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What's a "tapa?"


63galaxie

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I read that there are great "tapa bars" in San Juan. What is a tapa?

 

As others have answered, tapas are small dishes of appetizers. The concept is originally Spanish, but many Latin American countries serve them. In the US, they have been served at least since the 70s at The Ballroom in NYC. I have seen Tapas restaurants in other areas too, but they are typically priced and served more as a restaurant would normally serve their food - on larger plates. They usually have both an assortment of hot and cold tapas. In Spain and NY, they are usually served right from the bar and as you drink. You can pick out what looks good. The portions are too small for a meal and they are usually priced as such. If you order a bunch of tapas for a table, everyone gets to sample more different kinds of food. I love the concept and have had tapas parties in which I prepare 8 or 10 dishes and set them up on a buffet for friends to nibble on while drinking and talking.

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a tapa is a small appetizer but it also means a cover or lid. some say that back in the day bars would cover a drink with a small saucer to protect it from the elements (bacteria, debris, whatever, but most likely black flies if you ask me! they are terrible here), and somewhere down the line they started placing a small bit of food on that saucer and thus the tapa was born.

 

you can really make a meal out of them and it's particularly enjoyable to order with a group of friends, get lots, and try a bit of everything, it's a very social experience. going "tapa-hopping" is fun but it often involves just as much tinto de verano, cerveza, or sangria as it does tapas ;) you sit down, watch a little futbol and have a drink and maybe one or two tapas and then move on to the next bar. repeat, repeat, and so on. :D

 

some bars offer a free tapa when you buy a drink and they just put it down in front of you without you even asking for it. tapas are often all differant types of queso, mediterranean olives/onions/pickles all mixed up together (there are so many types of olives here, olives stuffed with almond, garlic, mini pickles, and so many more), small crunchy minature breadsticks called picos, tortillas (a spanish omlet made from potato), chorizo (a spicy or flavorful sausage that is red in color), and then the crown jewel of spanish tapas-- jamon, which is ham cured at least for a year. the giant legs hang right from the ceiling in the bars and they shave off a bit right there when you order it in thin slices. They tend to have a very pungent aroma and a small funnel is hung from the bottom of the jamon to catch the natural oils that drip over time.

 

that was more than you asked for, but tapas are definately an experience in themselves.

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Tapas are a spanish (spain) concept. In Spain the largest meal is at lunch and the night meal is late and small. Usually before the late meal people go out and eat tapas. They are usually free and served in bars. People will usually go bar hoping and eating different things through out the night. Tapas are supposed to be free but many places in the US charge for tapas. My family is from spain but I was born and raised in NY and there are many tapas bars in NY but they do charge. You might as well order off the appetizer menu.. same thing.. except tapas are typically fancier and spanish heh. I'm not sure what they do in other spanish countries.

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