[Erin]

I am a huge fan of tapas, and love to make them or go out for them. In Seattle I went to a place called Marcha, (sadly closed),for tapas I loved their menu. They had some usuals such as potatas bravas and some not so usual such as grilled calamari in an ink sauce and quail in a savory chocolate sauce. I love to hunker down with a bottle of Marcus de Caseres Reserve and enjoy these tasty little bites.

What are your favorite tapas and do you have any recipes?

Oh, if any of you find yourself in Kansas City check out La Bodega their tapas are fantastic and cellar excellent. Phil and I are planning to head into the city and check out one of Mario Batali's tapas bars soon.
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"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Dawna]

It's been a while since I was there, but last summer I checked out Tapenade in Steveston (very close to Richmond, here in British Columbia). We enjoyed all of the tapas that we had, but the thing I remember most clearly were the meltingly soft slices of pork tenderloin on buttered baguette. They were outrageously good!

[Debbie]

Yum! We had tapas on Saturday night with friends. It was soooo good.

We were supposed to be going to a cute little crepe restaurant a few doors down, but they were packed out (and don't take bookings). I had bee to this tapas bar before and liked it, but wasn't sure how authentic it was. Our friends loved it and said that a lot of the things we were eating you would find in Spain. Turns out the owner comes from Gibraltar..... so no wonder it was good. He makes the things his Mum made. I don't know what they were all called, we just left the decision with him, but I will try and describe what we ate.

A really tasty salami/sausage with an intense red colour as if it contained paprika? Very tasty.

Cured ham in paper thin slices.

Marinated artichokes that hd chunks of garlic and herbs and delicious olive oil on them.

Seafood salad that was marinated in olive oil and something else (couldn't quite pick the flavour) that was extremely good.

Crusty baguette (of course... we are in Paris after all)

A few other dishes which have escaped my memory at present and then we had a spanish omelette with onion, potato, cheese, etc etc etc.

All washed down with lots of red wine, and enjoyed with great company and good conversation.

I WILL be eating there again!
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[David]

Thanks Dawna, Tapenade duly noted. We will be visiting family in Richmond in August and this sounds like a lovely change of pace. Steveston is so pleasant on a nice day!

Have never made tapas myself and only had them 3 times, twice in Uzes and once in Chicago-----loved it every time----such variety!
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

[Dawna]

Excellent, David! It's right across the street that runs along the wharf, so it has a great view (and the slightly pungent smell of a working fish dock, if you're dining al fresco).

Do remind me, when you're coming to town! I'll see if I can think up any other great places for you.

[Barbara]

We loved the tapas experience in Spain, wandering along the tiny streets having a drink and tapas and then moving onto the next bar. It was in Pamplona where we discovered (after our third bar) you can order very small glasses of beer or wine.- that way you can visit more bars and try more tapas.
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Barbara

[Dairy_Queen]

This is a topic where I'm going to come off as a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal.

But....aren't "tapas" just another word for "appetizers" or "snacks"???

We were plaqued by Tapas Bars in Chicago during the 90's; I never entered one because they were in the priciest of neighborhoods and all the "Oh So Elite" people that I knew, who ate there, were Arses!

The number of tapas joints has been winnowed down now, with Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba being the trendiest and most expensive of them. Here's a link to their tapas selection: (it's located 1/3rd of the way down) http://www.cafebabareeba.com/menu.htm

But, getting back to what I asked, HOW do tapas differ from any other well made appetizer? I mean tomate relleno de atun, a tomato stuffed with tuna, was the basis of Lutheran Lunch Ladies teas!

I need help becoming more ser-fist-tic-cated with tapas. What have I been missing out on? Everything or nothing?!
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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx

[JustMe]

[Dairy_Queen]

[Cornette]

Tapas is one of my many talents.

I often make a table full of tapas (hot and cold) and then we enjoy them as diner with friends.

It takes a day or 2 (or 3) to have a huge tapas-diner-evening but it is really worth the effort.

Ofcourse you don't sit at the table. Everybody takes a plate and just eats the whole evening and strolls around. Inside and out.

Cornette
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x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"The only time to eat diet food is while your waiting for the steak to cook"
Julia Child

[Dairy_Queen]

Yes, but what are tapas?!

And I'm sure that your tapas parties, ROCK, Cornette! You've got a set of very lucky friends, indeed.
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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx

[Debbie]

Don't feel bad DQ..... as you may have noticed, I had no idea what the dishes were that we ate, only what was in them. Very new experience for us too.

Tapas was not really a huge thing in Sydney. Don't know why? It is only since moving here that we seem to see tapas bars everywhere and thought we should try it.

The spices and seasonings make it very different to the usual "nibbles" I think.

I love nibbles type food and could quite easily eat like that everyday (and be as big as a house). Finger food is something we do quite a lot when we don't feel like a set meal. Seem to remember a previous forum discussed this earlier in the year???

Looking forward to some "expert opinions" coming through so I know what to order next time and what it all means. We live and learn.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[Dairy_Queen]

Thanks, Debbie; it seems that "tapas" is just another word for Finger Food/Appetizers.

We had so many Tapas Joints in Chicago, that it was as bad as Starbucks. But luckily, the Darwin Effect kicked in and now only the Hardy Tapas Joints survived.

I'll stick with the restaurants that I frequent for finger food. But, here's a link, with recipes, for tapas. I'd actually try to make some of them, like the Walnut and Blue Cheese-coated Grapes.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/et_pa_tapas/0,1972,FOOD_10945,00.html
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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx

[Sarape]

I started reading this thread with the same question: "What are tapas?" And then I see that I'm not alone, so I think "Good, there are others here at my naive level of understanding."

Continue reading the thread like a mystery story thinking is this some kind of conspiricy keeping us in the dark regarding these mythical tapas?

Potatoes, calamari, pork, omelette, onion, cheese, artichokes, garlic, salami/sausage, tomato stuffed with tuna, and chocolate sauce?

What's going on here?
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' She says, 'I am the glamorous type.' I said, 'So what?'

[Dairy_Queen]

Do you think Scully and Mulder will come out of seclusion to solve this mystery???
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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx