When I interned in London, I experienced the culture in pints with my coworkers after work. Here, it’s tapas at the bar. I must say, I like the tapas tradition better. Order a drink, get a tapa. Order another drink, get a tapa. Tapas can easily become a meal for the evening. According to Wikipedia, the tradition began when King Alfonso X ordered taverns to not serve alcohol unless the person drinking it had a snack before (apparently drinking wine with smalls snacks saved him from an illness). I also have heard tapas helped to cover drinks from insects. Makes sense because “tapar” literally means “to cover.”
The whole tapa tradition is wonderful. I will try (most) anything that is put before me. It’s like sampling at CostCo, except far better because tapas are accompanied by a drink, interesting Spanish conversation and a warm bar setting. The food, so far, is wonderful, and I will continue making my own. Olive oil is super cheap here. It goes in everything I have made so far. Heck, I’m working in a town where “oliva” is part of the name.
Chorizo and semicurado cheese
Sometimes I don’t have my camera while I eat. I noticed this is a problem with the promise that I’ll take pictures of everything I eat and drink. That’s impossible. What is more possible is to take photos and remember the flavors and names of the food and drinks when I can. So here are some delicious things I’ve had since I’ve been here:
This is a caña, a small beer. Usually they are about a euro each and they are part of a very typical Spanish tradition. Gives a VERY different feeling than the British pints.
To all of those who have heard how much I hate things with tentacles, I tried and loved this. Rejos. They ARE tentacles, but anything fried becomes edible in my mind.
The plan soon is to get some friends together to buy a whole jamón ibérico. These are acorn fed pigs. These are the same pigs I’ve been talking about after I googled “food in Extremadura” and realized what a big deal they are (there is even a New York Times article about them.) I have wanted to try this delicious jamón, but it’s super expensive. Heck, I’ll put in some euros in with a group of friends to try one.
Cutting into this looks like an adventure.