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Category Archives: tapas

snail season 2018

23 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by azahar in sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

caracoles, sevilla, snails, spain, tapas

For those of you who think it’s all fun-fun-fun around here, with endless glasses of sherry and an infinite array of tapas… well, actually it is kind of like that. 😉 Though not every day of course, and not as “constant” as it may appear to be on my social media accounts. Heck, I can make one tapas bar visit last several days on SM via my various accounts. Also, I kind of publish things at random, so if you ever think I am drinking wine at 10 am… chances are I’m not (though on rare occasions it has been known to happen). Which brings me to SNAILS.

It’s now snail season in Sevilla. These are not the more well-known big fat French escargot that come drenched in butter and garlic… in fact, we have two types of snails here. The Caracoles are the smaller version, usually cooked in a spicy broth, and although you can use a toothpick to pry the little devils out of the shell, most people just put the shell to their lips and suck that baby out, sauce and all.

Cabrillas are bigger, and are usually cooked in a thick tomato-based sauce. With these guys you do need the toothpick, and you also have to take care with the sauce, which can splatter all over. I speak from experience.

But whether you love them or hate them (me? I like them!) it’s fun to try the different styles and sauces at different bars. Snails do seem like the most popular insect that have been introduced into Western diets. Thank you France! I mean, dousing anything in butter and garlic…

yo soy tu padre

09 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by azahar in food & drink, sevilla, social media, spain, tapas, tapas bars, wine

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bars, sevilla, social media, tapas, vermuteria

The other day someone got in touch with me by email. I didn’t know this person, but it turns out they come to Sevilla every spring and spend a month in Triana… and they often check my tapas bar info against their perceptions. Fair enough! This time they wanted to tell me about a new discovery of theirs, a new vermutería that just happens to be in my barrio. So of course I had to check it out.

It’s called Yo Soy Tu Padre (I Am Your Father) and the name stems from what Venezuela born owner Esteban’s grandfather always liked to say to his father, and also is in no small part a reflection of Esteban’s obsession with Star Wars. Below you can see a photo of Esteban’s grandfather, who also became the image for his logo. This is the third location and the newest. I am thrilled! Because not only does Esteban create all his vermouths from sherry wines, but they also do breakfast at this bar … with bagels! Did I mention it’s just down the street from my house? Will be breakfasting there soon, I think.

Meanwhile, how cool that someone I have never met went out of their way to put me in touch with this wonderful place. Thanks Sally!

van gogh alive

04 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by azahar in art, friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

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Tags

art, friends, sevilla, tapas

It’s not every day we get to have Beer O’clock in Van Gogh’s bedroom. Thanks to Pilar – who went ahead and booked tickets to Van Gogh Alive – we (Pilar, her mother, Peter and I) met up at the Pabillón de Navigación to take in the multi-media exhibit. Then it was off for a fab lunch at La Azotea Zaragoza. What a lovely day! 🙂

Pilar & Pilar

mr & mrs o

02 Friday Mar 2018

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

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

friends, tapas, travel, twitter, twitter friends, wine

Back in November 2015 I had the pleasure of finally meeting Ana & Simon (aka Mr & Mrs O), and we have stayed in touch since then via Instagram & Twitter, where we first met. So I was really excited to find out they were coming back to Sevilla for a quick weekend getaway, and yesterday I was once again there to meet them when they arrived at their hotel.

The weather was not in our favour, but luckily the RAIN let up for the entire evening. We began our tapeo with starter tapas at the fabulous Becerrita, near the hotel, before making our way to La Sal in barrio Santa Cruz for Almadraba red tuna. Then somehow it was suddenly a good idea to have more jamón for “dessert” at Las Teresas along with crisp, dry manzanilla sherry, and we finished with a sweet sherry nightcap at Vineria San Telmo.

Aside from the great food and wine we shared, we also shared plenty of stories and laughed a lot… the time just flew by. Can’t wait to do it all again. xx

tapas at Becerrita

almadraba tuna at La Sal

carnaval chiquito

28 Wednesday Feb 2018

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Andalucia, cadiz, cadiz getaway, carnaval, getaways, travel, trips

To be honest, you couldn’t pay me to go to Cádiz during Carnaval, so when Peter and I made a last minute decision to ditch El Puerto for a Sunday afternoon in Cádiz I was relieved that the celebrations had finished the previous weekend. Or so I thought! When we got to Hostel Casa Caracol to drop off the suitcase (a great service, and just a short walk from the train station) the guy at reception informed us that we had arrived just in time for Carnaval Chiquito, a kind of “last hurrah” until next year. Oh boy…

Our plan had been to do a three-stop tapeo at some of our favourite bars, as well as take a walk along the beach, and then stop in at the splendid Cafe Royalty before catching the train home. And well, we did manage all that, but both the streets and the bars were absolutely heaving (though to be honest, the bars are probably that busy on a Sunday anyhow). We totally lucked out with the weather, with the predicted rain holding off until after we got home, and warm enough to walk around in shirtsleeves. So it turned out to be a great afternoon and made me realize that I really have to visit Cádiz more often.

one perfect lacy tortillita de camarones at El Faro

three-bar tapeo: chicharrones de Cádiz at Casa Manteca
chocos & prawns at El Faro
grilled presa and stewed abanico at Cumbres Mayores

fabulous picatostes at Café Royalty

La Caleta beach and the Cádiz Balneario

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