Tarragona d'tapes

As I am an English university student, I'm no stranger to the concept of a bar crawl. However, for over the last two weeks here in Tarragona there has been a bar crawl with a different main focus... tapas.

Tarragona d'tapes is a culinary event in it's fourth year, which was held from 19th April until 6th May 2012. 
In total over 42 bars and restaurants in the city served a unique tapas y copa (tapas and either a beer or a wine) for €2,50.
¡ Muy bien !
The idea was that you go from bar to bar (or restaurant), and sample each tapas that they had to offer along with a drink.


You were given a small booklet which had a list of all the participating bars and restaurants, as well as a map (with the three specific areas) to show you where everything was:


1. Tarragona Serrallo
2. Tarragona Centre
3. Tarragona Part Alta


Once you knew what, and where places were, it was up to you which ones to visit. A nice little touch I liked was when you had been to a venue, you got a stamp to confirm your visit.

On your marks, get set, go...

No. 38 : El Candil

 El Candil was the first bar on my crawl situated on the Plaça de la Font. It was a bar I'd passed many times, but I'd never been in for a drink, or for food. 

It's a small bar which was crammed with people, yet it still had a cosy feel and the staff were friendly. 

The tapas was El salmó dels tàrtars : Llesqueta de tàrtar de salmó amb pebre i sal Maldon (a salmon tartare with pepper and salt on a biscuit base). It was nicely presented, but as I'm not a great lover of salmon it left a lot to be desired.

I wasn't off to a good start...

3/10

No. 36 : Kay

The next stop was at Kay, further along on the Plaça de la Font.

I'd never even seen this bar before, which I found hard to believe!

It's a modern bar with a quirky feel, and seemed to be very popular with the locals.

The tapas was Cruixent de Kay : Cruixent de porro i bacon, (a bacon and leek on pastry with melted goats cheese and a lime balsamic dressing).

It was well presented, and tasted good.

6/10

No. 40 : Quattropies

The following bar was Quattropies, on the opposite side of the Plaça de la Font.

I had been here before for a few drinks and to watch the famous El Clásico football game between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

It's a pleasant bar, with a good range of tapas on a daily basis.

The tapas was Quattropies : Peus de porc farcits amb bolets i foie, (pig trotter filled with mushrooms and foie gras).

The presentation was decent, but it was very chewy and quite hard to eat.

4/10

No. 19 : Xamfrà del Fòrum (XDF)

Another night I went to Xamfrà del Fòrum (XDF) in the central area of Tarragona.

I had walked past here the other week and wanted to go ever since, so I thought this event was the perfect opportunity to check it out.

It's a very modern looking and feeling restaurant with friendly staff, and as it turned out, great food too.

The tapas was Dim Sum XDF : “Dim sum” de matacía y queso de cabra, crema de calçot, manzana, tomate, mango y cebolla crujiente, (black pudding "Dim sum" with goats cheese, spring onion, apple, tomato, mango and crunchy onion).

The presentation was incredible, as was the taste!

9/10

No. 29 : El Llagut Taverna Marinera

The first place on my final night was El Llagut Taverna Marinera on the Plaça de Rei. I'd never heard of this place before, but Ana who I teach with said she'd been for the tapas here and it was worth going for.

It's a quaint and welcoming restaurant, which seemed again to be popular with locals (five minutes after we arrived, there was about twenty people queueing - talk about good timing!).

The tapas was Visca la terra! : Coca de recapte amb popets estofats al vi ranci, llonganissa i herbetes, (Catalan-style pizza with stewed baby octopus in wine, spicy sausage and herbs).

The presentation with the use of the black slate was a nice surprise (I think it always makes food look so much better), and it tasted great.

9/10

No. 17 : Mos


Immediately after we headed toward Mos back in the central area of Tarragona. It was again another place I'd never seen before, but as we had to queue for about ten minutes before we got a table, it was surely a good sign?

The tapas was Xipirabo : Chipirón relleno de rabo de toro, puré de patata con tinta de calamar y palomitas de arroz, (Oxtail in cuttle fish with squid ink mashed potato and popcorn rice).

I was very disappointed with the presentation of this tapas, as it looked nothing like the photo in the booklet. Yes, I know it looks awful!

However, don't let this put you off, as it tasted amazing.

8/10 

No. 14 : Deu Més U (Cafeteria ONCE)

I made my way back up toward Plaça de la Font and Deu Més U.
It wasn't the nicest looking bar, but the picture of the food looked good (I was wary because of the Mos episode now).
However, the staff were friendly and originally spoke to me in English, I don't look like a typical Brit abroad do I?
The tapas was Pascuelet : Llom farcit d’ibèrics a l’allioli, (Iberian pork loin stuffed with garlic mayonnaise).
The presentation wasn't fantastic, and I don't think the photo does it any justice either, but it tasted very good.


8/10

No. 35 : Piscolabis

The final bar on the crawl was Piscobalis, back where I started on the Plaça de la Font.

I had passed this place a few times before, but I'd never had a drink here.

The staff were very friendly, in particular one waitress who kept serving and talking all night. (The thing is when I've had a bit to drink I can talk for England... even in Spanish).

The tapas was Bacallà al Miró : Bacallà al forn a l’aroma d’allioli amb culís de romesco al vermut, (Cod baked in garlic sauce with a vermouth coulis romesco sauce).

The presentation was simple but effective, and it was eatable.

6/10

I really liked the whole point behind this event, which at the end of the day was to get people to visit new bars and restaurants within Tarragona, and in my opinion it has definitely worked!

I went on three separate nights to just a handful of bars and restaurants, but if I was able to have gone to every single one, then I would have done.

