Sevilla’s first tabanco is celebrating its first anniversary today.
Be there or be square!
Category: tapas
Seville Gastronomic Heritage Guide
Introduing Sevilla’s first Gastronomic Heritage Guide to tapas (and the best places to find them). The first printing of the guide is out and about and you can also download the free APP, which has both Spanish and English versions. It’s a perfect way for both locals and visitors to discover the diverse and delicious gastronomy of Sevilla, one bar at a time. Handy maps and recipes are also included in the APP.
“Establishments suggested come from a popular survey conducted by Tourism Board of City of Seville website between April 15 and September 15, 2013, as well as from a selection prepared by a technical commission of experts composed of Julio Fernández, Chef of the Michelin Star restaurant Abantal, Fernando Huidobro, president of the Andalusian Academy of Gastronomy and Tourism, Javier Compás, wine tasting technician, journalist and gastronomic writer, Shawn Hennessey, best gastronomy Twitter 2013 and author of Sevilla Tapas gastronomy tours, and Paco Sánchez, historic bar-restaurant owner in town, former owner of Bar Giralda and Bar Estrella. As a rule, these establishments are limited to the traditional and touristic heart of the city, although some other establishments are also included beyond that area because of uniqueness, quality and tradition.”
~ Visita Sevilla
I am very pleased and proud to have had a part in the creation of this very special guide.
Download the APP at Visita Sevilla
Andalucía PopUp
So this happened while I was away in Madrid last week – Sevilla’s first ever street-food event, #StreetFoodAndalucia by @AndalucíaPopUp, which was held on the roof terrace of the Oasis Backpacker Hostel @OasisHostels. In my opinion Sevilla has probably the best bar-food (ie tapas scene) of any city in the world, and it’s great to see good quality “street food” from kiosks and trucks finally coming of age here, starting with the recent arrival of Sevillas first food truck La Cayejera @lacayejera.
Anyhow, since I couldn’t be there my friend Peter Tatford @SVQconcierge said he would stop by and have a look (and he even took these photos!). I’m told that, although modest in scale – the rooftop venue itself was a bit limited in space – the event was well attended, and got quite buzzy. And the four participants all did a great job of preparing everything from sushi to burgers at their stalls and keeping everybody well-fed. Looking forward to attending the next one. Here is a video of the event, and there’s even a small cameo by Peter about half-way through.
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-fAQXRosWU”]
Andalucía PopUp
Ronqueo at La Azotea
It was definitely not your average Tuesday morning. I had been invited (along with a few journalists, bloggers, photographers and friends) to a “ronqueo”, the skilled cutting of an almadraba tuna. The almadraba (Arabic for “the place of striking or beating”) is an age-old technique for catching blue fin tuna that continues to the present day. Every year during the tuna migration from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean (May-June), mazes of nets are set, creating a channel of nets which direct the tunas to a larger “floor net” which is then raised to the surface, enclosing and capturing the tunas.
La Azotea had arranged to have a tuna delivered to their Jesús del Gran Poder location to give us a demonstration of the traditional cutting art know as as the “ronqueo” – the name comes from the rasping sound made when the knife cuts through the spine (from Spanish “roncar”- to snore). The 233 kilo tuna arrived and, with some difficulty, was transferred from the truck to the restaurant, which had been stripped of all tables and chairs and had a protective layer of plastic covering the floor. The master cutter then wasted no time in getting down to work.
First the head was removed and it was discovered that the tuna had been killed “Japanese style” with a bolt to the head while still in the water. Then the belly (ventresca) was removed and shortly afterwards we heard the rasping sound of knife against spine. The massive upper and lower loin and tail sections were next to come out and then the cutter went to work on the head, removing the cheeks, mormo, morillo (don’t know how to translate those last two).
Then we were treated to the freshest tuna tataki ever – straight out of the fish and onto the griddle. It was a fascinating experience and, as with jamón cutting, it was easy to see that hand-cutting the tuna in this way is truly an art form. I’m so glad I got a chance to see my first ronqueo. Thanks Juan!
This is pretty much the end of the almadraba season for this year so make sure to get over to La Azotea this week while the fresh tuna lasts.
La Azotea
Jesús del Gran Poder 31
Zaragoza 5
Mateos Gago 8
chefs Jesús and José María with La Azotea owner Juan
Sherry & Tapas Tasting Menu
It’s International Sherry Week and, along with offering my Introduction to Sherry & Tapas Tours, I also worked with Vineria San Telmo owner Juan Tarquini on this fabulous Sherry & Tapas Tasting Menu which I was invited to try yesterday along with friends and fellow bloggers Fiona @Seville_Writer and Rai @ComiendoporSVQ. The four-course menu features four sherries from four different bodegas:
- Jamón Ibérico de Bellota and cured sheep’s cheese
Manzanilla La Guita
Bodegas Hijos de Rainera Pérez Marín
- Bacalao a la Roteña
Amontillado Botaina
Bodegas Lustau
- Pluma Ibérica with curried pumpkin
Oloroso Gobernador
Bodegas Hidalgo
- Chocolate cake (by @Gollerias)
Pedro Ximénez Nectar
Bodegas Gonzalez Byass
The Vineria San Telmo has long been one of my favourite tapas bars in Sevilla with consistently good food and an excellent wine list. This is a beautifully balanced menu with well-matched wines, and great value at 25€. You can try it yourself at the Vineria until Sunday June 8th. Be sure to book ahead and let them know that you’ll be wanting the menu.
Vineria San Telmo
Paseo Catalina de Ribera, 4
tel. 954 410 600
Open 7 days a week 11.00 – midnight
Kitchen closed 17.00 – 20.00 with cold snacks and desserts available
The aftermath! Fiona, Rai and Vineria San Telmo owner Juan