Category Archives: gastronomy

london getaway 2017 | day 2

01 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, london, travel, twitter, welcome

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What an amazing day! It started off very promising with partly blue skies and billowy white clouds (instead of the forecasted thunderstorms) so we were cautiously optimistic as we headed over to London Fields station to meet up with Nicola @shedlikesfood and Mark @marcooth. Nicola had offered to take us on a tour of the markets in her ‘hood: Netil, Schoolyard and Broadway. Hell yeah!

We started off at Netil market for a light breakfast snack at the wonderful Yeast bakery, but before long it was Beer & O’clock and, after a stroll through busy Broadway Mkt we made our way over to Schoolyard and then back to Netil. Honestly, it was like being out with me, but in Hackney. Nicola knew all the best places to stop at each market, and exactly what to order. It was a delightful selection of delicious tastes: pillowy pork baos, crunchy fried chicken, spicy beef rendang and perfect pork dumplings.

Finally we could eat no more, though strangely we were still “thirsty” 😉 so our next stop stop was at Lardo, where we sat up on the highest bar stools I’d ever encountered and had a glass of wine, while chatting with the chef in their open kitchen. From there we went off in search of a pub and ended up at Spurstowe Arms (where by chance we had also finished up after our night out at Pidgin last summer). From there things got a bit silly, with Nicola, Peter and I getting through two bottles of wine (Mark was sticking with pints). Then Mark had to leave us, but Nicola wasn’t through with our tour of Hackney, and we – not very sensibly – went for even more drinks at her favourite neighbourhood cocktail bar Every Cloud.

After this Nicola left us and just as we were wondering what to do next (other than knowing that “whatever next” needed to include some food) I saw that the folks from Lahpet had left a comment on my Instagram, reminding me that they had moved from their food stall Maltby Street Mkt and now had a restaurant in Hackney. Perfect! We made our over and had a wonderful dinner. I was so pleased to see that brothers Dan Anton & Jono were doing so well. And the food was delicious.

So that was our first full day in London and, thanks to Nicola, it was spectacular. Also – it didn’t rain! It also kind of set the pace for the following days, of heading out mid-mornings and not returning to the apartment until bedtime. Exhausting, but fun.

fab pork baos from the original @bao_london location in Netil Mkt

Nicola with dumplings
scotch eggs at Broadway Mkt – took some home for breakfasts
spicy beef rendang at Schoolyard Mkt – a first for megorgeous tomatoes at Broadway Mkt

front row seats at Lardo – chef was great fun to watch and talk with

oops, second bottle of wine

spotted in Hackney – a pretty Nissan Figaro (with eyelashes)oops… cocktails at Every Cloud

fantastic Burmese dinner at Lahpet

bacalao galore!

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars, welcome

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bacalao galore
I usually cringe when someone refers to me as an “influencer”, but it this case the reference was in an invitation to El Bacalao, to try their new menu in their freshly renovated location in Plaza Ponce de León. So well, okay then. I decided that you can call me an influencer if it means attending a lovely event such as this, and off I went with Peter, where we joined a dozen or so other influencers for lunch.

The meal was served in a dining room in the back of the restaurant, and took the form of a tasting of thirteen menu items – four starters, seven main courses and two desserts, with either manzanilla sherry or white wine (even in small portions that’s a lot of food, but one has to be thorough).

As one might expect given the name of the restaurant, bacalao (salt cod) figured prominently in the menu, from the signature bacalao al ajo confitado, through pavias and croquetas to an excellent tartare. Other personal favourites included a lovely fresh spinach salad and the milhojas de cola de toro (oxtail). Many thanks to everyone at El Bacalao for making it such an enjoyable afternoon. I’ll be updating this on my Sevilla Tapas site asap so look for more pics there.

azahar gourmet getaways

28 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, instagram, spain, tapas tours, travel, trips

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Back in August 2013 I started my first Instagram account and called it @azahar, which as many of you know, has been my internet handle for a dozen years or more. Back then I didn’t actually think I’d end up using Instagram that much, which is why I opted for my “personal” name, rather than my “biz” name of Sevilla Tapas. Then last year I created a couple other Instagram accounts, @sevillatapas and @sevillatapastours, which were basically redirect accounts, because many people would refer to me on Instagram as @sevillatapas, since that original Instagram account had indeed become mostly about food & wine (and occasional cats pics).

