Tapas

February 18, 2007

Tapas

A taste of Spain is what we were looking for when Duarte and I went away for a night without the kids to a small city in Spain called Ourense. We were celebrating the anniversary of the day Duarte proposed to me – which we have always celebrated and it was also my first night ever away from Jenna.

Ourense is a beautiful city with rivers, incredible bridges and a great shopping area in the center of the city where the streets are closed to cars. We arrived in the evening without a hotel reservation. Duarte stopped at a travel agency to ask about hotels in the city center. A woman working there who was just getting off work offered to walk us to a hotel that she knew of as the directions were a bit confusing. She was so generous, taking time to show us around the area surrounding the hotel and giving us an insiders perspective on the many different places to eat.

Looking to experience a little bit of Spanish culture, we decided to spend our evening hopping from one Tapas bar to another. Tapas are small plates of appetizer-like food which costs about 3 or 4 euros per plate. The first place we stopped had 10 tables, a bar and old, dark wooden beams lining the ceiling. The people inside were professionals dressed in their work clothing – enjoying a bite to eat and a drink before going home. We didn’t really know what we were ordering when we ordered “batatas bravas” and we were surprised when french fries with mayonnaise appeared. They tasted pretty good anyway and we enjoyed a tall glass of the house wine to accompany them for only 1 euro.

Moving on, the next place we stopped (about 2 doors down) was frequented by college students. Once again we ordered without really knowing what we would get. This time it was shrimp and squid. I didn’t mind experimenting with the squid; the experience itself was so unique, that the food was secondary. Stopping at each Tapas place, was like flipping through channels on a television. Each place had its own charisma and the people inside had their own stories. I enjoyed seeing people of a different culture casually interact, speaking Gallego jubilantly. The accented Spanish sounded like a song.

The third place we went was dark and underground. The crowd was mixed but mostly college students. Duarte ordered pimentos pedron. This time we did know what we were ordering because we had had these once before with Lipe and Susana - however, with a very different outcome. Pimentos Pedron are small, green peppers, roasted with salt. The fun part about these tapas is that though all of the peppers look exactly alike, some are spicy hot (muy picante) and others are not. There is impossible to discern the hot peppers from the plain peppers. Each bite is a gamble.

Duarte was really excited about these tapas as he likes spicy food. I too looked forward to the snack as I enjoy the peppers that aren’t spicy. The order arrived on a plate with about 25 peppers scattered around the plate. In the center of the plate was one red pepper. Duarte eagerly claimed the red one first which turned out to be a great mistake. That red pepper was HOT. For someone who usually can handle the hottest of foods, I was amazed by his reaction. His eyes were tearing; his nose was running. Sweat beads were forming on his forehead. He was taking large gulps of his wine. Meanwhile, while laughing at him, I was picking at the green peppers, delighted that thus far I had avoided the spicy ones. And then I found one! The bite was deceptive at first. It tasted just like the mild peppers tasted and then suddenly the heat took over the senses in my mouth. Oh my god it was hot. The whole underside of my tongue was on fire. Quickly, I ordered bread and when it arrived (not soon enough) I tore the bread apart and stuffed the pieces between my teeth and gums and under my tongue. It wasn’t working. Duarte ordered beers for us. When they arrived, we gulped them quickly only to find that the flavor of the peppers mixed with the beer was nauseating. Duarte with his mouth agape and tongue askew was desperate, he was asking me to blow into his mouth in a last stitch effort to cool the fire. Through my own burning misery, I laughed until I nearly fell out of my chair. I wasn’t sure how we were going to survive this but it was so, so funny.
Once we realized that neither bread, nor beer, nor wine, nor blowing was going to cool our smoldering mouths, we decided to leave as quickly as possible and find some ice cream.

We found ice cream in yet another tapas bar along the way. There we met a bar owner from Argentina who interrupted a disagreement Duarte and I were having about desserts. My argument was that though Portuguese desserts are wonderful, they just seem to be missing some of the rich indulgence that American desserts have. The bar owner staked his own claim that dulce-de-leche from Argentina was the best dessert. He then proceeded to pull out his own private stash from the small refrigerator behind the bar to share with us. He was right. It was really good!

The night went on and on like this. We enjoyed food and drink all around the town center of Ourense. It was so refreshing to be in a place where people were simply enjoying the social time. Because tapas are so small and so light, more attention is paid to the people and the conversation rather than the food. The night was flavorful, fun, full of laughter and another great cultural lesson. Best of all, Jenna seemed completely unfazed by our absence. I can’t wait to go back!