On Tapas

Tapa in Spanish means a cover and was originally a little plate to put on top of your glass in a bar so the flies couldn´t get to your drink.

It became popular to put some snacks on the tapa and when I first came to Andalucia some 40 years ago it was common in all Spain.

Now, in Granada Province, there is still a tradition in bars to give free tapa with alcoholic drinks.

Well, not exactly all drinks but beer, wine and the likes.

(It doesn´t come with coffee and brandy and in some places it doesn´t even come with long drinks either.)

Anyway, I have decided to live dangerously so I always order “Costa wine” – that´s the local stuff.

There is no such official denomination and it is not sold in bottles so the only thing you know about it is that it is a strong wine – about 16% alcohol!

What arrives in your glass can vary from a tasty, Sherry-like wine that goes very well with seafood or olives to a rancid or sweet homebrew that upsets both stomach and brain.

The tapas also varies from peanuts to elaborated creations with perhaps a quail egg and Serrano ham or miniature skewers. Along the coast it´s often a grilled sardine on garlic bread, clams or langostinos.

The thing is – you can´t complain whatever you get because you didn´t order it and you don´t pay for it, right?

As a matter of fact – often you get the best free tapas at the cheapest places.

I think this is one thing that made me settle down in this area – the true generosity!

This willingness to share also appeared in the mountain village where I lived before. Often I would find a carrier bag full of avocados, oranges or tomatoes hanging on my door. Brought there by a friendly neighbour just because.

Back to tapas: Some of my friends inform me where there is a bar with good tapa, good wine or good prices in the surroundings. And naturally I do my own check-up – “it´s a tough job but someone´s got to do it!”

(I intend to mention the names of my favourite bars on this blog but not in form of lists or with addresses – if you want more information, just e-mail me!)

©Leif Svensson