Tag Archives: tapas

jueves santo 2025

17 Thursday Apr 2025

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

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Today I went out mantilla hunting… love seeing the women dressed in black on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, so elegant with their black lace mantillas draped over a tall tortoise shell comb. I especially love the older women (some of the younger ones are in tight black mini-dresses with cut-away fronts like… wtf??). The idea is that the women are in mourning because Christ has died, and it’s a lovely tradition when done properly.

As I had to get deep into the Cathedral zone and my old neighbourhood Barrio Santa Cruz to catch the mantilla ladies out in force we ended up stopping in at Casa Román on the off chance they had a free table… and yes they did, a perfect spot by the open door. Half an hour later the place was pretty much mobbed, so we got the timing right. Then on the way home I saw a couple of things that made me, well, sad. So when I got back I started writing about it… look for a new post on Substack tomorrow!

bowland & bay

27 Thursday Feb 2025

Posted by in gastronomy, sevilla, sherry, tapas tours

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You may remember Katie & Paul, who visited here back in the fall of 2023. We’d met through social media and then also got to meet in person and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. Katie runs food adventure company Bowland & Bay in Lancashire UK and this week she hosted her first “trial run” Sevilla Getaway with six close friends, and of course Paul (aka Sherry Boy) came along too.

At first Katie had wanted a Triana Tour and a Sherry Tour but of course I CAN’T WALK, which I didn’t think was still going to be an issue when we first started organising things last October. Well okay, I can’t walk much. So since there were going to be eight of them requiring a slightly modified itinerary anyhow, I basically came up with two new “experiences” for them which would require less walking (and taxis home) for me. And both of them went so well I may start offering a version of these shorter tours on my website. Because, other than still being able to do my Sherry Tastings, the tours have been on hold since last summer. We shall see.

Meanwhile, Katie is already organising her next Sevilla Getaway for next October and I’m already looking forward to it.


radish fever

11 Tuesday Feb 2025

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

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Jeffrey was in town over the weekend and on Saturday he invited me out for THIS AMAZING LUNCH at La Carmela. But before that we had to stop in at Las Golondrinas so Jeffrey could get his radish fix. This is a guy who regularly eats out at Michelin starred restaurants, as well as having his own place in Marbella called Andala, so it’s kind of cute how giddy he gets about these radishes. But they really are simply spectacular.

Somehow we both ended up starting on Substack at the same time last month and it’s actually been quite fun and helpful having a Substack buddy. We give each other encouragement and – really important at the beginning – helped each other figure out how the damn site worked (many whatsapp chats and calls). It’s quite a steep learning curve but works great once you get the hang of it. Anyhow, here are links to both our publications so go have a look and, if you like what you see, please consider subscribing for free, and if you REALLY like what you see you can opt to become a paid subscriber.

Substack – Bitesize Sevilla
Substack – Xtreme Foodies

175 years

30 Thursday Jan 2025

Posted by in anniversary, friends, sevilla, spain, substack, tapas, tapas bars

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chef Óscar with Reyes

Today I spent the afternoon with my friend Reyes Morales. Nothing unusual there as some of my most pleasant afternoons are spent with Reyes. But this time was different in that I was there to interview her (!) for an upcoming Substack post on the 175th anniversary of Casa Morales. I mean, I already knew a lot about the bar and its history, and also a fair bit about Reyes, but I discovered there was so much more that I didn’t know. It was fascinating listening to her story as we sat at the bar with me scribbling notes while we enjoyed tapas and wine together. Hoping to get it published over the weekend. Stay tuned…

christmas 2024

25 Wednesday Dec 2024

Posted by in christmas, sevilla, spain, tapas

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christmas day 24

After a cosy evening in yesterday, today it was time for a long standing Christmas Day tradition of stopping in at a couple of my favourite old tapas bars for jamón and cava. Am still sniffling a little with my Christmas Cold (first one since 2019, after 4 negative covid tests I am assuming this is actually “just a cold”) but I really wanted to get out and move a bit. Got off to a late-ish start because I wanted to fit in a chair workout first, so by the time we got to Las Teresas it was jam packed. All tourists. So we popped around the corner to Casa Román and totally lucked out! There were a few large tables filled with Spanish families but “my” little table for two in front of the windows was free, so down we sat. And – bonus! – we had the option of having the window open.

It was lovely. I was so happy to be there after so long and everyone was so happy to see me again. Used to be I’d go there with my tapas tours a few times a week, and also stop in on “days off”. But since I had to stop working last summer I think I’ve only been once. Anyhow, realising it was going to be a “one stop” tapeo today, we settled in for a nice lunch. Afterwards it was a long slow hobble home, but worth it.