Guide to Barcelona

Tapas

Tuesday, 29 June 2010 08:13

Restaurants in Barcelona

When coming to Spain, one of the most popular dishes are tapas, no matter where in Spain they might be. Tapas are a variety of appetizers or snacks. They can be cold or warm. The word "tapas" is derived from the Spanish verb tapar, "to cover".

The tapas tradition began when king Alfonso X of Castile recovered from an illness by drinking wine with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns would not be allowed to serve wine to customers unless it was accompanied by a small snack or "tapa". Another story tells that Andalusian sherry drinkers would cover their glasses between sips with  some bread or meat. This was a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry. Because of this, bartenders and restaurant owners began creating a variety of snacks to serve with sherry, thus increasing their alcohol sales.

Tapas have become a huge success in Spain as well as abroad as they serve the purpose of socialising with other people. Individuals gather in bars and have tapas together or each person orders some tapas and shares with the rest so that everybody can taste them all. Additionally, tapas help overcome the often very long time between lunch and dinner, as the Spanish usually eat between 9 pm and 11 pm or sometimes even 12.

In Barcelona, as mentioned earlier, Tapas are only an export product. Nonetheless one can have very good tapas in Cataluñya as well. Diners need to be aware though that the menu might be in Catalan, which makes ordering a little bit trickier. However, almost always the tapas are displayed so one can choose by looking at them.

The most common Tapas one can find in Barcelona are:
- Patatas Bravas –deep-fried potato chunks served with a spicy sauce
- Croquetas/es –small food rolls mostly made from shredded chicken or ham mixed with a béchamel sauce
- Champiñones/Xampinyons: sauted or grilled mushrooms usually served cold
- Jamón: cured ham
- Calamares rellenos: squid stuffed with chopped meat, ham or mushroom
- Cargols/Caracoles: Escargot, roasted or cooked in a olive oil and garlic based sauce
- Gambas/Camarones: grilled Shrimp with garlic and olive oil

Y mucho más...

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