13 Tuesday Jun 2023
Posted in restaurants, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars, wine
I remember being so excited when my first ever article for Decanter Magazine was published (in print) for their March 2019 Spain issue. Later on it was also published online. But of course it’s been a while and there have been a lot of changes happening here and everywhere, so finally I was asked to update my piece and, well, here it is!
09 Friday Jun 2023
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The first Festival de los Caracoles – CARACOLIA – is taking place June 9 & 10 down by the river and, popping over on opening night, it was actually great fun. Caracoles (small snails) are a true Sevillano traditional tapa and they are also seasonal. Unlike their larger brothers, the Cabrillas, they are cooked in a spicy broth and each tapas bar has its own “secret sauce”. During this event 13 bars from Sevilla province participated. There was live music and the setting couldn’t have been better on a warm breezy summer night…
19 Friday May 2023
Posted in culture, gastronomy, seasons, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars
We’re about mid-way through snail season. Yes, there are bars that serve them year round but those are grown in greenhouses. These are yer proper free-range wild snails! And as you can see there are two types. The tiny caracoles and the larger plumper cabrillas. They are also prepared differently. Cabrillas are cooked in a fairly standard tomato-based cuminy sauce, but with caracoles it’s all about the broth. Every bar has their own broth recipe and they really are quite distinct. Some are garlicky, others feature various herbs, some are quite peppery, and they are often served in a small glass so that once you manage to spoon and slurp out all the caracoles you can finish by drinking the broth. As you can imagine, a bit messy to eat (especially the cabrillas) because, although you are given a toothpick to dig the little buggers out of their shells, you still have to pick them up. BUT the best way to eat them, especially the smaller caracoles, is just to pick one up, and slurp it out broth and all.
16 Tuesday May 2023
Posted in friends, sevilla, social media, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours
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Today I did two of my favourite things… met up in person (first time) with someone I’ve known on social media for years and went out on a Tasting Triana Tour. Amy has been a Facebook pal forever and so when she and her husband Bill made a return trip to Sevilla they decided to look me up. And omg what a fun and delicious time we had. In fact we were having so much fun that we went into overtime with a post-tour penúltima (or two) so that I ended up rolling home around 7 pm (we’d started at noon). Being younger than me (who isn’t??) they carried on. What can I say? Sometimes you just click with someone and – the most important thing of all – sense of humour in sync.
Anyhow, Amy and Bill, thank you for being amazing and for brightening my day. It was so great getting to know you both. Hope you’ll be back! xx
09 Tuesday May 2023
Posted in sevilla, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, tourism, travel
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I had a very special guest on Monday evening… Rick Steves was in town and, as I’ve had the honour of being mentioned in two of his Spain travel guides the past few years (recommended by his local guide writer), it was high time we met up in person. Can I tell you? Rick is a lovely guy and a total force of nature. I had no idea what to expect, whether he wanted a tapas tour or just to talk about me and what I am doing and the Sevilla tapas scene, maybe get some recommendations on other places he could add to his guide… turned out that, yep, he wanted it all! And honestly, it was so much fun. Looking back, we stopped in at 16 (!!!) tapas bars and restaurants over five hours. Not eating at all of them obviously (we only did that at two stops) but checking out the places, ambiance, menus, etc. with Rick scribbling notes as we went. It was definitely a night of heavy researching.
Our first stop to actually stop at was Casa Morales. Reyes Morales was just coming back from walking her dog and said we had to come in and have a cold beer and a tapa. And well, who were we to argue with tapas bar royalty? At the last stop of the night, Salmedina, we also stopped in to eat. Rick had tried to get in the night of the Copa del Rey match and, well, no way. But luckily not only was there a table available for us, both owner/chefs were there (usually they trade off). Jaime and Pedro welcomed us and suggested we just try whatever they wanted us to try, thus a small but exquisite tasting menu ensued. My god. Every bite was heaven. And I even got to give Rick a little sherry education.
What can I say? It was a Tapeo Extremo to beat all others, all totally spontaneous and fun. Have already warned him that next time we’re going to Triana… and now that I know what he likes, well, it’s going to be epic.
Rick, thanks again for everything. Being in your guide has been amazing and I hope to continue being a trusted source for you and your travellers.
casa azahar 