Alice Vol. 5 No. 2

Strolling along the streets of Spain and choosing a nightly dine
is no difficult game. Restaurant waiters, bar tenders, and talkative
locals practically stand outside the doors of their restorantes
inviting tourists, expats and locals alike in for a bite. Textbooks,
travel blogs, and study abroad students will all tell about the
tapas experience in Spain. A Tuesday night looks the same as a
Saturday night in the neighborhoods of Barcelona or Seville. Tapas
bars pour out music and liveliness as the people stream in for an
hour or so of conversation, a cocktail and a complementary crepe
before a friendly waiter suggests the cafe next door. There is little
room for restaurant competition in the tapas culture. In a dining
dynamic rooted in jumping from bar to bar to snack on light plates
and share tiny treats with bottles of house wine, it’s normal to hit
two to five bars a night for what many of us Americans would claim
“dinner.” Experiencing this for the first time was magic. After
enjoying a satisfying lunch, strolling the streets or taking a swim
in the Mediterranean, then resting for Spain’s beloved siesta, the
dinner portion of the evening rarely begins until after the sun has
gone down and ends when it’s almost back up again.
From its farm to table style, fish caught from the sea, and olive
oil poured from the nearest vineyard, Spain’s flavor profile exceeds
expectations because of its genuine quality and the heritage
of its surrounding land. Similar to France and Italy, Spanish
culture lacks foods that are heavily processed or store-bought
and packaged. As common as it is to catch a mademoiselle with
a fresh baguette in hand on her way home from the boulangerie,
it is equally so to find Spanish locals shopping at the markets and
picking up seasonal vegetables, exotic fruits and daily seafood
catches at the mercado de la boqueria. There is rarely a time to
substitute store-bought for seasonal, skip siesta for striving or
replace a sequence of tapas bars and conversation with friends for
silence. Spanish culture is rich in its communal sharing of food
around the table and sharing this table with others. A waiter never
brings a check until the table notions with a la cuenta por favor,
with the communal belief that once a table is full of talking people,
it’s theirs for the evening until ready to leave. Meals are slow and
enjoyable while food and pleasure are in abundance. Tapas to all!
Spring 2020 99