The Art of Tapeo

Spanish Wine and Cheese Party!

In Spain and in many of its famous cities, tapeo is the practice of sampling various tapas at different bars in town. Many consider this an art, as far as food tasting is concern.

At the bars, instead of peanuts or popcorn you'll receive small food samples (small plates) when ordering a drink. This would be a free sample and does not increase the cost of your order.

This is an art so much so that there are hundreds of combinations that you could possibly find. It's very common to spend an entire morning going from bar to bar tasting all the available samples of these wonderful finger foods. Sheesh! Does anybody work over there in Spain? Sounds like my kind of life!

Tapas include a wide and varied experience for the taste buds. Fried seafood is a big favorite, but it doesn't stop there. Many small plates include cheese, olives, bread and loads of interesting spices for a variety of tastes.

A giant party in motion, where everyone is welcome tapas bar-hopping has a life of it's own. People talk to each other, whether they know one another or not. You could find yourself making new friends just as well as running into old ones.

The culture of tapeo is a reflection of how the Spanish view life. Joyous people that they are, eating, drinking and schmoozing is all wrapped up in the pretty package of Tapeo.

Unlike the US of A, entertaining at home is not the norm in Spain. Instead, Tapas bars replace living rooms. Here you can eat and drink while watching a soccer game, or arrange meetings with friends to relax and enjoy each other's company.

Tapeo becomes even more important as the central place for socializing in smaller villages and towns. The local bar or café is the meeting place for everyone. Since the Spanish love socializing, strolls to the local bar are a natural part of the evening walk - a cultural custom of strolling at night with no real goal in mind - other than to possibly run into friends at a bar or two (or three!)

This Spanish bar hopping, in certain regions of Spain might include, for instance, ordering a couple of tapas at each place a person would stop. And this would be followed with a small glass of wine or a bit of beer. A full meal would come later at home.

Or, as it turns out, in some of the southern parts of Spain, going to a bar or restaurant for tapas becomes the meal itself. Instead of bar-hopping as they do in the north, one would be happy to linger at the table and fill up on the small plates. That's my style of eating!

Tapeo is a tasty twist on bar hopping. Probably a little healthier too, since you eat along with the drinking. Pretty smart!

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