Interior of restaurant Sagaretxe with tapas on the display on the counter
Last night I posted a status update on Facebook about going out for tapas here in Madrid. One response from a friend and neighbor made me think a little. Her comment reminded me that I need to explain myself a little more at times. How many people in the U.S. even know what tapas are? I’ll freely admit that 12 months ago I didn’t know. It’s not like Spanish restaurants in the U.S. are a dime a dozen. Personally I can only think of two in the Cleveland area. With this in mind, I’ve decided to dedicate the blog that follows to unraveling the mystery of Spanish tapas.
For those of you who don’t know, tapas are a one or two bite snack that Spaniards enjoy on a regular basis. Going out you can enjoy an appetizer or snack or you can order several and make a meal. Most tapas bars in the city actually have all their offerings arranged, under glass, on the counter and you simply walk up and point to what you want. As far as types of food, tapas can be anything from thinly sliced cured ham, fresh bread topped with cheese or a seafood salad, or even a slice of Spanish tortilla.
Another quick note here, Spanish tortilla is nothing like the Mexican variety. The tortilla in Spain is a potato omelet. Imagine taking cooked sliced potatoes, putting them in a round baking dish and adding scrambled eggs. After baking it, what you end up with is a giant round egg and potato cake that is about an inch thick. The cake is then cut into slices and served, like pie, usually cold or at room temperature. While the idea of cold eggs to most Americans may sound un-appetizing, I assure you that it is really delicious. At some sandwich shops you can even get a bocadillo de tortilla española (Spanish tortilla sandwich).
Pictured is a typical Spanish Tortilla
According to the book Hidden Madrid by Mark and Peter Besas, the origin of Spanish tapas goes all the way back to the 13th century. According to legend, the king at the time Alfonso X came down with an illness and was advised by his doctors to indulge in small sips of wine while he ate small portions of food between meals. The King soon recovered and decided that this custom would improve the health of his entire kingdom. To accomplish this he passed a law requiring all the taverns in Castille to provide a small portion of food gratis or free whenever someone ordered a glass of wine or beer.
The law also made sense for the working classes of the region. In those days it was custom for working class men to take a mid-day break or siesta to avoid the hottest portion of the day. Contrary to what most Americans believe, they didn’t all go home and sleep. Instead many of these men headed to the tavern to knock back a drink or two before going back to work. The problem was that most of these men lacked sufficient funds to purchase food along with their alcohol. So they would drink on an empty stomach and go back to work tipsy. By requiring the tavern owners to provide a small portion of food with all alcoholic drinks, the hope was that the men would stay a little more sober and return to work more productive.
The result of this rule is that anywhere you go today, if you order an alcoholic drink you will be served a small portion of something to accompany it. This could be a small basket potato chips, a slice of tortilla española, or even a slice of cured ham. Speaking of cured ham, it is thanks to a slice of ham that the Spaniards have the name “tapas” which translates to cover or lid. The term tapa goes back to the early 20th century and a waiter at a little tavern in Càdiz. Legend has it that King Alfonso XIII was travelling along the beach when he and his entourage decided to stop for a drink at a tavern called, El Ventorillo del Chato. The King ordered a glass of sherry, and just as he was about to take a drink the wind kicked up blowing sand into the tavern. The waiter, who was thinking fast, used a nearby slice of cured ham to cover the glass and prevent the sand from getting into the King’s sherry. When the king asked what the waiter was doing, the waiter replied that the ham was a “tapa” or cover for the drink. Amused by the idea the King requested another tapa with his next glass of sherry and soon the entire entourage was requesting tapas with their drinks.
In Madrid today the tradition of the tapa has been elevated to an art form. You still have the traditional small bowl of chips etc… but you also can enjoy establishments that only serve tapas. In this case they are usually elaborate and you do not receive them free. Usually you pay by the piece and all the available tapas the tavern or restaurant has to offer are either displayed on the bar or they have an actual tapas menu.
The restaurant I enjoyed tapas at last evening was named Sagaretxe and featured Basque style tapas. This meant that all the tapas they served were set atop a slice of fresh baguette (bread). Because the Basque region of Spain is on the Atlantic, the majority of their tapas or pinxtos as they are called in the Basque country have a seafood element. Pinxtos are pronounced like “pinchos” in English. As you order your server or bartender keeps track of the number of pinxtos you order and you pay all at once. The restaurant we went too had the option of ordering eight pinxtos for 12 Euro or twelve pixtos for 20 Euro. We picked out twelve, which was enough to feed our family.
Basque Style Pinxtos or Tapas
One nice thing about tapas bars, especially to Americans, is that they open earlier than most restaurants. Spain, like many Mediterranean countries has a vastly different meal schedule than the United States. In Spain they usually don’t have dinner until sometime after eight p.m. and even as late as 10 p.m. Many restaurants close at 3 or 4 p.m. and don’t reopen until 8:30 p.m. Tapas are kind of like the bridge between a 2 p.m. lunch and a late dinner. For a family from the States, with two small children, Tapas are nice because they allowed us to go downtown on a Wednesday night, have dinner (tapas) and still be home for the kids to go to bed at a decent hour.
Our experience at Sagaretxe was excellent and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the city. Far from intimidating, ordering Tapas is fun and the food was amazing.
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