'Tapas', 'pinchos' and other Spanish bars specialities

Would you say that tapas are fast food?

The tapas concept is a very broad one and there is room for many variations. One of the accepted definitions of fast food is food that is prepared quickly and eaten in a hurry. This isn't really what happens with tapas. Going out for tapas is a Spanish custom involving eating small portions of food or miniature cuisine ( the famous "pintxos") and is also used to describe sharing a few single portions between various people. This custom is linked to social life and to being with friends; it's a way of enjoying free time, so it has nothing to do with being in a hurry. As far as making tapas is concerned, some tapas are quick and easy to prepare, but others need more time or a greater dose of creative flair. A more or less recent trend is that of cutting-edge or signature tapas, served by many well-known Spanish chefs in their own gastrobars.
The fast food phenomenon has taken a grip in Spain just as it has in other European countries, mostly amongst children and adolescents. But there is a difference. In Spain, people like to eat a sandwich or bocadillo, a more traditional type of fast food and one that is probably healthier. Two slices of bread, first rubbed with a ripe tomato then drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and containing a few slices of Ibérico or Serrano ham or any other charcuterie or tuna with lettuce, is likely to be healthier than a hamburger or another of the usual types of fast food.

I was making some traditional dishes from spain and one of them was an orange cake of sorts, It contained cream cheese and almost seemed to be like a cheese cake. The recipe called for biscuits to crumble with butter and be put in the bottom of the pan. I was curious if that was what we call cookies? and what you would suggest using?

Hello. The biscuits used for baking home made cakes in Spain are the "María" class, not very similar to the US cookies. This kind of biscuits are made with cereals and very low fat content and additives. But it would be much better if you could send us the recipe you used for this orange cake so we can find out what kind of biscuit or cookies it mentions.

Is there no average price for tapas?

Many years ago tapas used to be served for free with the drinks in bars except in Northern Spain where you had to pay pinchos apart. Years have passed and now there’s a wide range of prices depending on the bar and the kind of tapa. Some bars are still giving them for free with the drink, in others you have to pay and order them apart and in many others the prices of drinks have risen to include the cost of the “free” tapa. Anyway, we could say that the average price ranges from 1.5 to 3 euros per tapa.

Would the tapas bars win the international competition with my beloved Kebab houses?

Maybe both gastronomic concepts are not competing and could be complementary. Spanish restaurants, not only tapas bars, are gaining every day more and more popularity in the strangest destinations. Spanish cuisine is living a boom similar to those ones that spotted the world main cities with Italian, French and Chinese restaurants. But this Spanish boom has two sides, the avantgarde restaurants (José Andrés with Jaleo in Washington, Martin Berasategi in Shanghai, Carme Ruscalleda in Tokyo...) and the most affordable restaurants and tapas bars, where the quality ingredients and the healthy Spanish-Mediterranean cuisine ar the usual common factor. I think globalization has opened people's minds and likings and the search for variety guarantees a good future for tapas bars and kebabs.

I’m a fan of Chinese way of eating and I realized that Spanish tapas concept is similar. Do you think I’m right?

There are many people that share your point of view. There’s something very similar in both ways of sharing small platters of different specialities. The main difference between both gastronomies may be cultural because Chinese people seem to eat always in that way and Spaniards go to for tapas mainly to celebrate with family and friends or to do not spend to much time in a restaurant. The usual meals in Spain are in a table with two courses and a dessert.

In my recent visit to Madrid I’ve seen lots of fancy small bars serving small portions of avant-garde cuisine, but they don’t look like tapas bars. What are they exactly?

You are right. This is a new trend in Spanish gastronomy which consist in mixing haute cuisine and traditional tapas concept. This new wave is trying to offer high quality and modern cuisine in small portions, and many well-known chefs (Dani García, Sergi Arola, Ferran Adrià, Quique Dacosta, Paco Roncero...) are opening these new tapas bars or gastrobars as a popular complement to their high-priced avant-garde restaurants.

Would you say that tapas are fast food?

Not in the most spread way of the term, because tapas are not a quick solution to get feed in the middle of a working day but a celebration. Friends get together to eat tapas in different bars in a very relaxed mood. So it is true that you eat tapas quickly, but you usually don’t stop with the first. The other difference is the quality of the produce used to prepare tapas and the healthier recipes opposite to the most extended fast food. We could say that tapas are fast food under a slow food filosophy.

Are tapas a common dish in Spanish homes?

Not in everyday cooking but it is not strange that in informal meetings the host serve different platters with food in the tapas way to their guests. This could be a similar custom, but Spaniards always prefer to eat tapas in bars rather to prepare them in their kitchens. To go out for tapas is a way to enjoy with friends and going out to break every day routines.

I’ve been many times to Marbella and my Spanish friends tell me very different stories about tapas origins. What is the true about tapas?

There is no historic certainty about the tapas origin, so it is possible that all the stories you friends told you could be right. The most extended version tells that it was king Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) who invented it during a trip to the Cádiz province. It is said that the king made a stop on the Ventorrillo del Chato inn to have a drink and the waiter covered his Sherry glass with a slice of ham to keep the wine free of dust. This food cover or tapa should be the origin of the modern Spanish specialty. A similar version of this story refers to an older king, Alfonso X “The Wise” (1221-1284), who ruled than Castilian inns should serve wine always accompanied with some food to keep the clients from getting drunk. Commonly, the mesoneros used to put this food slices (charcuterie, cheese) over the wine jars tops.

Tapas and pinchos, what is the difference between them?

The main difference is the toothpick used in the pinchos to avoid the food top to fall down the bread slice where it is served on, although it is very common to call pincho de tortilla to a Spanish omelette portion eaten with knive and fork with the bread on one side. Tapas are usually a hand to mouth snack. Besides, pinchos are a Northern Spain speciality (Basque Country and Navarra mainly).

I have just landed in Madrid for my holidays and everywhere I see bars with the tapas claim. What does this term means?

Tapas are small portions of food served in Spanish bars to go with the drinks you order. This is a very general explanation, but the tapas term include a very wide variety of foods, from olives, potato chips and anchovies in vinegar to charcuterie slices, cheese, croquettes or shrimps. Any Spanish recipe can become a tapas speciality. It depends on the bar and the region you are visiting. For instance, in Madrid are very common the olives and pickles or the small bowls with the typical chickpeas and tripe stew.