Team Tapas Tasting

On the night of Tuesday, July 27^th, after a grueling day of cursos exams, Andy’s food practicum met up on the east side of town to go out for one last tapa hopping experience. After we had all arrived, Andy pulled out a deck of cards and had us each take one—we weren’t simply trying tapas bars as a group, like usual; instead, we were teaming up and making a game out of it. My group included Brandon, Sheri, Ashley, and Sydney, and we wasted no time deciding where to go first (this is a lie: we actually took about 5 whole minutes before deciding to wander down Avenida de los Comuneros, off the beaten path). We started at Los 3 Carabeles, a bar that I pass every day on the way home from class. Andy came with us, and due to the rules of the game, Brandon was our first waiter. Let me just say that Brandon was excellent: he could make a career out of waiting. I ordered an empanada that had tuna, tomato, and green olives inside of it, and it was delicious. On a scale of 1-10, I’d give it a 9.5. And that’s only because I don’t like green olives. Sheri and Brandon each had croquetas that I’m pretty sure had ham in them, which they gave a 6 and a 5, respectively. Sydney and Ashley had patatas con alioli and gave them a 6.5 and a 7, respectively. I tried the patatas and really enjoyed them—the only problem with the patatas here is that sometimes they drown them in the sauce; otherwise, they’re almost always delicious (if you like fried potatoes). Andy let us in on a secret: he said it’s always best to go to crowded tapas bars, since more people usually means better food. Let’s just say Los 3 Carabeles wasn’t exactly bumping. But it was also 8:45pm, which is very early to go out in Salamanca. Either way, I have to say that empanada was my favorite tapa of the night.

Next, we wandered back to the park we’d started in (Parque de Pablo Picasso) and went to Devinos, a tapa bar that Andy highly recommended. I ordered one of the only pescatarian (spelling?) items on the menu, the bacalao con salsa y pan (fish with salsa and bread). The bacalao was very good, but it was raw, which I had trouble with. I ate a few bites and ended up eating the bread and salsa alone (yes, I’m embarrassed), which was delicious. I’d give this tapa a 6, only because of the struggle I had with the raw fish. Sydney tried it and really liked it, so definitely don’t shy away from bacalao if you have the chance to try it. Sheri, Sydney, and Brandon had pollo con queso (chicken with cheese) and gave it an 8, an 8.5, and a 7.5, respectively. Even as a vegetarian, the chicken with cheese looked really good. Ashley had panceta con queso, which is a type of pig fat (I think that’s correct) with cheese. She really enjoyed it and gave it a 9.

The last bar we went to was called Café Bar Crespo—we were lucky and found a table outside. I ordered tortilla, which is my favorite tapa in general (although the empanada definitely won out on this night), and I’d give it a 7 because although it was delicious, it was cold. Brandon got salpicon marisco, a mixed seafood salad sort of dish, which he gave a 7. Ashley had patatas bravas (potatoes in a red, sort of spicy sauce) which she gave a 7.5. After eating her tapa, Ashley had to leave to go on a date with a Spanish guy—really exciting! Hopefully she had room to eat after all those tapas! Sheri had a bocadillo con lomo y queso (sandwich with pork and cheese), which she gave a 5, and Sydney had fried pig cheek, which we asked the name of multiple times but never fully understood. Sydney rated the pig cheek at a 7, leading us to the conclusion that it’s always good to try new foods, especially in Spain (a conclusion I’m pretty sure we’ve all come to over the past 5 weeks). Since we had money left over, we ordered leche helada, a dessert that Sheri’s host parents highly recommended. It was delicious! It was a milky icecream with pieces of cone in the glass along with lots of cinnamon on top. We chatted and ate on the patio of the café for a while before splitting up for the night. Other than my slightly negative experience with raw fish, we agreed that Devinos was probably the best tapa bar we went to that night. Overall, we had a great tapa hopping experience!

-Emily