Tapas, Tapas, and More Tapas

I love eating. Now, many people probably enjoy eating but I feel that is too simple of a word to describe how much I enjoy eating good food. That is not to say that I eat non-stop, but when I eat any food, especially really good food, I get such a feeling of elation I just want more and more. Unfortunately, when I go to a restaurant or even cook at home I can’t just get everything on the menu that I want; it’s both too expensive and I could not possibly eat that much. That is why in this blog post I had to talk about how amazing tapas are. They are literally the perfect solution to my problem with how to try everything on the menu.

Tapas in the U.S.

When I first heard of tapas I was overjoyed to be able to order a ton of small, but not tiny dishes to satisfy my desire to try everything. I was around 12 years old when my parents first told me about tapas and said we were going out to get them. All along the way to the restaurant I was bursting with excitement imagining 20 different plates (five per person in my family) scattered across the table. When I closed my eyes I could even picture my fork zooming across the table to dip into each dish, trying them as fast as I could. Not only would I get a unique eating experience, but I had heard tapas were rarely not delicious. Then the menus arrived and reality hit me. Not only were the prices on the menu averaging $8, but the list was only two pages long and written quite spaced out so there must have been no more than 20 items to choose from. Each person in my family got 2-3 plates – tiny ones at that – and with drinks and all, it was considered a rare expensive treat. The food was good, but it was nothing special and even with the ticket price of about $24 a person I still left hungry. I vowed to never get tapas again, tapas in the U.S. just weren’t worth it. And then I studied abroad in Spain…

This plate to the left cost me €2 in Sevilla and is $10.75 on the menu hyperlinked above.

As I prepared for my semester in Spain I thought about all the amazing food I would get to try and was so excited until I remembered where tapas originated; that dampened my excitement. I wanted to eat like a Spaniard, but I didn’t want to pay €8 per tapa like my past experience. Thank god I was wrong.

Mama I Made It

On my third night in Sevilla, Spain I finally took a trip to the promised land. It was everything I had dreamed of when I first heard of tapas. The cheapest tapas were €1 and the average price was €2; it was heaven. Not only were they cheap, but they were absolutely delicious. I finally had pages and pages of different dishes to choose from where I didn’t have to just pick one, but could pick 5 or 6 for the cost of a cheap meal. It was heaven.

Even though I ate most dinners and lunches at home with my host mom I would always sneak in a tapa or two, or three, before lunch or dinner as I worked hard on my goal to not only try every type of tapa I could, but to try them at just about every place as well. I always went for the tapas places hidden away in a back alley or the ones overflowing with locals. Not only were these usually the most authentic tapas, but they gave me the true Spanish experience too. To sit there amongst local Sevillians, snacking on a few plates of tapas, sipping an ice cold beer, and chatting with my friends was in my mind the perfect meal.

Above: the perfect Spanish midday meal with friends and a delicious tuna poke tapa

Why Can't We Have It All?

Each time I had a tapa I wondered why there was nothing like this in the U.S., why couldn’t I walk into a local bar and have a small plate of solomillo al whiskey (simply pork with whiskey sauce and fries) for $2.50. As much as I hated it, I knew the answer; it is not a good one, but it is the truth. Food is a fickle. Yes, that is the best way I can describe it. Food changes with the littlest extra pinch of salt, with canola oil instead of olive oil, with a lack of culinary expertise or inspiration, and always with the economy and supply chains. Food does not allow itself to be controlled but instead it always waits drawing you in and offering a delightful or far too often regretful surprise, but it is the unknown that keeps us coming back. To eat is to enjoy and to travel is to eat for me. I have tried many different foods, in many different places, prepared by many different people and though I have not liked them all I have always enjoyed the experience of trying something new. Being able to have authentic tapas in Spain was one of my favorite food experiences, but trying tapas in the U.S. was an experience just the same. Food is not just there for tasting, enjoying, or making, but it is there to experience and love the experience along with the food. 

But also post-soliloquy I have to say again that Spanish tapas rule!!