TAPAS TOUR
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| Salmedina Cheesecake |
On our second full day
in Seville, Spain, we went on a pub crawl, ahem, I mean a Tapas tour.
If you’re not familiar,
tapas are small dishes of various foods served as snacks with drinks at a bar. This
informal approach to snacking and bar hopping is part of the social fabric of
Spain and you will find lots of locals carousing at the bar eating tapas and
drinking.
It is a great
opportunity to sample several dishes like Jamone from pigs fed exclusively with
acorns, or tuna, salted cod, olives, sheep and goat cheese, and sometimes beef,
and to venture out to at least one tapas bar should be a part of your trip to
Spain. Although it is possible to order larger potions called ranciones or
media (dinner plate size or half), it is the tapas-sized portions that are
usually served as friends stand at the bar. You could sit at a table or even a
table outside, but a true Spanish pub crawl in Seville has you propped up at
the bar.
KEEP A LID ON IT
Tapas means lid, and evidently
the origin comes from using plates to cover the glass to keep dust and insects
out of your drink, and first started in Andalusia, but whatever its history it
is a fun activity.
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| Casa Morales Seville |
Though it is sort of
easy to find a tapas bar in Seville as there are 3,000 of them and they are usually
noisy and brimming with a convivial crowd, we decided to book a “tour” with
Azahar Tours. Rather than risking a mediocre time we decided to go with a pro!
Shawn not only has an
intimate knowledge about the Tapas bar scene in Seville, as she’s lived there
for over 25 years, she genuinely cares about the experience of her patrons. Apart
from our tour, which was of three tapas bars with food and drinks included, she
provided Janet with a “cheat sheet” of several other tapas bars scattered all
over Seville in several barrios to explore on our own. With each listing she included
what we should order. She told us about Las Teresas in Santa Cruz, where we stopped
our first day in Seville and per her recommendation had tapas of Jamone, grilled
Tuna “Morillo”, Pavia de Bacalao and sheep cheese. When Shawn found out about
our itinerary to Cordoba and Ronda, she gave us several recommendations for
dinners in those two cities.
On our tour was a
couple of guys from California in Spain for a destination wedding, and that’s the general size
of Shawn’s tours. No larger than six.
WHAT’S THAT?
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| Casa Roman Tapas |
Part of the joy of a
tour like this is experimenting and trying foods a visitor may not even know to
order. For example, Pavia de bacalao, salted cod. I grew up in a Polish/Portuguese
neighborhood and the bodegas would have dried fish hanging up and to this younger
version of myself it was unappealing, until I went on Shawn’s tour. It was one
of the first tapas we ordered, and it was succulent and tasty.
Of course, Shawn
started the day asking us if there’s something we absolutely would not eat, and
she took it from there. Throughout our tour we sampled quite a few different
foods and by the third stop we were sated and all slightly inebriated.
SHERRY BABY / Can
you come out tonight?
Sherry became our ambrosia
after being introduced to this fortified wine from the Cadiz area by Shawn. We
learned most Sherries are dry not sweet, and an aged Sherry called Oloroso
became our favorite. A bit stronger in alcohol content the flavors of Oloroso are
fuller than other Sherries.
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| a girl and her Oloroso Sherry |
Shawn even introduced
us to a drink of equal parts Oloroso and a cream sherry for a refreshing if
dangerous libation.
Shawn knows Sherry and
happens to be a certified “Sherry Ambassador” having successfully completed a
Sherry Education Class offered by the ruling Sherry Council in Jerez a few
years ago. Who knew?
Another drink she
introduced us to was Tinto con Limon or Tinto Verano or Summer Red. Equal parts
red wine and lemonade, it is what the Spaniards drink in Andalusia during the
summer (never sangria).
Not regulated to just
Tapas tours, Shawn also holds wine tastings on request. She is an invaluable
resource when it comes to learning and imbibing and tasting Spain.
For more information on
how to book with Shawn and Azahar Tours: Azahar.sevilla@gmail.com
Our Tapas tour with
Shawn cost €190 with a tip. It was slightly less because we shared the tour
cost with the two fellows from California.
Here are the places on
the Tapas tour:
Casa Morales,
C. Garcia de Vinuesa,
11
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| Casa Morales |
In the El Arenal
barrio, just down the street from the Cathedral. We met in the back room where
we sat next to massive clay wine jugs looming over us. Despite the obvious great
selection of wines offered at Casa Morales I had a cerveza. We started our tour
with Jamon, of course, and pavia de bacalao.
Casa Roman, Pl. Venerables, 1
In the Santa Cruz barrio,
the old Jewish quarter and a very touristed area. Set on a beautiful square
with orange trees. Shawn said she started her Tapas touring at Casa Roman back
in 2007. The staff greeted her like an old friend. We had stuffed mushrooms and
our first Oloroso.
We would return to Casa
Roman another night to sit at a table overlooking Pl. Venerables for some Tapas.
CASA ROMAN SEVILLE
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| Pl Venerables w/Casa Roman left of the trees |
CASA ROMAN SEVILLE
Cerveceria Salmedina, C. Guardamino, 1
In the Alfalfa area of
town, a mostly residential section of Seville. Salmedina is a newer establishment
which opened after COVID forced the other owners out of business. Bright and
sunny with white and blue tiles, Salmedina didn’t have the same ageing charm of
Casa Morales or Casa Roman or Las Teresas, but it made up for it all with some
great food. Lots of seafood dishes and incredible individually sized
cheesecake. It was here Shawn introduced us to her Oloroso/cream sherry concoction.
When we returned the next night for food the proprietor recognized us and
whipped up a couple of those “Shawn Sherries” for us straightaway. We also had roasted almonds and a tomato salad
with roasted Tuna...and another cheesecake.
Shawn recommended on
her cheat sheet of bars several places and listed here are ones that we visited while in Seville.
Tradevo Centro. Cta. del Rosario, 15
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| Avacado "cannelloni" |
This place in the Alfalfa
section of town was crowded on a Sunday afternoon with local families. I swear
we were the only tourists in the place. Several rounds of Tinto Verano and the avocado
and prawn “cannelloni” was incredible.
Catalina La Barra, Plaza Alfalfa
We stopped here with
our new California compadres we had met on the Tapas tour for lunch. We ate a
lot and drank a lot sitting at an outside table.
Antigua Casa Diego, Alfareria, 5
In Triana section of
Seville, which is across the river. This section of the town is less touristed,
and on Sunday afternoon families were strolling the streets which were closed
off to vehicular traffic. When we ordered our Tinto Verano the waiter gave us
an approving nod. We sat outside and I had Pollo Frito and Janet got an octopus
salad…or ensaladilla de pulpo. Ugh...one critter I won't eat!
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| Antigua Casa Diego Triana |
Thanks for reading.
Love Janet and greg
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| Las Teresas |
