Category Archives: food & drink

bienvenido de nuevo!

08 Sunday Jul 2007

Posted by in culture, food & drink, home, photos, sevilla, tapas

≈ 8 Comments

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Welcome back Bar Giralda!!!

Back at the end of May I wrote this very sad post when I saw that the very best tapa bar in my street had closed. I later heard from the (ex)owner that it was going to reopen again as a tapa bar (not another Starbucks as feared) and I was very pleased to see that it had indeed opened again under new management last week.

Nog and I were finally able to get over there this evening for a tapa dinner and we were delighted to see most of the old staff working there. I was also happy to see that the new owner had repainted the walls creamy-white again (for some reason they were painted a horrid orangy-red last year that seriously clashed with the gorgeous old tiles).

But I digress. . .

Being Sunday evening, the joint was hopping. We finally got a table outside and it felt wonderful to know that we had our Bar Giralda back again. And the ‘new improved’ menu (basically higher prices for the same stuff … but at least it’s the same stuff!) also came with some extra entertainment value as the new English translations had us in stitches. I mean, ‘thousand leaves with pig’ was bad enough, but a variation called ‘thousand leaves if mushrooms’ almost had me on the floor.

Ah well, maybe you had to be there. . .

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~ Cervecería Giralda ~

adiós bar giralda!

23 Wednesday May 2007

Posted by in culture, food & drink, home, photos, sevilla

≈ 8 Comments

giralda-bar.jpg           cerveceria-giralda.jpg           giralda-dining-room.jpg

I’m devastated! The best tapa bar in my street – Cervecería Giralda – has closed. It’s such a landmark that it’s going to be hard to imagine Sevilla without it. I saw the owner this evening at his other bar, La Estrella, and asked him why he closed down the best tapa bar in the street and he said he wanted to start slowing down taking things easier. I reckon he was made an offer he couldn’t refuse as it’s in a very prime location. It better not turn out to be another bloody Starbucks!

Meanwhile, we can still go to La Estrella as the tapa menu is pretty much the same there and it’s only about a five-minute walk from home. But it doesn’t have the same charm and ‘ambientation’ and you can’t sit outside under the orange trees and enjoy people watching as well as a lovely view of the cathedral. f_wah.gif

[update: bar giralda reopened in July! ] 🙂

what kind of sandwich are you?

04 Friday May 2007

Posted by in food & drink, fun stuff, quizzes

≈ 18 Comments


You Are a Club Sandwich


You are have a big personality. It’s hard for anyone to ignore you!

You dream big. You think big. And you eat big.

Some people consider you high maintenance, but you just know what you want… and when you want it.

Your best friend: The Tuna Fish Sandwich

Your mortal enemy: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

What Kind of Sandwich Are You?

~ swiped from raincoaster ~

chance encounters

02 Wednesday May 2007

Posted by in food & drink, life stuff, miscellany, musings, sevilla

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Had a lovely time last night.

Nog and I had planned to go out for some tapas at one of our usual haunts but then decided to do something we’d never tried before, which was go to our favourite birthday/anniversary place Casa Robles and have a lightish meal at the bar (instead of the usual feast ). Just after we’d ordered a couple came in and sat down next to us and I heard the woman ask for a menu in English. The barman told her they only had Spanish ones and so I whispered to Nog, asking if it might seem too ‘pushy’ if I offered to help them translate the menu. He said he thought they would probably appreciate it.

And so we met Jan and Larry, a lovely couple visiting from Texas, and spent the rest of the evening chatting with them over a few glasses of wine and some gorgeous food. And we talked about other chance encounters and serendipitous experiences we’d had, in the end deciding that fate had brought us together – though Nog remained his usual sceptical self, saying that whether something is fate or not can only be decided after the event. 🙄

Anyhow, a wave to J & L in case you read this (I suggested they check out the Sevilla tapas page for future meals while they’re here). It’s turned out to be a very rainy day so I hope you manage to keep dry. And thanks again for such a nice evening.

Aren’t chance encounters great?
What are some of yours?

favourite sandwich?

07 Saturday Apr 2007

Posted by in food & drink, home

≈ 9 Comments

chicken-sandwich.jpg

I invented this sandwich for lunch today.

Meaning that I’d never had one exactly like this before. Crusty bread with lots of mustard grain alioli, thinly sliced onions, pan-grilled chicken breasts and arugula. I think it’s going to become a favourite here at casa az.

What are some of your favourite sandwiches?

(and feel free to add any all-time favourite recipes to the 24-hour diner)