Tag Archives: tapas

Bodega Santa Cruz, Sevilla, Spain

The crowd at the bar, and the ladies who tipped us to get the alcachofa.

A crowd formed outside the restaurant called Bodega Santa Cruz in Seville at noon. We just arrived after a two-hour drive from Malaga and decided that the best thing to do before visiting the sights would be to have lunch. I did not take the buzzing, aggressive crowd placing orders at the bar as inviting, nor did the rest of the group (namely, my sister and her husband). Except that to my wife, a Myers-Briggs ESTP personality (impulsive, charming, live-for-the-moment) who is also a Chinese calendar goat (always in groups), the chaos at Bodega Santa Cruz was the ultimate attraction.

All you need is love.

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La Vara, Brooklyn

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Tapas in Brooklyn? I’m in! A feature in the New York Times? Score! We made our way to La Vara (no website yet? Yelp page here) four months after the restaurant opened. We were very, very excited. We had been planning this date for months!

La Vara Exterior

Did I tell you I like tapas? No? I might have mentioned it here, here, and here. Tapas makes me happy, so understandably I was all over it when I learned that we could walk to this new place in the neighborhood. Continue reading →

Pipa, New York

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I’m a sucker for tapas like everyone else, but even more so since I visited Barcelona. Since then, all tapas places have become an inevitable comparison to my love, Bar Rodrigo.

The show-stealing paella comes with half a lobster as a crown. Great job.

I was at Pipa to celebrate a happy occasion, and like a dictator I monopolized the menu and planned out our dishes ahead of time. I had been studying the menu for few days. Next to Tertulia, my favorite tapas place in NY (but impossible to get into after six), Pipa is a close second. Their sangria rocks too, a little too much actually. It’s like a small docile horse that gives you the smoothest ride but catapults you several feet into a thornbush right before you reach your destination. Continue reading →

Tertulia Spanish Taverna, West Village, New York

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Tertulia. n. A social gathering of like-minded individuals with literary or artistic undertones, usually to showcase poetry, short stories, and other artistic expression.

There are perfect meals. Some are in New York, and even in the West Village. But not often in a casual tapas joint. Our evening at Tertulia was one of those pleasant and perfect evenings, an early dinner and a glass of wine, warm company and smiles that centered on the great food before us.

Tosta Matrimonio – black and white anchovies, slow-roasted tomato, sheep’s milk cheese, aged balsamic

I love tapas. I’ve loved them since a trip to Barcelona made me fall for a hidden smoky place called Bar Rodrigo, to which I’ve lead a number of travelers, all of whom come back with glowing reviews about that bar that’s stuck in time.

Cojonudo – Two bites of smoked pig cheek, quail egg and pepper