When in Spain Do as the Spaniards Do, Try Tapas While Tasca-Hopping

After more than 15 years of visiting Spain regularly, my pulse still races when I think of my next round of tasca- hopping. I am barely off the airplane when I am consumed with the need for my first tapa fix.

The popular tascas, Spanish bar-restaurants, serve tapas , delicious hot and cold hors d’oeuvres washed down with wine or beer. They are the mainstay of many a Spaniard’s diet. Although you can find them anywhere in Spain, they’re most abundant in Madrid. It is virtually impossible in this city to find one block that doesn’t have at least one or two tascas .

For Spaniards, who rarely sit down to lunch before 2:30 p.m. or to dinner before 10:30 p.m., tapas are snacks that keep them going from one four-course meal to the next. For the rest of us, they are meals in themselves, and nothing is more fun than tasca -hopping and trying a wide variety of tapas .

Catching the Fever

I got the tasca fever through an aunt who lives in Madrid. Like most Spaniards, my aunt will consume anything that walks, crawls, swims, flaps its wings, clings to sides of ships, or is otherwise laden with garlic and dripping with olive oil.

When I was in Spain for the first time, visiting my aunt, I had been on Spanish soil no more than 12 hours when my aunt suggested we head downstairs for tapas in a tasca next to her apartment building. After all, we had finished lunch two hours ago and had three more to go before dinnertime. Little did I know I was about to embark on a lifelong addiction.

The First Love

The tasca , Bar Los Barreros on Calle Ancora 9, near the Atocha train station, will always have a soft spot in my heart. It was the first love that one cherishes. But unlike good memories that are sometimes best left alone, Bar Los Barreros continues to be a source of delight each time I visit Madrid.

We entered a brightly lit room filled with men, women and a few children. Most were standing against the counter in the middle of the room. On the side was a TV, blaring away, but nobody was paying attention to it. Along the walls were half a dozen small table and chairs and in the back, a door leading to a comedor , or dining room. The floor was a sea of paper napkins, cigarette butts and sawdust. Everyone was talking animatedly, hands waving.

The thought of penetrating that shouting mass of humanity gave me a moment’s pause, but I soon followed my aunt and elbowed my way to the front. Here I learned the Numero Uno rule of tasca etiquette: elbow your way to the front.

At the Counter

Rule No. 2: Once you reach the counter, immediately wave your hands and start shouting “ Oiga !” (listen), a perfectly acceptable way of calling a waiter.

Rule No. 3: Immediately order something to drink. This secures your position at the bar while you survey the vast array of tempting tapas . A chato (small glass) of wine or a cana (beer) are most commonly ordered. But coffee, tea, soft drinks or cocktails also are available.

My first sight of the tapas was overwhelming. Platters piled high with shrimp, mussels, meatballs, mushrooms, green peppers. Most tapas are cooked on the spot.

You point to what you want and they whisk it off to the kitchen. Some tascas have grills and ovens for deep-frying right at the bars, where you can watch your food being prepared.

Conservative Beginning

That first evening I was rather conservative in my selection. I ordered fried squid, sardines marinated in oil and lemon juice, and a small dish of juicy green olives, the likes of which I’ve only had in Spain.

Rule No. 4: Toss your paper napkins, toothpicks and olive pits on the floor. No one worries about the floor; it’s much more important to keep counters free for food and drink.

Since that first day I’ve branched into every corner of Madrid with the determination of an obsessed person, looking for my next tasca fix. Along the way I’ve learned what to look for.

First and foremost, the quality of the tortilla espanola . Tortilla in Spain means omelet and is no way related to the Mexican tortilla. It is made of potatoes and onions and served in small wedges, hot or cold. The tortilla is the mainstay of every tasca and if it is not fresh, say “adios” and leave. If they can’t serve a fresh tortilla, chances are that everything else will be stale.

Drinking or Eating?

Second, look for tascas where the majority of the customers are drinking wine or beer. If most of them have cocktails in hand, they are probably more interested in drinking than in eating and the quality of the tapas will reflect that. Third, and perhaps most importantly for tourists, eat first and ask questions later.

