Page 120 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2023 LISBON EDITION

What is not mythic is that, over many
decades, tapas have evolved from tiny snacks of
bread and ham to tiny feasts of delicious, even
playful, complexity. If I’d been Alfonso’s doctor
I would have reversed his medical advice: Drink
a little wine and eat lots of tapas.
Which is exactly what we did for two weeks
last winter in southern Spain and the Spanish
island of Mallorca.
The very first meal on our trip was lunch at a
crowded tapas joint called Casa Lola in Malaga.
Our last, was dinner at Stagier Bar, a refined
tapas restaurant in Palma (Mallorca’s big city).
In between we had tapas in Granada, Cordoba
and Seville. We ate tapas at a bar’s outdoor ta-
bles; we ate tapas at a place with a Michelin
“bib” (that’s one step below a Michelin star).
We binged on tapas.
Our tapas trip was a family affair – six of us
for most of it – and organized to celebrate the
70th birthday of my wife and fellow WD&T
staff writer, Jody Jaffe. My stepson, Ben Shep-
ard, was our main food guide. He’s got a very
educated palate and skill with foodie websites.
His favorites?
“Two dishes from Mallorca come to mind as
‘best’,” he says. “The Bravas (potato, light aioli
and spicy paprika peppers) at restaurant An-
dana Palma, the ones that were left in oil for a
long time, fried, crushed and refried. And then
the Tiradito de Serviola, ají amarillo y kumquat.
Tiradito is a Japanese-Peruvian raw fish dish;
the garlic-kumquat-chili sauce still vivid in
memory.
“And my favorite meal was probably at the
Restaurante Casa Pepe de la Juderia in Cor-
doba. Stunning service, and completely deli-
cious food, including the best schnitzel type
dish I've ever experienced -- Flamenquines,
that's what they are called.”
If you didn’t recognize those dishes or their
ingredients, join the club. Much of what we ate
was new to me or served in unfamiliar – even

120 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2023