I am counting the days until I can have tapas again. It's been a long time--about ten years--since I first had them in Barcelona. Delicious little tidbits. They can be simple or complicated. I prefer the simple ones: Olives. Something spread on bread. Anything with shrimp. Empanadas.
First, a little background: According to The Joy of Cooking, the very first tapas were simply slices of bread to cover glasses of port between sipping. This kept the fruit flies away from the sweet port. Soon, bartenders added a slice of ham or sausage; the saltiness made the customers thirsty...so they would order more port. You can see what's going on here. Over time, more snacks were added to keep customers in place. And drinking.
Today, tapas fill the gap between lunch (2-4 pm) and dinner (starting at 9 pm). Social Spaniards gather at bars to enjoy conversation--and tasty tapas--before sitting down for a meal. (Note: Most pilgrims are tucked in and fast asleep by then. Restaurants along the Camino have learned to offer an "early" dinner...7 pm.) Tapas can be cold or hot, fresh or fried. They can be made of anything; many bars offer 8-12 kinds of tapas, along with bread to soak up juices and sauces.
In Basque Country, where I will start my 500-mile walk, tapas are called pinchos (pintxos in Basque) because many of them have a toothpick (pincho) to hold the pieces together. Sometimes, the toothpicks are used to keep track of how many pinchos have been eaten; different colors or sizes of toothpicks mean different prices. It's kind of like dim sum; the bill is calculated on what you choose.
Naturally, I wondered about my chances of scoring tapas on the Camino de Santiago. I wasn't sure if the cafes, bars, and restaurants would offer pilgrims the little plates or toothpicks of whatever is on hand or the house specialty. Even the smallest villages have a bar...and some kind of snack.
Some tapas are free, other times they are listed on a chalkboard--which means they are not. Still, they aren't expensive. Unless you are a pilgrim on a tight budget, restricted to the daily Pilgrim Menu, a few extra Euros a day to taste your way across Spain? Well, as they say: Priceless.
I've already checked: Several of the cities I will pass through have entire streets dedicated to tapas. Bar-hopping with tapas! Woo-hoo! I only hope I will be up to it when I get there, and that my pilgrim attire will pass muster. Then again, people are supposed to be nice to pilgrims, so maybe a little scruffiness will get me a bonus tapa, on the house.
Above are two of my favorites: Gambas a la plancha (Grilled whole shrimp) and Albondigas (meatballs) Below: Grilled Boquerones (anchovies) and Pulpo (octopus)...who wants to join me?
The small plates of seafood looks mighty scrumptious, indeed. Count me in but, sadly, I won't be trekking the Path with you. I recall that I had once suggested to a visiting college friend of my wife that we go to a tapas bar nearby. I must not have enunciated well enough as after a pause, she replied yes, but only if the place featured some attractive young men that she could ogle at.
Posted by: Edward Koizumi | 07/03/2014 at 07:49 AM