Spain Restaurant & Tapas Bar
513 Tampa St.
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 223-2831
http://www.tomaspain.com
513 Tampa St.
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 223-2831
http://www.tomaspain.com
Tapas 101, or, "Why the hell is the plate so small?"
Tapas, friends, is catching on. Or perhaps it is already out of style, as we here at Take Out Talk are usually a little behind on the trends. Regardless, "tapas" is a Spanish word that translates roughly to "appetizer" or "small plate." The legendary The Joy of Cooking tells us that the original tapas were merely bread slices that Andalusian bar-goers used to cover their glasses between sips of drink to keep the flies out. Delightful!
Today, tapas is a much more appealing concept, and specialized tapas bars are popping up all over the place. The concept is simple: get a few friends together, order several plates of tapas, and eat your way through the evening. Everybody gets to sample a little of each, and the meal becomes less about filling your stomach and more about socialization. And why shouldn't it? Eating out is a huge part of our culture, and we'll come up with desperate, often flimsy reasons to meet up with our friends and knock back a few chicken wings. Tapas just takes that togetherness a step further.
There are very few hard-and-fast rules about what is acceptable on the culinary front, and thus the dishes can range from the simple (a plate of assorted olives and cheeses) to the extravagant (octopus, mushrooms, chèvre).
Spain, on Tampa Street in the middle of downtown, manages to find some middle ground between rustic and avant-garde. Conveniently, it was my birthday weekend, so I already had a nice little entourage of willing and hungry loved ones; exactly what you need for a successful tapas dinner.
Let it be known that every Friday and Saturday night, Spain hosts a flamenco show. This is quite a feat considering the restaurant itself can only house about fifty or so patrons when packed to the rafters. Some tables are very, very close to the stage, which houses a flamenco dancer and a modest band of enthusiastic Spanish gentlemen. On these nights, there is a $6/person cover charge tacked onto your bill. The show, while fantastic and beautiful, is very loud. If you're planning on breaking up with somebody or negotiating some kind of business deal, weekends at Spain may not be the place to do it.
My table of four ordered a pitcher of red sangria ($25 for a veritable drum of it; if you want to get your money's worth, bring five or so wine-drinkers...or appoint a designated driver). In the end, there were five plates of tapas between us, which sent us home feeling pleasantly satisfied instead of overstuffed. They were as follows:
Calamares Fritos: Fried squid served with a spicy sauce;
Croquetas: Stuffed with Spanish serrano ham and served with aioli sauce;
Champiñones Extravaganza: Variety of mushrooms served over toast with goat cheese in a creamy sherry wine sauce;
Paella: Seafood rice served with clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp, chicken, ham, and chorizo; and
Empanadillas de Carne: Everybody's favorite meat pies, only tiny.
I'll make this quick, as there are five dishes to cover instead of the usual two. The mushrooms "extravaganza" wins in the taste and originality department. My only complaint was that there was only a minuscule amount of goat cheese. For the goat cheese-phobics (you crazies), don't be scared away from this item. The mushrooms certainly take center stage here.
The croquetas came in at a close second, although I wasn't sure where they came up with the serrano ham part. While they were definitely filled with something delightful, it wasn't ham.
The paella, calamari, and empanadillas were quite good, but were nothing outrageously spectacular. Additionally, I found the paella to be a bit lacking in fantastic seafood goodness. One of the many (sadistic) pleasures of that dish is digging the doomed mussels from their cozy shells, and I was, unfortunately, denied said pleasure this time around.
For the people who skipped the "sharing" portion of preschool, Spain also offers full-sized big kid entrées as well. While some of these are merely enlarged versions of the tapas (paella, for example), many of them are stand-alone staples in the traditional styles of the Valencia, La Rioja, and Murcia regions of Spain. This means lots of fish, meat, and potatoes accented with fresh citrus, ubiquitous olive oil, and generous amounts of wine and garlic.
Spain also features a full bar and a limited variety of beers. Really though, just drink the sangria.
Spain is trendily decorated in modern, minimalist white-on-white. A nice pair of jeans and something other than flip-flops should have you blending in nicely. The staff is helpful and unpretentious, especially when you find you can't pronounce something on the menu.
Reservations are an okay idea, but certainly not required. We were seated promptly without them. Finally, Spain is open for all three meals, serving a traditional Spanish breakfast beginning at 7 a.m. Monday-Friday. Spain is closed on Sundays.
