The Famous Spanish Tapas
When some say Madrid, they say Spain. Why is that? The answer is that Madrid identifies itself with the culture and the traditions of this splendid country. The cuisine, especially, is absolutely delicious and it really represents the true Spain. The year 1561 is when Felipe II decided to make Madrid the capital of Spain; until then, the cuisine of the city had a single purpose: to help the inhabitants survive the harsh winters.
Throughout the centuries, people from all over the country started to migrate for various reasons to the big cities, but they didn’t come alone: they also brought along their ingredients and their recipes, so the city became a sort of culinary capital of the entire continent.
The unique tapas
Nowadays, the most representative dish for Madrid is represented by the famous tapas. The dish even became a verb, as “ir a tapear” means to go out in the city with the only purpose being to eat tapas. Madrid hosts the biggest collection of tapas recipes in the world; every bar has its specialty and the only manner to get into contact with this tasty dish is to go from bar to bar and choose one of the tapas types and wash it down with a traditional drink, whether the Asturian cider or the unique white wine txacoli prepared in the Basque Country.
Plaza Mayor, the La Latina quarter and the San Miguel Plaza are the main places where tourists can go and eat the tasty tapas. The San Miguel Plaza used to be a traditional Mercado where the inhabitants of the city would go to buy fresh fruits and vegetable. Now, the stalls are replaced by coquette, very stylish bars where the tapas are served.
Getting into the spirit of Spain
If you want to mingle among Spaniards and feel their way of life, go to Casa Revuelta, a typical Spanish bar whose decorations haven’t changed for decades, and where the members of the staff shout to one another in order to hear what the others are trying to say; the bar is renowned for serving the best deep fried cod tapas.
Other bars also serve this dish, but none have the octogenarian owner who spends his days in the kitchen, trying to remove even the last, almost invisible bone. Estado Puro should be the last on your list, like the cherry on top; the restaurant is especially famous for the Spanish omelet served in a very unique manner: in a glass.