Then in February 2016 I swapped names, taking @sevillatapas for my original Instagram account. But what to do with the @azahar name? One I personally identify with – in fact all of my blogs and webites have the word azahar in them somewhere. I didn’t want to stop using it, or worse, lose it. Well, as I was also starting on a new project – Azahar Gourmet Getaways – at the time, I decided to start using the newly renamed @azahar Instagram to promote that project, and so far it’s been working out nicely. I won’t start separate Twitter or Facebook pages for this project (yet) and, for the moment, it is simply being offered as a one of my Sevilla Tapas Tour options, even though it’s not specifically Sevilla-based. The focus is more on travel and cuisine throughout Andalucía.

Anyhow, hope to see you all on the @azahar Instagram too!  🙂

premios fogones

23 Thursday Mar 2017

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So remember last year when I won the Premio Fogones for Difusión Gastronómica? Well, this year I was invited to attend the ceremony and the swish reception afterwards but… had to work! I had a tapas tour booked before I knew about the awards and, well, this is what I do. And it somehow seemed fitting that the reason I couldn’t attend was because I was out doing what got me the award last year in the first place. Anyhoo… I decided to stop by after saying goodnight to my guests to see if the party was still going. And it was!

Well, as soon as I walked in the door I was bear-hugged by Antonio Cruz (left) who was clearly still on cloud 9 after having won the Best Front of House award for Becerrita Restaurant (that’s Jesús Becerra beside him). I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving, as Antonio has devoted his life to this often difficult work, and I have never seen him be anything but super professional as well as naturally friendly and helpful.

My “heir” Javier Compás proudly shows off his award, as I (also proudly) retire to the position of Premios Fogones emeriti. Although I was sorry to miss the event, I really did have a great tapas tour, leaving four lovely people totally in love with Sevilla’s food and wine. But I was glad that I was able to pop in briefly on my way home (albiet underdressed for the occasion) to say hi and congratulate the friends that were still there. Nice night.

eating out in sanlúcar…

15 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, tapas, tapas bars

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… was mostly disappointing this time round. The first day we just had a few very mediocre tapas here and there (the tortillitas de camarones at Casa Balbino – pictured above – being the exception). The second day we went to a new “gastrobar” that was quite nice, but you know… gastrobar. But third day lucky! Following a tip by José Caireles (whose bodega of the same name we weren’t able to visit this time) we ended up at the best hole-in-the-wall spot ever. The Peña Bética de Carlos serves up super fresh fried fish in a no-nonsense tiny space that also houses a local fan branch of the Sevilla’s Bétis football team.

Carlos cooks up perfectly fried fish and seafood in the small kitchen behind the bar, while brothers Manuel and Carmelo take care of the customers. There are about eight tables, all of which had reserved signs on them when we walked in around 1.30 pm on a Thursday. We managed to squeeze into a small spot at the bar and within minutes all tables and any standing space between them and the bar were full. It was organized chaos. I couldn’t believe this all ran so smoothly with just 3 people, but later Manuel told me it used to be just him and Carlos. Then when things started getting busy his brother Carmelo joined the team.

Not all of these dishes were ours. The couple standing next to us at the bar let me take photos of their prawns and salmoretes, even offering to share their dishes with us. All of it was delicious, but that big fat cuttlefish in the middle of the collage was definitely the star of the show. What a great experience, so much more fun than one of the expensive touristy beach restaurants in Bajo de Guía. Thanks again José!