Atmosphere: A-
Food: B+
Overall: A
Tapas, friends, is catching on. Or perhaps it is already out of style, as we here at Take Out Talk are usually a little behind on the trends. Regardless, "tapas" is a Spanish word that translates roughly to "appetizer" or "small plate." The legendary The Joy of Cooking tells us that the original tapas were merely bread slices that Andalusian bar-goers used to cover their glasses between sips of drink to keep the flies out. Delightful!
Today, tapas is a much more appealing concept, and specialized tapas bars are popping up all over the place. The concept is simple: get a few friends together, order several plates of tapas, and eat your way through the evening. Everybody gets to sample a little of each, and the meal becomes less about filling your stomach and more about socialization. And why shouldn't it? Eating out is a huge part of our culture, and we'll come up with desperate, often flimsy reasons to meet up with our friends and knock back a few chicken wings. Tapas just takes that togetherness a step further.
There are very few hard-and-fast rules about what is acceptable on the culinary front, and thus the dishes can range from the simple (a plate of assorted olives and cheeses) to the extravagant (octopus, mushrooms, chèvre).
Spain, on Tampa Street in the middle of downtown, manages to find some middle ground between rustic and avant-garde. Conveniently, it was my birthday weekend, so I already had a nice little entourage of willing and hungry loved ones; exactly what you need for a successful tapas dinner.
Let it be known that every Friday and Saturday night, Spain hosts a flamenco show. This is quite a feat considering the restaurant itself can only house about fifty or so patrons when packed to the rafters. Some tables are very, very close to the stage, which houses a flamenco dancer and a modest band of enthusiastic Spanish gentlemen. On these nights, there is a $6/person cover charge tacked onto your bill. The show, while fantastic and beautiful, is very loud. If you're planning on breaking up with somebody or negotiating some kind of business deal, weekends at Spain may not be the place to do it.
My table of four ordered a pitcher of red sangria ($25 for a veritable drum of it; if you want to get your money's worth, bring five or so wine-drinkers...or appoint a designated driver). In the end, there were five plates of tapas between us, which sent us home feeling pleasantly satisfied instead of overstuffed. They were as follows:
Calamares Fritos: Fried squid served with a spicy sauce;
Croquetas: Stuffed with Spanish serrano ham and served with aioli sauce;
Champiñones Extravaganza: Variety of mushrooms served over toast with goat cheese in a creamy sherry wine sauce;
Paella: Seafood rice served with clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp, chicken, ham, and chorizo; and
Empanadillas de Carne: Everybody's favorite meat pies, only tiny.
I'll make this quick, as there are five dishes to cover instead of the usual two. The mushrooms "extravaganza" wins in the taste and originality department. My only complaint was that there was only a minuscule amount of goat cheese. For the goat cheese-phobics (you crazies), don't be scared away from this item. The mushrooms certainly take center stage here.
The croquetas came in at a close second, although I wasn't sure where they came up with the serrano ham part. While they were definitely filled with something delightful, it wasn't ham.
The paella, calamari, and empanadillas were quite good, but were nothing outrageously spectacular. Additionally, I found the paella to be a bit lacking in fantastic seafood goodness. One of the many (sadistic) pleasures of that dish is digging the doomed mussels from their cozy shells, and I was, unfortunately, denied said pleasure this time around.
For the people who skipped the "sharing" portion of preschool, Spain also offers full-sized big kid entrées as well. While some of these are merely enlarged versions of the tapas (paella, for example), many of them are stand-alone staples in the traditional styles of the Valencia, La Rioja, and Murcia regions of Spain. This means lots of fish, meat, and potatoes accented with fresh citrus, ubiquitous olive oil, and generous amounts of wine and garlic.
Spain also features a full bar and a limited variety of beers. Really though, just drink the sangria.
Spain is trendily decorated in modern, minimalist white-on-white. A nice pair of jeans and something other than flip-flops should have you blending in nicely. The staff is helpful and unpretentious, especially when you find you can't pronounce something on the menu.
Reservations are an okay idea, but certainly not required. We were seated promptly without them. Finally, Spain is open for all three meals, serving a traditional Spanish breakfast beginning at 7 a.m. Monday-Friday. Spain is closed on Sundays.
Atmosphere: A-
Food: B+
Overall: A
