Tag Archives: tapas

day trip to triana

04 Tuesday Aug 2020

Posted by in sevilla, tapas, tapas bars, triana

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day trip triana (1)

So I hadn’t been to Triana since just before LOCKDOWN, and I hadn’t seen my friend Peter @SVQconcierge in ages, so it seemed like a good time to do both after hearing that Las Golondrinas II had not only reopened after lockdown, but also had a swish new look. First stop was Triana market, antoher place I hadn’t been to since February. As it is now pretty much 50/50 bars and market stalls, it was pretty quiet, with most of the bars still closed. But good to see the market area busy as well as a couple of the original bars there. Interesting that the old bars were the only ones to reopen.

Las Golondrinas was fabulous as always, and *mostly* good with the Covid stuff, though they are still re-using their plastic bread bowls without washing them first. Otherwise good distancing and care taken with hygiene. Menu was printed on single-use sheets.

Next stop was Blanca Paloma, and had also undergone a bit of a makeover. Interesting take on distancing along their ample bar with new “tables” that jut out so you can sit across from your friend and still feel comfortable. Re: cutlery (a thing of mine!), brought to the bar on a clean plate on top of napkins. Food was delish. Menu on Q-code.

On the way home (back in Sevilla!) we decided to stop for a penúltima at Castizo, which I hadn’t been to since just after Christmas. Nice touch is that they’ve put tall potted plants between pairs of bar stools to ensure proper distancing and the rest of the space is also carefully organised. One good thing about an open kitchen is that you can see everything being prepared in front of you so you know every precautions is being taken.

And then it was home again. This sort of afternoon would have been a usual part of my week on days off when I wasn’t taking out tours. Going out for lunchtime tapas, meeting up with friends and the people who run the bars, taking pics for updating my website, checking in on what’s new. Sadly now this is now down to about once a week. But hey, better than nothing! Photos below…

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coronavirus cutlery

30 Thursday Jul 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, restaurants, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

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outlery
I’m gonna need a bigger handbag. I’ve noticed when going out these days that I need to carry a few extra items with me. Like a paper envelope to store my mask if I stop for a drink or a tapa. A whack of folded up paper towels to mop my sweaty brow (it’s 40º out there guys!) because I don’t think using my usual abanico is a good idea as I’d just be fanning surrounding air into my face, possibly filled with those pesky and possibly lethal droplets. Also there’s my small bottle of hand sanitizer, a pair of latex gloves, emergency sunglasses… so my usual small, cute and comfy summer bag isn’t going to cut it anymore. Especially as I have now decided to include a set of picnic cutlery.

For the most part the bars I have either eaten at or popped into to check things out have been doing things very well in terms of distancing and hygeine. My pet peeves are that some are still using the dread yellow cloth over and over, whereas the best option for disinfecting tables and chairs after each use is recycled paper towels. But the worst is that some are still serving bread and cutlery in baskets that are then reused without having been cleaned at all. I mean, this was always a gross practice, but now?? Seriously, what is wrong with people.

After a recent experience I decided I should always have my own clean cutlery in my bag just in case. And it turns out that there are lots of interesting options on the internet, including these very cute and colourful stainless steel ones by Outlery that screw together and so fit into a tiny box. But I think for now I will be putting together an assortment of teaspoon, tapas fork and dessert knife from my own cutlery at home, toss them in an envelope with a couple of serviettes and see how that goes.

día mundial de la tapa

18 Thursday Jun 2020

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars, the new now

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tapas day (3)

I didn’t even realise today was Día Mundial de la Tapa (World Tapas Day)! What a perfect moment to have my first tapa out in 97 days. And well it had to be THOSE gorgeous honey pork ribs at Eslava.

