Category: twitter

Marmite

azahar8 Comments

After a whirlwind week I ended up having a whirlwind weekend. And all because of Twitter.

About a month or so ago a Twitter pal suggested to @MsMarmitelover that she get in touch with me about an upcoming visit to Sevilla. So she did, and I tried to help her find accommodation for a couple of nights. But as it was the weekend before Feria there wasn’t much available that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. So I offered her the option of the sofa bed at casa az. And then the fun started!

Turns out that MsMarmitelover (aka Kerstin Rodgers) is one of the pioneers of the whole underground “pop up” restaurant scene in London, and in fact had asked me if I knew of any such “secret suppers” going on in Sevilla. Well, I didn’t at the time. But a few days later I happened to meet Fourat (@Lebanicious) and then a whole lot of magic happened.

Not only did Fourat inspire me to get my upstairs room set up for sewing projects, along with me getting her set up on Twitter and starting a blog, but various other projects started taking shape. And so when I told Fourat about Kirsten looking for a Sevilla “secret supper” she said she would be happy to organise one of her fabulous Lebanese feasts during the weekend Kirsten would be here. As for who else would come, that was kind of up to me.

And so Kirsten arrived around 7 pm on Friday. Of course I had already picked out a few places to try out for that evening’s tapeo, but was also playing it by ear. We ended up stopping at four different tapas bars (Casa Moreno, Enrique Becerra, Bodeguita Romero, Vineria San Telmo) all very traditional other than the last one. The extra challenge for me was that Kirsten doesn’t eat meat (though she does eat some fish and seafood) so obviously I couldn’t do the obvious – jamón, chorizo, pringá, caña de lomo, carrillada…

On Saturday we visited a few specialty shops in town, including Patricia Buffana (hatmaker extraordinaire) and Bazar Victoria (Sevilla’s most eclectic hardware store) and at lunchtime we went to a non-traditional place which was a total hit – La Azotea – amazing food and service. Then back home to rest up for “Lebaniciousness”. Although a couple of the people invited couldn’t come due to prior commitments we ended up with a fabulous group including restaurant owners Juan Tarquini and Reyes Moreno, bespoke holiday organiser Sam Lister and Sevilla’s Queen of  Tapas (that would be me). Along with Fourat’s amazing family. It really was a family affair and the selected guests fit right into the very cosy ambiance as if everyone had known each other forever. And MsMarmitelover had no idea – ooops she does now! – that this whole beautiful evening had been arranged for her visit here.

The next day (today!) I thought it might be possible to take Kerstin to one more fabby tapas bar before she had to catch her afternoon flight home. Of course this morphed into “tapeoexpress” during which we attempted to – and succeeded in – getting to three tapas bars in two hours (Eslava, El Rinconcillo and La Giganta) and having a special snack at each one. Then it was a quick sprint back to the apartment to collect bags and get a taxi to the airport.

In the end we managed to hit eight tapas bars in two days. And four out of my Top Five Tapas Bars in Sevilla.

Seriously? I LOVE Twitter for all the amazing people it has put me in touch with. Makes living as a weirdo semi-recluse in Sevilla *way more interesting*!

[also posted on the casa az blog]

Sevilla Tapas Policy Change

azahar6 Comments

For almost five years now, since first starting my Sevilla Tapas blog, my policy has always been to only put up tapas bars and restaurants that I would recommend to a friend. If I didn’t like a place it simply didn’t get included. I guess I just thought I wanted my tapas blog to have a positive and helpful feel to it. A couple of years ago I did put up a very scathing review of a place that had treated my friend and me horrendously, but I don’t know, it seemed to throw a shadow on what I like to think of as an upbeat and friendly site and I removed it.

But lately I’ve been wondering if this is actually the best policy, especially as fewer of the places I visit these days end up on the blog because I know I wouldn’t ever recommend them to a friend. Was I getting jaded, I asked myself. Or just more experienced and discerning? Then today happened.

I met my friend Pablo for lunch at a place that had not only been recommended to me many times over the years, but people couldn’t actually believe that I had never been there, as it was apparently such a popular location. So as I had a meeting right around the corner from this place that finished at lunchtime, that’s where we went. And well. I should have known upon entering that it was going to be dire, but again, you never know. Sometimes the shabbiest looking places serve up the tastiest tapas (though to be honest, this almost never happens in the city) and this place was certainly shabby. It had the look of someplace that had had its day about fifteen years ago and hadn’t bothered to paint or replace the tacky furniture. It wasn’t DIRTY exactly, but it had an unclean feel to it. So why didn’t we just get up and leave? Well, because I had to find out if all those who had praised this joint were right. They weren’t.

The food was not only pedestrian in the extreme, but most of it seemed past its time, hard and dry and tired looking. And the service was haphazard and impersonal. Even if the tapas had been cheap (they weren’t at 3-4 euros each) it wouldn’t have made up for such a dismal meal. Pablo and I were left feeling upleasantly full and unsatisfied and, well, a bit annoyed. And I felt ripped off thinking I’d wasted my time and money at a crappy tapas bar that I wouldn’t even be able to put in my tapas blog.

After lunch we ran into a friend of ours, Markus, and told him about our experience. His office is nearby and he said he never eats at that place. But both Pablo and Markus told me that it would actually give my tapas blog more credibility if there were some negative, or at least not glowing, reviews. So they convinced me to change my policy a bit, if only as a public service. Because I truly pity anyone who might end up eating where we were today, especially when there are so many other terrific places nearby.

