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under pressure…

28 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by in food & drink, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

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So the other day Peter @SVQconcierge and I stopped in for a tapa on the way back from Andalucía Sabor and we were very disappointed in the quality of the fish, especially for a place that specializes in salt cod. It was tough and chewy, not nice at all. I mentioned it to the waiter and he said he’d let them know in the kitchen. Meh. We paid and left.

Later I  posted the photo on Instagram, mentioning how disappointing the tapas had been. Next day I got a call from the owner of the bar pleading with me to “modify” the post – he was clearly very upset that I hadn’t spoken to him first, and feared this negative post would affect his business. Well, first of all, the post was in English and the majority of my followers are not locals. Secondly, well, it was my opinion. I don’t often post a negative comment about places, but this experience had annoyed me.

After a second call from the bar owner I decided to just delete the post. It wasn’t worth “modifying” and I didn’t want to be pestered anymore, though afterwards I felt a bit annoyed with myself that I caved. Had it been a Sevilla Tapas review I wouldn’t have changed a word, but I’m still not sure I did the right thing.

Anyhow, after deleting the post the bar owner called me again, thanking me, and saying I would be invited to their next “new menu” tasting. Uh… no thanks.

#beeroclock

13 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by in instagram, photos

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I’ve been doing the Beer O’clock thing on my Sevilla Tapas Instagram for years, and can’t even imagine how many beer pics I’ve taken, but this is definitely one of my favourites. In fact I’d love this orange tree tile panel in my living room.

Then it occurred to me that if I ever wanted to see all those beer pics again (you never know), I should have been adding a more specific hashtag, other than #beeroclock. So I came up with #azaharbeer and added it to a few of the older photos, but it would take hours (days?) to re-tag them all. I know this because I remember it took forever when I re-tagged ALL my Instagram cat pics with #azaharcats, and there weren’t nearly as many as the beer ones. Maybe I’ll save this activity for when I can’t sleep at night – it should surely put me back to sleep.

elaine

17 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, sevilla

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Remember when I met Tim @clinchpics earlier this month? Well, turns out his friend Elaine also runs workshops at the same fabulous place –  Finca Buenvino – in the beautiful Aracena mountains. So while she was in Sevilla this week we met up a couple of times. First was taking in the whole Corpus Christi thang, as usual before the actual procession starts. We walked the route, then went for brekkie, and afterwards watched some of the procession before heading home.

Later that same evening Elaine joined me on a tapas tour, with two other couples, and it was great fun. She has such great energy and is smart, sassy and well-travelled. We really had a great time together. The good news is that Elaine has fallen in love with Sevilla and is working on a plan to live here at least a few months a year… so we may end up being neighbours!

jose toro walkers

02 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in instagram, photos, sevilla

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One of my favourite Instagram feeds is by Sevilla-based JoseToro.0, which features, well, people walking. Wonderful slice of life photos (go have a look and come back). Then last December José started a second account called JoseToroWalkers (also the hashtag he uses on his personal account) as people from around the world have been capturing #josetorowalker images and sharing the hashtag.

So here is my first one, captured while walking from one bar to the next (yeah, I know…). And it turns out that this fellow is quite well-known in the barrio. You can also see it on my Instagram here… https://www.instagram.com/p/BUzaDnvjR9p/

clinchpics

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, instagram, photos, sevilla, tapas, twitter, twitter friends, wine

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Yet another online friend I’ve “virtually” known for years. Although Tim @clinchpics has passed through Sevilla many times en route to his photography workshops at Finca Buenvino in the beautiful Aracena mountains, this time he decided to stop off for a couple of days and take in the sights. And so, after meeting up for a quick manzanilla at Las Teresas, we headed over to La Sal for lunch. And WHAT a lunch it was…

[click on image to enlarge]

La Sal specializes in all things tuna (the original family-run restaurant is in Zahara de los Atunes) and as we are in the almadraba season – the annual sustainable tuna catch off the coast of Cádiz – it seemed like the perfect time to revisit the Sevilla location. Seriously, it was one of the most spectacular meals I’ve had in quite awhile, starting off with marinated sardines on toast, followed by tuna loin cured in pork fat (wow) and a delicious bite of “something tuna” which ingredients now escape me. After that some tuna in tempura with bonito flakes (delish) and a “bento box” of six delightful tuna bites. Finally we opted for the tuna morillo (collar) baked in salt and served with Japanese style noodles. You can watch Antonio serving it here…

Antonio serves morillo de atún a la sal with stir fried noodles and veg… La Sal #Sevilla #almadraba

A post shared by Shawn Hennessey (@sevillatapas) on

The wine and conversation flowed and it felt like I’d known Tim forever. And as so often happens we stopped for a post-lunch Penúltima (or three) at La Azotea (aka The Office). Then it was time for me to get home, and so I left Tim with a tapas bar Plan of Action for the evening, feeling happy to have met a new friend and kindred spirit.

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!  🙂

richard

14 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by in friends, instagram, internet, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

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richard

That’s Richard @lucidcontent on the right, with his friend Neil. I’ve “known” Richard on Instagram for a couple of years now, the connection between us being his best friends David & Julie, who came out with me on a tapas tour a couple of years ago. Anyhow, Richard was passing through town this week and we got a chance to meet up in person. A very nice evening!

david-co-3Dave, Julie & family

elbah

08 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, instagram, sevilla, social media, spain

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elba

I’ve been following Elbah on both Twitter and Instagram for ages. She is not only as obsessive about posting fab food pics as I am, but a lot of her photos are taken in Sevilla and Málaga. So a few days ago I left a comment under one of her Sevilla food pics that we should meet for a tapita one of these days, and she agreed that this would be a great idea.

Then, when I was walking home from the Sherry On Top event on Wednesday evening, Peter and I decided to stop into Tradevo Centro for a penúltima. On the way in I spotted a spectacular looking fish dish and asked the people sitting at the table if they would mind if I took a photo of it (yeah, I know…). And one of the women said “Are you Azahar???” and we both went a bit crazy then, laughing and hugging like old friends. Of course, it was Elbah. And it turns out we are actually neighbours! So plans are now afoot to do some serious Tapas Research together. LOVE social media…

sevilla tapas instagram

11 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by in food & drink, instagram, sevilla, social media, spain, tapas, tapas tours

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st instagram

When I first started using Instagram I made sure I didn’t make the same “mistake” I had made with Twitter… having too many accounts. So I started using my @azahar Instagram account for everything: personal, travel, sherry, tapas, food tours. I didn’t realise back then that I would end up using Instagram so much, but decided to leave things as they were. Of course this ended up with some confusion with linking, and people who knew me as Sevilla Tapas would use @sevillatapas on Instagram, which linked to nothing. So I created a @sevillatapas account as a placeholder, which directed people to my @azahar account. I also created a @sevillatapastours placeholder account, mostly so that b*tch who stole my name couldn’t start using it, but also because that’s how many people know me.

Then this week I decided to add social media links to the @sevillatapas account so that, say, if someone used that on Instagram, it would link to my Sevilla Tapas twitter and facebook. Confused yet? Anyhow, by doing that suddenly I started getting all kinds of new followers as this automatically sent out notices, and I wondered whether I should have just changed the name of the @azahar account. Too late now!

Meanwhile, I did set up a separate @WeLoveTapas Instagram last year, which made sense as it is a separate business and brand. But, for now at least, I will keep using the @azahar account for everything. Phew!