Tomas runs a Tapas Food Tour through AirBNB Experiences. It’s a low-cost ticket item – maybe $16 American – but you then pay for whatever food you get. Essentially you pay for his expertise and guidance on where to go and what to get. And like the Epcot Food and Wine Festival or any small plate dinner going, tapas (which I suppose is the definition of small plates) winds up being a costly affair. Sure, sure… each tapa is only 2 or 3 euros… but you’re ordering a bunch of plates at each stop and there’s wine at each stop (though in Spain wine is sometimes cheaper than water). Even with the three other folks on the tour splitting plates and costs, it took a bite out of my wallet.
I say that not to detract or criticize the experience – it’s just a notation of fact. A reminder of the large cumulative effect of small amounts, be it in food, in price, in life. Big things come from a series of small things. That’s worth remembering… especially in a Presidential election year back home [hint, hint].
The other guests included a charming couple from Hungary – Zoltan and Kornelia. They were super funny and fun to hang out with. The last guest got a bit lost and didn’t meet us at the Monumento de Cervantes starting point but caught up with us halfway through the first stop.
Susana is from Greece and was visiting to run the marathon on Sunday. But unlike me who opted for all foods and all drink suggestions, she was consciously avoiding certain things in anticipation of the run. Whatever works for each individual runner I say… and if she chooses not to have a second bit of the pringa, well, that’s just more for me!
The first stop was La Flor de Toranzo where we tried five different tapas. Tomas and the Hungarians laughed as I frantically scribbled down notes on wat we were eating and snapping photos. They asked what was the name of the blog and I pooh-poohed that, saying it was just for friends back home to show what things I was having… and to help me remember what I would want to order and what I’d want to avoid for the rest of the trip. And that’s all true… from a certain point of view.
These were all small sandwiches – pringa (leftover meat products made into a mince), rocquefort and sobrasada (ooey gooey cheesy goodness), a pork loin with apple, what Tomas called “El Jefe” (a tuna with red chile sauce), and his personal favorite (but definitely not mine) – anchovies and condensed milk. I chased it down with the recommended Sevillan Tinto De Verano Botellin, a red wine with sprite/fanta mixture that was wannabe sangria).
Next on the tour was Antonio Romero Bodeoutias, a classy hole in the wall with bar tenders/servers dressed like it was the Brown Derby circa 1939. I loved the vibe of the place… and the RedMojito felt very southern speakeasy hooch. Food wise we sampled piripi (delicious combo of lean pork, cooked bacon, cheese, tomato and mayo), mantecado (grilled pork loin, creamy whiskey sauce, and a side of french fries!), queso romano (rocquefort drizzled with honey and served with bread chips), and finally some weird salted tuna thing that again Tomas seemed to love but I was mostly ambivalent on.
The third stop (Bar Blanco Cerrillo) had the most surprising and the most disappointing of the tapas. Tomas couldn’t stop raving about the calamari but I found it bland and rubbery… and Susana kept saying if he wanted calamari he should come to Greece and have it fresh from the sea. That said, who doesn’t love a good eggplant and parmesan croquette? But the most surprising and most delightful of the dishes here was the adobo, a deep fat fried mini white fish. I could’ve snacked on that all day.
We capped the evening at El Rinconcillo. We all were pretty stuffed by then but powered through on the last of Tomas’s suggestions – a salmon tartare (which I found… what’s the most snobbishly way of saying it was just okay? Pedestrian? Oh! Pedestrianly pescadarian!), a pig’s cheek stewish thing that was very tender but a bit overwhelming for me this late in the game, and my pick of chickpea and spinach (drowning in oil and devoid of healthiness but I kinda liked it… no one else seemed to though).
Having made my list though, I was able to compile this post-eatum breakdown. Zoltan and Kornelia and I swapped Instagram handles and Susana and I chatted a bit about marathoning. I downplayed what I’ve done as she was already lecturing me on having run too much when I said I had run the 50 states. She said I didn’t have nearly enough time to recover if I was doing one every other month… I shrugged because, ya know, to each their own. But when Tomas jokingly said he knew she was a runner because she had a photo of herself running on her phone, but he wasn’t so sure about me… well, I was reminded of a story about musician Ben Folds. He’s from the Chapel Hill area and was just making a name for himself with Ben Folds Five (of which there were three members of the band). Anyway, he was playing the local venue and was taking requests when somebody shouted “Free Bird!” And Ben got offended saying something like, “You don’t think I can play Free Bird, muck-rucker!” Only he didn’t say muck-rucker. Anyway, he goes over to his piano and bangs out Free Bird… and not a half-assed version but more a definitive alternate version of that rock classic. And that’s what I thought when Tomas question my running status. “You don’t think I’m a runner, muck-rucker?” I opted not to lay all of my cards on the table and instead just pulled up my blog on my phone and randomly showed a photo of me running. It happened to be me dressed as a turkey running a 5K… so I’m not sure I pulled it off. I’m no Ben Folds… but, honest, I do run a lot.
Speaking of which – I’m off to the expo to pick up my bib number for Sunday. Because I eat and drink too much that’s part of the reason I try and run as much as I can.
Man… maybe I need to order some crow and humble pie today. I’m feeling embarrassed by the way I behaved. But at least I thought to insist on a group photo last night before we parted ways, each of us setting off in different directions to continue our lives but having intersected and connected over food and fun in Sevilla.