I’m actually quite excited about this new policy. It means I can include everywhere I eat and not just the places I like. And by doing so perhaps I can help others avoid a nasty or even just mediocre meal.

#AS11

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From the opening night round table with super-chefs Juan Mari Arzak, Dani Garcia and Carme Ruscalleda to the closing cooking demonstrations by Juan Roca and Dani Garcia, this year’s Andalucía Sabor had something for everyone. It was great being able to meet and chat with Andalusian food and wine producers, as well as sample their wares, and take in the various activities scheduled on the exhibition floor (two of my favourites were the jamón slicing and best new chef of the year competitions). In the conference area you could sit comfortably and watch presentations, round table discussions and fabulous cooking demos by some of the best chefs in Spain.

Best New Chef 2011 - Rafael Arroyo Martinez

One of the real treats for me was meeting up with fellow bloggers, such as @Seville_Writer @annalibera @jorgeguitian @hollycocina @rafaprades @GuiaRepsol @elcocinerofiel @Gastronomiaycia @anaentreolivos @FerrerPepe (to name a few), many for the first time after having “known” them on Twitter for the past couple of years. It was great being able to put faces to the names. I also really appreciated having access to the Zona Blogger as a place to recharge both myself and my iPhone. Many thanks to Norma for running that.

My only complaint about the exhibition was that, especially for a food and foodie related event, the tapas on offer were both expensive and uninteresting, and after the first day we took to having our lunch break at nearby tapas bars. But overall it was a well-organised, informative and entertaining three days and I look forward to being a part of the next Andalucía Sabor in 2013.

Below are some pics taken at Dani Garcia’s closing demonstration during which he invited fellow Twitterers (seen furiously at work in the front row) up on stage to taste the various dishes he was making. Given the prominence of social media coverage this year it was a fitting way to close the show.

Other blog posts on Andalucía Sabor:
Gastronomía & Cía
Tubal
Cocina.es
Andalucia.com
Cocinando Entre Olivos

Just another day in paradise…

azahar3 Comments

Hospes Hotels Las Casas del Rey de Baeza

As you all know, I don’t get to travel much, and certainly not nearly as much as I’d like to. But a week ago today I got to take a “day trip” to a one of the most beautiful hotels in Sevilla . The hotel Las Casas del Rey de Baeza (longest name ever – try tweeting that several times a day!) is part of an exclusive chain of luxury hotels called Hospes Hotels, most (all?) of which are restored palaces. I have to say that it was interesting to see – and experience – how the other half lives…

My 24-hour getaway was lovely and it was very nice that my friend & flatmate Peter was able to come with me. We got there around 5pm and, after getting settled in the room (mostly me taking tons of photos and both of us going WOW) we retired to one of the lounge areas just off a lovely plant-filled patio to read our books and enjoy some cava. Heaven.

After a couple of hours we went back up to the room, changed for dinner and went to try out the Senzone restaurant. They had us booked for a couple of tasting menus but we never like eating the same thing, so I convinced the waiter to bring us a selection of this and that to share. It was all very good but there was something about the place that made it feel “hotel-y” in a way the hotel itself didn’t. But we still enjoyed it very much. Back up to the room and I took a luxurious bath in the massive circular tub while Peter curled up with his book. By this time we were both pretty zonked so it was lights out and and I have to say the bed was amazingly comfortable. We were supposed to have been given a room with twin beds, but in retrospect we had also been upgraded from a standard double room to a deluxe one, so what the heck. Peter and I are old friends and used to bunking together when we go to Málaga, so that wasn’t a problem.

Next morning we went down for brekky, not quite sure how things worked, and were told we could either have the buffet breakfast or order off the menu. So we decided to go for it and tucked into the buffet as well as ordering some very nice bacon & eggs. After all that we were so stuffed that all we could do was head for the fireplace lounge, sink into the big fat leather sofas and read some more.

Suddenly it was check-out time but we really didn’t feel ready to leave, and that wasn’t a problem. We were told just to leave our packed overnight bags in the room and later we could ask for them at reception, which gave us some extra time to go upstairs and enjoy the rooftop for awhile (see pic on the right).

I took so many photos that I really didn’t know what to do with them all, so here are a couple of collages (click on them to enlarge) of the hotel and our room, and of the food.  It really was a fabulous getaway and many many thanks to Hospes Hotels for making it happen.

Senzone Restaurant

[click on collages to enlarge]

Tapeo Extremo

azahar3 Comments

This week I had the pleasure of finally meeting Twitter friend and travel writer @AnnieBennett, who was in town as a part of a whirlwind tour around Andalucía. And so we had three “extreme tapeo” sessions in two days, which was both fun and exhausting with temperatures well above 40ºC. But as you can see, we are seasoned veterans – below you can see Annie enjoying a glass of bubbly at the Alfonso XIII Hotel where we stopped in for some post lunch emergency cava.

We stopped at several of my favourite tapas bars and restaurants as well as taking a short tour around Triana and visiting the market. The two evening sessions were somewhat cooler and it was especially pleasant to finish our last one on the rooftop of the Doña María Hotel. We had tried out the EME Hotel rooftop bar for its spectacular view of the Giralda, but it was trying way too hard to be cool.  I had a great time and hope to see Annie again soon.

[click on collages to enlarge]

If you’d like to take part in one of my tapas tours,
click on the link below for more information.

Sevilla Tapas Tours