Tapas, tapas, tapas!

Not to sound corny, but going out for tapas the other night was definitely an experience I will never forget. As a class we went to four different tapas restaurants, and then continued on to other bars throughout the night. Each tapa place was distinct; however every one of them was incredibly good.
The best tapa I had all night is definitely la lengua. Although it did taste quite good, it gets the title of best tapa because it was definitely the most adventurous tapa I had all night. The tongue was is a sort of stew of fantastic juices and vegetables. It tasted quite a lot like beef tenderloin, with a soft texture. It wasn’t chewy, but more like something you would put in a soup. Mostly importantly it was different than anything I had tried in the US, which made it very fun. To add to the experience, today we went to a Mercado where I was able to see an uncut fresh tongue. It was definitely a little scarier when you see it raw, so I’m glad I tried it before going to the market.
It is next to impossible to call any of the tapas bad, however if I had to pick my least favorite it would be the pork sandwich I had at the second tapa restaurant. The sandwich was still amazingly good, though not anything very distinct from food in the US. That tapa restaurant was famous for its ribs, so it would have probably been better to have ordered the ribs in the first place.
The best drink I had all night is a very close competition between the sangria and the white wine/ soda mixed drink. In the end though, I have to say the sangria was the best drink I had. It was absolutely incredible, and I don’t even normally like wine. The one other notable drink I have to mention is the acorn shot from the last bar we went to. As far as shots go, it was par none. It didn’t taste like alcohol at all, and could have been put on pancakes as syrup. If I had the opportunity to go back and try anything again, it would be that acorn shot. Andy mentioned that it was likely homemade, rather than store bought, and the taste definitely reflected that.
Finally the one thing that I would like to try next time are the croquettas. I almost ordered croquettas last night but instead I chose la lengua. Next time I go out however, I think croquettas will be the first thing on my list of foods to try. They look amazing and I can only imagine how good they taste. They are also a very common food here in Spain, and I think it is important to try as many different types of local food as possible.