{"id":856,"date":"2013-12-04T09:32:50","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T08:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/?p=856"},"modified":"2013-12-04T09:32:50","modified_gmt":"2013-12-04T08:32:50","slug":"tapas-in-madrid-bite-sized-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/2013\/12\/04\/tapas-in-madrid-bite-sized-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"Tapas in Madrid: Bite-Sized Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The larger sized raci\u00f3n is convenient for sharing among several people (\u00a9Madrid Destino)<\/p><\/div>\n

The way to my heart is most definitely through my stomach, and Madrid has won me over tapa after tapa. Tapas<\/strong><\/a> are generally small portions of food served in most typical bars and restaurants in Madrid and provide one of the easiest and most authentic ways to try out the capital\u2019s traditional cuisine<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Tapas<\/a>

Tapas are generally small portions of food (\u00a9Jos\u00e9 Barea, MD)<\/p><\/div>\n

Some of the most common tapas in Madrid are\u00a0tortilla de patata<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(potato omelette),\u00a0patatas bravas<\/strong>\u00a0(<\/em>fried potatoes with spicy sauce),\u00a0huevos rotos<\/strong>\u00a0(<\/em>fried eggs with potatoes, try it with ham!),\u00a0bacalao rebozado<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(breaded and fried cod),\u00a0pimientos de Padr\u00f3n\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(fried small green peppers), and\u00a0<\/em>an easy favorite,\u00a0croquetas\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(croquettes filled with ham or cod). You\u2019ll find most Madrile\u00f1os eating tapas accompanied by a small beer (una ca<\/em>\u00f1a<\/em>) or a glass of red wine. The larger sized\u00a0raci\u00f3n<\/em>\u00a0is convenient for sharing among several people.<\/p>\n

\"Most<\/a>

Most restaurants offer affordably priced set meals (usually two courses and dessert) at lunchtime (\u00a9Madrid Destino)<\/p><\/div>\n

Tapas are great for visitors for several reasons. If you have a tight sightseeing schedule and don\u2019t have a lot of time, you can stop into any\u00a0local bar or restaurant<\/strong>, order a few tapas, and continue moving along. Many places will also display their tapas at the bar, so you can point and choose instead of looking over a\u00a0menu\u00a0<\/strong>filled with unfamiliar foods. Oh yeah, and they\u2019re also pretty cheap – some bars will give you a free tapa just for ordering a drink.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it, some of us are just less adventurous when it comes to our food and unfamiliar foods may make some people squeamish. Tapas provide a great way for these folks to try traditional foods<\/strong><\/a> such as callos a la madrile\u00f1a <\/em><\/strong>(Madrid-style tripe), rabo de toro<\/strong> <\/em>(oxtail), morcilla <\/em><\/strong>(blood sausage) without the commitment of a full meal. Trust me though, all three are delicious.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A great place to go for tapas is La Latina district<\/p><\/div>\n

Although Madrile\u00f1os will give you different answers for where to find the very best, the La Latina<\/strong> neighborhood is a good choice due to its central location and high concentration of bars and restaurants. \u00a0It\u2019s one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city especially popular on Sundays when the flea market nearby, E<\/strong>l Rastro<\/strong><\/a>, <\/em>ends in the afternoon. <\/em>Head to Calle Cava Baja<\/strong> and the surrounding streets for particularly convenient \u201ctapa-hopping\u201d. Don\u2019t forget to try some on tap vermouth!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The way to my heart is most definitely through my stomach, and Madrid has won me over tapa after tapa. Tapas are generally small portions of food served in most typical bars and restaurants in Madrid and provide one of the easiest and most authentic ways to try out the capital\u2019s traditional cuisine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[138],"tags":[141,89,140,142,139,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions\/878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.esmadrid.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}