Well this came as a pleasant surprise! I have been chosen to be one of the five gastronomy experts to do the final judging for an ambitious new project headed by the Sevilla Tourism Board to promote Sevilla’s Gastronomic Heritage, AKA the tapa, as a tourist attraction.
From today until September 5th, locals and visitors to Sevilla can vote on both their favourite tapa and favourite establishment. The list of tapas on the Visit Sevilla Facebook Page starts with around 18 dishes but voters can also add their choices. After the judging has taken place this will become a list of the top 14 tapas in the city and the best places to try them, which will then be included in a guide book.
The other expert judges chosen are:
Julio Fernández, chef of Sevilla’s only Michelin star restaurant Abantal
Fernando Huidobro, president of the Acacademy of Gastronomy and Tourism
Javier Compass, culinary and tourism specialist
Paco Sanchez, hospitality professional and former owner of the Cervecería Giralda and Bar Estrella
So as you can see I am in excellent company. And as you can also see in the photo below taken at this morning’s presentation at City Hall (photo courtesy of Raúl Doblado ABC Sevilla) I’m not only the only non-Spaniard, but also the only woman. One step at a time…
The plan for yesterday was to take the bus to Sanlúcar de Barrameda to visit their Feria de la Manzanilla for the first time. Unfortunately the bus service to Sanlúcar was less than feriante friendly with one bus at 10 am and the next not until 2 pm and when I mentioned this on Twitter my friend and sherry expert Annie Manson said that, knowing me, I’d end up creating my own Feria de la Manzanilla here. So that’s what I did. 🙂
Sanlúcar de Barrameda is located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river where it meets the Altantic and, along with Jerez and El Puerto de Santa María, forms the famous Sherry Triangle in the Cádiz province. It is also home to the oldest horse races in Spain, which take place just before sunset along the beach during the month of August. Another Sanlúcar event I have yet to witness. But I digress…
My companion yesterday was Peter Tatford Seville Concierge and at one stop Eduardo Blanco Different Spain also briefly joined us. Since my idea was to recreate being in Sanlúcar the obvious place to start was Restaurante Barbiana which not only features wines and seafood from there but also makes the best tortillitas de camarones I’ve ever had outside Sanlúcar. We started with a nice plate of jamón Ibérico de Bellota paired with a manzanilla fina from Bodegas Barbiana, served at a perfectly chilled 1ºC. For our tortillita I chose an amontillado to go with it which worked very nicely.
Then we went on to La Moneda, which was where we ment up with Eduardo. There we tried two different manzanillas (Solear and La Gitana) with fried salmonetes (which I was told came from Sanlúcar) and a very nice soupy rice with gambas, clams and monkfish.
For our third stop we taxied over to Taberna Chani in Nervión to try their manzanilla en rama from Bodegas Baron, which we paired with fabulous fried boquerones (also from Sanlúcar) and some grilled Almadraba tuna cheeks.
And then we were done. I have to say that although the food and wine were all very pleasant the whole Feria de la Manzanilla in Sevilla thing didn’t feel as successful as my recent impromptu World Sherry Day event because I didn’t feel like I’d actually learned anything new. Although I asked lots of questions about the different wines, and about which foods they would go best with, the response at these bars wasn’t as friendly or enthusiastic as I found last week. I mean, I know you can get palo cortado from Sanlúcar, and also some good dessert wines, but these weren’t suggested to me even though I’d told everyone I was trying to learn more about Sanlúcar wines. Bit of a shame, but ah well…
In case you didn’t already know, I am no fan of the mini-burger (aka slider). Which is strange because, in theory, it shouldn’t be any different than a tapa-sized version of a regular burger, and I LOVE tapas. But to me a mini-burger is just a squashed meatball on a small bun, usually being sold for 4 – 5.50€ a pop. Unlike montaditos, which are little hot toasted buns stuffed with fabulously flavourful fillings for about 2.50€.
I mean, if you tried to get away with selling a one-meatball tapa at those prices – with bread and maybe a few chips on the side – well, you wouldn’t. People would laugh in your face and rightly send the offending overpriced ball of meat straight back to the kitchen for the rest of it. Yet mini-burgers have become an unfathomable craze in Sevilla over the past two-three years. There are at least two establishments I know of that specialise in these things. And I keep asking myself… WHY??? As in, why do people go to these places and pay a stupid amount of money for a meatball in a bun?
bulltail burger from Manzanilla in Málaga
Some argue that these little burgers are worth it because of the “gourmet” toppings, but seriously, how much extra can you fit inside a mini bun before it becomes an unmanageable mess? At times I have ended up with more toppings than burger meat, such as the “forest mini burger” I tried last week. I was told it came with mushrooms, goat cheese, arrugula, cucumber & celery but all I could make out visually was “a bunch of stuff” on top and all I could taste was cucumber. And then I had to ask for condiments because the bun was so dry.
As with everything, if it’s worth making it’s worth making well. Also, there are always exceptions.
These three mini burgers pictured here are exceptional indeed. The bulltail burger by super-chef Dani García at Manzanilla in Málaga was the first time a slider blew me away (though I actually first tried it at La Moraga – Dani has since moved on but his burgers remain). It’s a gorgeous combination of slow-cooked oxtail topped with melted havarti cheese and – get this – mayonnaise made from the oxtail drippings. Sublime. Later on I got to try the langoustine burger at Al Aljibe, which some sticklers may argue isn’t a true burger as it isn’t served in a bun. I don’t care, call it a minimalist burger or whatever you like, but just go and try one. The grilled langoustine burger is perfection, served with a poached quail egg and spicy huacaína sauce on the side.
langoustine burger at Al Aljibe
Last but not least is the AMAZING beef mini burger at La Brunilda. The meat is lightly spiced (or herbed?) with I don’t-know-what and is served on a soft brioche bun with a dollop of soy mayo and a bit of sun-dried tomatoes. And it is heaven. I call it the “crackburger” because once you have had one you have to keep going back for more. Though the same could be said for all of these exceptional exceptions.
As for all the others you’ll find scattered about on Sevilla Tapas… well, I ate them so you didn’t have to. But if you have a favourite you think I should try let me know.
The second Jornada de Naranja de Sevilla (Sevilla Orange Days) is on now until March 10th. This year 31 bars and restaurants are creating special tapas at 2.75€ made from Sevilla’s emblematic bitter oranges with a contest for best tapa, which will also be open to the public.
For those who participate in the voting there will be a draw for 10 fabulous food hampers containing artesanal products from these local suppliers:
Inés Rosales: orange flavoured cakes
Basilippo: orange olive oil
Mermelada la Vieja Fábrica: orange marmalade
Bodegas Góngora: orange wine
Burnaj: orange sparkling wine
Obrador Valle de la Osa: orange chocolate
I’ll be trying as many as I can, as well as heading out with Fiona Watson (aka Seville Writer) on Tuesday for a lunchtime orange tapa tapeo, and will be back to give you a report of my findings.
Meanwhile, you can have a look at the list of participants below to see what tapas they are offering and decide which ones you’d like to try… Continue reading “Sevilla Orange Days”→
Well this came as a pleasant surprise! I have been chosen to be one of the five gastronomy experts to do the final judging for an ambitious new project headed by the Sevilla Tourism Board to promote Sevilla’s Gastronomic Heritage, AKA the tapa, as a tourist attraction.