Tascas serve squid in its own ink, blood sausages, boiled octopus sprinkled with cayenne pepper, marinated mussels, barnacles pried off the sides of pilings, tripe casseroles, goat cheeses and codfish dishes. All of these are on my list of favorites, despite some initial resistance.

But I admit I had to draw the line at a dish that many consider an exquisite Spanish delicacy: angulas (baby eels). At first glance they resemble a harmless plate of spaghetti. But their tiny eyes give them away and I am reminded of the worms I used to scoop up after a rainstorm when I was a child.

In Old Madrid

Like most newcomers to Madrid, I did my first serious tasca -hopping in Old Madrid in the cuevas or cave bars on the street below the 16th-Century Plaza Mayor. These caves were once used as prisons for “heretics” awaiting their fate at the hands of the Inquisition. Most were burned to death in the Plaza Mayor. Later the caves were used as hideouts for bandits.

A bit more expensive than the neighborhood tascas because they attract lots of tourists, these cuevas are nevertheless a delight to visit and are popular with Spaniards as well as with tourists from throughout the world. Most are through an archway and down a flight of stairs from the Plaza Mayor. They are on Calle de Cuchilleros or around the corner on Cava San Miguel.

You’ll find Meson del Champinon which, as its name implies, specializes in mushrooms. These are not ordinary mushrooms but giant mushroom caps stuffed with sausage and garlic and grilled in a sea of olive oil. Sangria is ladled from an oak bucket atop the bar and the mushrooms are served, about six to an order, with bread that you dip into the hot, sizzling oil.

A Maze of Rooms

Also in this area is Meson La Tortilla, Meson Asturias and Meson de la Guitarra. All are a maze of small, dark rooms, one opening onto another, where you half expect to find Bizet’s “Carmen” and her band of Gypsies.

My favorite tasca in the Plaza Mayor section is the untouristy Valle del Tietar on Ciudad Rodrigo 5 just off the square. This is where I go for my tortilla fix, delicious bread from the province of Asturias, and the world’s best meatballs. The restaurant is a labyrinth of small rooms always filled with Spaniards.

I thought the Plaza Mayor area was pure heaven, but I didn’t know the meaning of heaven until my second visit to Spain when a fellow addict introduced me to the Echegaray district in downtown Madrid. Near the Plaza Santa Ana, Calle de Echegaray is a tiny, narrow street chock-full of tapa bars. You’ll find La Chuleta, Los Gabieles, Casa Parra, La Caserola, Gallo Verde and La Casona, all well worth your tapa time.

Another Group

One evening while walking along Calle Victoria toward the Plaza Santa Ana, I came across a tiny alleyway and, to my delight, yet another group of tascas. The street is called Alvarez del Gato and on it are two of my three favorite tascas . First is La Casa de las Gambas, where the specialties are shellfish. My favorite there is Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp ala garlic), tiny shrimp served in a two-inch-deep casserole dish, filled to the brim with sizzling olive oil, garlic cloves and hot red peppers, and there’s lots of good bread for soaking up the spicy oil.

Next door is Meson Asturias, a friendly neighborhood tasca where the locals are only too happy to suggest their favorite dishes and usually insist on buying a round of wine. You could spend weeks in this place alone, sampling its many dishes.

One of my favorites is pimientos al patron , green peppers deep-fried and served piping hot with a sprinkling of sea salt. Another favorite is bacalao con tomate (codfish with tomato sauce), and I never leave without tasting the wide selection of cheeses, sausages and the delicious salads of chopped onions, green peppers and tomatoes.

Food and Atmosphere

If I were forced to choose one tasca in which to spend eternity, I would choose El Club on Calle Victoria, not only because of its delicious tapas and some of the best paella in town, but because of its location. It is directly across from the bullfight ticket office and next door to the office that sells tickets to the soccer matches. This makes for lots of good people-watching, plenty of bullfight and soccer fans, and a 100% Spanish atmosphere. There’s also an outdoor cafe where you can sit and watch the Madrilenos go by.

But that’s this year’s favorite. Next year, around that next corner, who knows what delightful new tascas I’ll discover? And the old ones, like a collection of fine records or favorite books, wait to be re-experienced and enjoyed each time I visit Madrid.