The day started off with a visit to the Alcázar Palace and Gardens, which just opened up to the public on Monday. I thought it would be nice to visit again before the marauding hordes start arriving here on Sunday. So I arranged to meet my friend Corinna at 11.30 (carefully timed so that after our palace visit it would be BEER O’CLOCK).

casaCorinna

Along the way we stopped in at a couple of bars just so I could say hello to people there. It was so lovely seeing dear friends again. Corinna and I  lucked out at Eslava and got a nice socially distanced space at the bar and had an amazing lunch. And I got to see Sixto! He runs Eslava with his wife and I’ve known him for many years. We agreed that the “reopening” in our new now is more than just about business, or even the food. It’s about the people, the ambiance, the… everything! Damn it felt good to be back.

tapas day (4)
Sixto

tapas day (1)

Baby courgette filled with bacalao
Croquetas caseras
Becquer’s cigar
Stuffed courgette flower
Cheesecake

lockdown takeaway lunch

10 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, friends, gastronomy, lockdown, lockdown sevilla, sevilla

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lunch (3)

So remember Dan & Deb? They are home in London wishing they were here, and cooking up a storm on Dan’s Instagram @dan.jamon. We’ve been staying in touch, and looking forward to meeting up again some day at Las Teresas. THEN, I got a surprise voice message from Jeanine (La Azotea) the other day saying that those two lovelies had purchased a voucher for me to get some home delivery. So nice of them! As you know, I am still mostly keeping myself in Phase 1 of the de-escalation process, while the rest of the country has moved on to Phase 3. Which means I still haven’t dared to go out to a bar or restaurant, even for a Cold Beer O’clock. And as much as cooking lunch has been one of the things saving me from going completely bonkers from boredom at home, this was a total treat. Really my dream La Azotea meal.

lunch (1)

I got one of the saquitas (crispy pastry filled with prawns, cheese and leeks), my favourite battered prawn salad with kimchi sauce, THOSE rabbit ribs and a bottle of Chan de Rosas albariño. Heaven.

Gotta say that La Azotea was the first restaurant in Sevilla (that I know of) to start offering pick up and delivery services. They were on it just like that, up and running four days after Lockdown. Impressive. Jeanine and Juan along with their amazing team have been keeping Sevilla fed and happy all this time, and now it was my turn thanks to Dan & Deb.

lunch (2)Jeanine with my delivery
it was SO hard not to give her a big hug

azotea teamTeam Azotea

Now La Azotea is open for restaurant service (at their Conde de Barajas location) and they have everything perfectly set up for proper social distancing, and are also continuing with take-away and delivery service. Whatever it takes, these guys are there for you. xx

home delivery during lockdown

24 Tuesday Mar 2020

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

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El Mercado de Sevilla

Today I went out for my weekly supermarket run (and rubbish dump). My last time out was on Wednesday, when I noticed changes since the previous visit to El Corte Inglés supermarket at the beginning of the lockdown. Staff were all wearing gloves and masks and we were handed plastic gloves on our way in. Today security had been stepped up, with gloves and sanitiser left out for our use on a table on the way in, and cashiers were being protected behind plexiglass.

All this time I’ve been feeling bad about not supporting local independents more but the sad truth is that the small guys aren’t able to offer the same protection for both staff and customers that the bigger supermarkets can. Being in a high risk demographic – over 60 with autoimmune shit going on due to previous stage 4 cancer & chemo – I just don’t want to take the extra risk.

Meanwhile, last week my friends Jeanine & Juan who run the amazing La Azotea, started offering daily menus for home delivery, along with selected items from their regular menu, and also wines. This is a great option for people who haven’t had time to shop, don’t like cooking, or simply miss their favourite La Azotea dishes. You can follow them on their Instagram stories to see the daily specials.

And today I found out about a new iniciative started by four friends, including my pal Javier, chef and owner of Taberna Lalola, called El Mercado de Sevilla, offering an online platform for local independent food shops and suppliers to provide home delivery. It’s free of charge for suppliers to join and there is no delivery charge. It’s still early days, but the website is up and runnying as of today.

La Azotea Sevilla