Tapas de España

Tapas

Tapas in Spain is pretty hit and miss. I lived in Granada in the very south of Spain for 6 months where the tradition of free tapas with a drink is met with great pride. The free tit-bits of food have their own menu and it is cooked fresh to order without expecting any more than 2€ for a copa or cerveza. Incredible tapas usually includes fish or freshly prepared vegetables. Like most European food, fresh produce is key.

Since moving to Salamanca, tapas appears to have become more of a touristy notion for the cafes and bars to make a few extra euros from holiday makers hoping for a bit of Spanish culture. Similar to most central bars in Madrid, a charge of at least 1€ can be added to your bill for tapas, which usually has been pre prepared and often microwaved in front of your eyes, often to my disappointment. Nothing makes my heart sink more than a delicious looking tortilla, a thick egg and potato omelette served with gruyere cheese and bacon, being unceremoniously microwaved for a few minutes before being served up with a slice of white bread.

But hey, that’s one city. Like many traditions and cultural dishes all over the world, they are sometimes done poorly, but often created with great pleasure much to the satisfaction of so many customers.  Good tapas in Spain creates a great atmosphere. Many conversations have started over a compliment on the food, new friends bond over the best places to eat and often, emotional chats with the girls have been comforted by a pate or two of Spain’s finest and a glass of wine.  I owe a lot to those plates of juevos fritos con patatas (fried eggs and potatoes), calamares, pulpo (grilled octopus) or the much loved, patatas bravas. 

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