tapas | Azahar Sevilla

We Love Málaga Tours

March 13, 2013July 14, 2014 azaharLeave a comment

As some of you may know, I am in love with Málaga and consider it my second home after Sevilla, so I try to get down there as often as possible. And although I’ve been visiting on a regular basis since 2009 I know I still have a lot to learn about it.

I’ve been a Twitter pal of Victor @welovemalaga for a few months and had been hearing great things about his tours, so during a quick visit last weekend I decided to take one of his Malaga Walking Tours. We met on a rainy Saturday morning and, because of the weather, I had Victor all to myself.

A second-generation tour guide (his father and brother are also professional licenced guides) Victor is a natural story-teller. Charming, informed, and passionate about his native city, I was immediately drawn in and held captivated by his entertaining anecdotes and fascinating facts about Málaga. No dull routine “canned talk” on this tour! Places I had already visited many times took on new meaning and I also got to see a few “secret spots” that I didn’t know existed. The two hours flew by. Towards the end we were joined by Victor’s friend Tatiana and we were taken for the final surprise of the tour – a breathtaking rooftop view where we could look out over the port and also see the route we had taken.

By this time we were getting hungry and, because Victor also does tapas tours, we decided to do a mini-tapeo before I had to catch my train back to Sevilla. Just imagine! The Málaga King and Sevilla Queen of Tapas together at last. 😉 Not surprisingly, Victor took me to three places I hadn’t been to before and I remembered when I was in Málaga just before Christmas how he had also given me some great tips via Twitter on tapas bars I should visit. He certainly knows the tapas scene in Málaga and is open and generous in sharing his knowledge.

So the next time you’re in Málaga I whole-heartedly recommend that you take one of Victor’s tours. Even if, like me, you’ve visited the city before I guarantee you’ll see it with fresh eyes.

We Love Malaga

Mini-Burger Madness

March 2, 2013 azahar1 Comment

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.

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.

Sevilla Orange Days

February 28, 2013 azahar1 Comment

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” →

Come y Comparte – Panrallao

January 26, 2013 azaharLeave a comment

This week I was invited to Panrallao for the third Come y Comparte (Eat & Share) blogger’s lunch, a new initiative organised by journalist Ángel Fernández (@angelfdezmillan) and Cristóbal Bermúdez (@tapeoporsevilla), which brings together not only food bloggers but foodies from other walks of life, such as journalists, architects, artists and photographers. My lunch companioins on Wednesday were foodblogger María (@losblogsdemaria), private chef Lochy (@cocinoparati), and eco-journo José María Montero (@monteromonti).

I’d been to Panrallao before and they are listed on Sevilla Tapas, so I had an idea of what to expect and was looking forward to it. This is a small neighbourhood bar in Nervión run by two friends, which opened in March 2011. Miguel Bauzano runs the bar and dining area and chef Luis Bonet takes care of the kitchen. The decor is fresh and light, tall tables with stools in pale blue, white and natural wood. Handy antique hooks run along walls hung with tiny pictures in rustic frames, and the large windows and glass doors let in a lot of natural light. There’s also a good – and free – wifi connection.

For our “tasting menu” lunch we were served five tapas and a dessert to share between two. First up was one of the house specialities that I’d missed on my first visit – breaded and fried aubergines served with cheese sauce, which were crispy-fried to perfection. Then it was on to the steak tartare – a generous portion that came with little homemade toasts. I’m not able to give a reliable opinion on this one since I can’t stand raw meat, but my “sharing companion” José María assured me it was very good. Next up was the braised octopus in oyster sauce with “rin-ran”, which I’d quite enjoyed on my first visit. This time round the sauce was overpowering (perhaps because there was so little octopus in the dish?). What was there was very tasty, but there needed to be either more pulpo or less sauce to balance it out. Moving on to the bulltail lasagna, which came piping hot in cute mini casseroles. This had to be the biggest disappointment of all the dishes served. My companion and I struggled to find any hint of bulltail, cheese or bechamel sauce, but it was simply and utterly flavourless. Happily this was followed by what for me was the star dish of our tasting menu. A lovely sous vide bacalao served with migas and morcilla. On its own the bacalao was pleasant enough but teaming it with the other two ingredients was inspired. Our meal was accompanied by Cerro Encinas, a light red wine from Córdoba. Dessert was a pair of hot freshly baked chocolate cookies served with a cup of hot white chocolate.

Overall it was a pleasant experience and I look forward to taking part in future Come y Comparte events (the “sharing” bit means I write a blog post about it and also do some tweeting during our lunch). The plan is to mix it up so that every four weeks or so I’ll get to join up with a different group of local foodies. I think it’s a great way of meeting like-minded people over a shared passion. Thanks again for the invite Ángel and Cristóbal.

Birthday Tapeo

January 7, 2013 azaharLeave a comment

So today is my birthday and, wanting to do something a bit special, I thought I would go and have a meal at a very special seafood restaurant that I haven’t visited here yet. But then after getting a bit of feedback from friends I wondered if I really ought to spend so much on lunch for me and my best friend/flatmate/biz partner Peter (aka Seville Concierge). And so almost last minute I decided to ditch the too expensive plan and opt for – what else? – a special tapeo. After all, it’s what I do. Except that when I do it for others I’m actually working and don’t partake other than a couple of drinks and a tapa or two throughout the evening.

But today this was MY tapeo and so I decided what I really wanted first of all was a gorgeous plate of jamón Ibérico. So we went to Flores Jamones y Vinos and I got chatting to Federico about the different jamones. Well, turns out Federico has been cutting jamón for 30 years and his father still keeps pata negra pigs in the Huelva mountains and cures his own, so I was very pleased to have this guy cutting my birthday jamón for me. As a treat he made a plate from two different legs, both from Huelva. One he cut open fresh for me, the other he took from another leg closer to the bone. And both were exquisite. A perfect start to my birthday tapeo. Especially the bit when they all sang “Cumpleaños Feliz” to me.

Next it was off to the Alameda to have a couple of special snacks at Al Aljibe. You know how some places have that one special dish that keeps you going back for more time and time again? Well, Al Aljibe has about half a dozen such dishes for me. Today we settled on the secreto Ibérico confitado with polenta and their amazing langoustine burger with huancaina sauce and poached quail egg. And it was especially nice to enjoy this snack outside on the terrace on a sunny January 7th afternoon.

Last stop was supposed to be at the absolutely fabulous La Azotea but, as it was a bank holiday, the place was packed to bursting even more than usual. So after a bit of a wait we decided to move on and ended up at the spectactular Restaurante Cuna 2. One of the things I love best about this beautifully restored old mansion is that it’s so unstuffy, so don’t let it intimidate you. You can just as easily pop in for a quick beer or a full meal. And the staff are terrific. You can get tapas at any of the three bar areas on the main floor so for my last tapeo stop we ordered delicious plump and garlicky langoustines al ajillo, and also a tapa of salt cod with garlic confit and plum tomatoes. By this time we were fit to bursting and had spent less than half of what we’d have spent at the original choice. Plus we got to walk around between tapas stops.

No wonder people love tapas tours so much! And although I’m always doing them, this was the first time in a while that it was my very own tapas tour. We had a great time. How about you? Do you prefer going out to restaurants or tapas bars?