, personal concerns or Spanish fútbol while sipping a glass of wine or a caña (beer) and staking out space next to one of the chest-high bar tables or old sherry casks, their surfaces covered with little dishes. Nearly everyone is standing because there are far more bodies than stools. The same is true inside the bars. No one seems to mind much because when they finish this round they will likely move on to the next bar. They are taking part in one of Spain’s most satisfying food rituals–el tapeo. Going out for tapas, Spain’s little plates.

Tapas in Spain are not just food. They are an activity. Ideally, they are eaten in a tapas bar or a market stall café with friends, and most often plates are shared among the group. Traditionally, this collective eating event precedes lunch or dinner. At its best, going out for tapas involves visiting more than one tapas bar. The bars are often located close to one another so that the eating of fried fish in one bar, montaditos (little sandwiches) in the next and plates of Iberian ham and Manchego sheep’s cheese in the third involves a change of scene for each.

Contemporary restaurant chefs in Spanish cities have taken the concept of tapas and have designed menus based on tapas-sized portions. The food may be traditional or avant-garde, the setting rustic or minimalist, but the concept remains the same, with two striking differences. You eat everything in one place and you eat sitting down.

The tapeo–this collective ambulatory eating of little plates–as a Spanish style of eating reaches its zenith in two regions in opposite corners of Spain. In Andalucía in southern Spain tapas bars display traditional fare bar-top and offer tapas del día based on what’s fresh. To the far northeast, tapas in the Basque country are called pintxos. They are small self-serve-from-the-bar portions and you pay after you’ve eaten your fill. Who keeps count? You do.

Going out for tapas in almost any city in Spain and eating like the Spaniards do is simple for the traveler. Once you find the backstreets or plazas that are teeming with bars, pick one and walk in. Your eyes will be greeted with a display of tapas running the length of the bar. You won’t know what everything is but you can choose what looks good, and begin your tapeo.

Epicurean Ways leads culinary tours and cooking vacations throughout Spain. The tours include tapas tours guided by tapas experts. See www.epicureanways.com

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