I now know about bars and restaurants which I previously never knew existed, but will certainly visit before I leave next month.

¡ Salud !

Ametlla de Mar

Yesterday I went to Ametlla de Mar, a small town about 55km south of Tarragona.

Earlier this week whilst I was walking home, I saw this poster advertising Setmana Gastronòmica de la Tonyina Roja.

After searching on the internet, I found out more information.

The four day event is a celebration of the famous red tuna of the Mediterranean sea from 2nd-6th May, which coincides with the Japanese national holiday of Midori no Hi on 4th May.

Translating as "Green Day", the national holiday is to give thanks to nature for it's blessings.

What better excuse is needed to make some tuna maki, nigiri and sashimi sushi?

As a result, I decided I had to go.

Arriving just after 11:15am (it's only 35 mins on the train from Tarragona costing €9,80), I headed towards the tourist information office to get a town map, and to find where the festival was.

After a short walk to the sea front, there was a large marquee and some stalls set up on the harbour.

I had a look around the market, which sold traditional Japanese plants, children's toys and ceramics.

I then sat for in the marquee for almost two and a half hours and watched two live cooking presentations.

The first presentation was with Shoko Nakanishi, a Japanese sushi chef.

She took members from the audience, and taught them how to make several maki, which is a type of sushi.

I would have loved to have taken part, but I managed to grab a little bit instead, which was delicious!

The second presentation was with Maestro Yukihiko Shidara-Tan, another Japanese sushi chef who has been living in Catalunya for over twenty years.

His presentation was about how to fillet a tuna correctly, and how the different cuts of the flesh are used for different types of sushi, which I found very interesting.

It was an overload of Spanish, which at times was very technical, but I was able to cope and I actually learnt a lot.

A tasting session was planned for the afternoon, but the queue was far too long to wait in and I was very hungry.

So, I made my way back up into town to try and find El Molí dels Avis, a restaurant that Ana said if I were ever in Ametlla de Mar, I had to eat there.

I found it, but unfortunately because I was alone, they couldn't accommodate for just one person.

El Molí dels Avis

Andreu Llambrich, 74 

L' Ametlla de Mar

Tarragona

43860

España

However, just around the corner I stumbled over Restaurant Lorena, a small but, busy restaurant which overlooked the harbour.

I deliberated over what to eat for a while, it all looked so good!

I finally decided on calamares a la romana and pollo con patatas fritas.

The food was very reasonably priced, and as far as quality goes, it was great.

An excellent little restaurant with friendly staff, and fantastic food.

Restaurant Lorena

Miranda, 3 

L' Ametlla de Mar

Tarragona

43860

España

After lunch I made my way down to the harbour and around to the marina.

En route, I saw someone dressed in scuba diving equipment on the rocks going fishing with a harpoon!

I wandered (maybe a bit too far) down the coast and discovered an off the beaten path trail which lead to some lovely secluded coves and small beaches.

I attended another two live presentations in the evening, this time about Japanese tea with Takayo Fukano and Japanese flower arrangement with Montserrat Gálvez.

In my opinion, they weren't as good as the morning presentations but, they were interesting nonetheless.

Overall I had a very good day in Ametlla de Mar, sampling not one, but two aspects of culture merged together.

It's another lovely seaside town on the Costa Dorada which is worth a visit, especially when this event is on!

2012 is the first time Setmana Gastronòmica de la Tonyina Roja has been held, but judging by the turnout, I would imagine it will become a successful annual event.

For more information :

www.semanadelatunrojo.com

Vilanova i la Geltrú

On Thursday, thanks to an early finish at university, my friends and myself decided to visit Vilanova i la Geltrú, a small town just along the coast from Tarragona.


Although I had an amazing first semester in Aix-en-Provence in France, I feel like I didn't make the most of visiting smaller, more provincial towns within the region and instead, opted for larger cities such Toulon, Montpellier, Avignon, Marseille and Nice, to name but a few.
I must admit, it wasn't a bad thing, because after all I love the hustle and bustle of a large city. 
However, with this in mind, I want to make a more conscious effort to visit smaller, less tourist crowded towns during my semester in Spain, especially as I've already visited cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, Girona and Pamplona.

Vilanova i la Geltrú is the capital of the El Garraf district of Barcelona, situated on the coast, about 40km south of Barcelona itself, and 45km north of Tarragona.
A hidden gem on the coastline where sea and agriculture, art and tradition, and history and gastronomy merge together to make this town a must-see.

We took the train from Tarragona and arrived at Vilanova i la Geltrú in under half an hour. 

A return ticket costs only €8.20.

Arriving mid-afternoon, we were rather hungry so we headed straight to the sea front in search of some tapas.

We found a nice little restaurant which over looked the marina and tucked into...

 croquetas de bacalao

gambas a la plancha

mejillones al vapor

calamares andalucía

pescado a la plancha

All washed down with a nice cold glass of vino blanco.

¡ Muy bien !

After lunch, we took a stroll around the marina and walked all the way to the mouth of the harbour.

For almost an hour in the red-hot sun, we sat and relaxed, and watched the fisherman try their best to catch something...unfortunately, to no avail.

Walking back into town we made our way to the more commercial area and in particular, la Rambla Principal.

This main street was littered with bars, cafés and shops, which reminded me a lot of la Rambla Nova here in Tarragona.

We also stopped at Plaça de la Vila for a while and had a few cañas (small beers), a perfect end to a lazy, yet relaxing day.

Vilanova i la Geltrú is a very pleasant small town, which is definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

It was the most relaxing visit of my year abroad so far, which was made even better by it being so close to Tarragona.

I will definitely go back and visit once again before I leave Spain for good in June.

For more information about Vilanova i la Geltrú :

www.vilanova.cat