A taste for tapas A taste for tapas (May 31, 2000)

These little dishes are a specialty at Iberia restaurant

By Jane Knoerle

"Remember, a tapa should be small, tasty and inexpensive, and it's always consumed at a bar," says Jose Luis Relinque, proprietor of Iberia restaurant in Portola Valley, which has been serving tapas almost since its opening 14 years ago. "Remember, a tapa should be small, tasty and inexpensive, and it's always consumed at a bar," says Jose Luis Relinque, proprietor of Iberia restaurant in Portola Valley, which has been serving tapas almost since its opening 14 years ago. (May 31, 2000)

A native of Seville, Spain, who grew up in Barcelona, Mr. Relinque jokes, "I opened this (tapa bar) for myself. There's nothing more fun than a tapa bar."

Tapas, a centuries-old tradition in Spain, have only recently attracted attention in this country. Even in our food-obsessed area, there are few tapa bars, especially on the Peninsula.

Tapas as a way of life go back to the 19th century in southern Spain. It's said the first tapas, served at local horse fairs, were a slice of cured ham or sausage put over the mouth of the wine glass to keep flies out. Smart bar owners served the salty snacks, compliments of the house, to encourage patrons to drink more wine.

Tapa bars quickly became the place to relax, have a drink with friends, and snack on tasty bites before meals, which are served late in Spain (2 p.m. for lunch, 10 p.m. for dinner).

At Iberia, the tapa bar opens at 5 p.m. Later this summer, Mr. Relinque and his wife, Jessica, proprietor of the Garden Grill in Menlo Park, hope to combine their two restaurants at the Garden Grill location. When that happens, the adjoining Red Terrier Pub will be serving tapas all day.

This combines the best of two worlds, says Mr. Relinque. "There's nothing more comfortable than a British pub, and nothing more fun than a tapa bar."

Running two restaurants is hard work. Mr. Relinque is executive chef at Iberia; his wife is executive chef at Garden Grill, which she opened 13 years ago. Combining the two restaurants will give the couple more time for their latest project, Rock of Gibraltar Comestibles, a new gourmet take-out shop to open next door to the Garden Grill.

Rock of Gibraltar will feature food from the restaurant's kitchen, such as braised lamb dishes and stews, prime meat (when available), fresh seafood, breads and desserts. "These are all things we have in the restaurant. We will also have basic pantry needs, and, of course, fine Spanish olive oil," says Mr. Relinque. The store will open this summer, at 1022 Alma St., site of the former Chet Yee pharmacy.

"We hope to be taking our whole crew with us," says Mr. Relinque. Some of the staff will work at the new store.

Spanish experience

Tapa tasting at Iberia is a lot easier than my experience earlier this month when sampling the specialties at Tapa Tapa, a popular bar in Barcelona. Blithely thinking everybody spoke English, my friend and I had no Spanish dictionary, and could neither read nor speak Spanish.

The menu was Spanish. Our waitress did not speak English. Hearing our pathetic attempts at communication, a nearby diner took pity on us and offered to translate our choices for the waitress.

We ordered that classic Spanish tapa, shrimp in garlic sauce; snails, stuffed with spicy sausage; green salad with vegetables; and tomato bread (more on that later). The green salad turned out to be cod salad with tomato and onion. Dried cod, which is then soaked in cold water for at least 24 hours, is a Spanish favorite. We were so hot, tired and grateful for food that we didn't complain.

Now about tomato bread. Only found in Catalonia, "It's the first thing you taste after the baby bottle," says Barcelona restaurateur Lluis Cruanyas. It's just good bread, lightly toasted, rubbed with ripe tomato, doused with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt. It's a tapa, after-school snack, or, with a slice of ham or cheese, a light supper. Barcelona even has a restaurant called Pa Amb Tomaquet (bread with tomato). For Catalans, tomato bread is the ultimate comfort food.

Tomato bread topped with cured ham ($3.75) is a regular on the tapa menu at Iberia, along with that other well-known favorite, tortilla a la Espanola, or potato omelet ($2.95). A Spanish tortilla has no connection with Mexican tortillas, except the word, which comes from the Latin torte, meaning round cake, according to cookbook author Penelope Casas.

The tortilla is served in every tapa bar in Spain. As basic as can be -- eggs and potatoes -- it can be made in advance, and tastes better and cuts more easily when left at room temperature.

As with tomato bread, its simple taste seems to satisfy the Spanish soul.

Last week Dolores Ayala, who tends the tapa bar at Iberia, served Almanac photographer Carol Ivie and me a selection of the evening tapa offerings, including veal stew with walnuts and olives, grilled mushrooms with garlic, tomato bread and ham, the traditional dish of olives, and good bread to mop up the sauces. Dry sherry is the traditional tapa beverage, but we chose white wine. Beer also goes well with the spicy bites.

In her book, "Tapas," Penelope Casas recommends serving tapas as an easy way to entertain at home. She arranges hot and cold tapas on a buffet, and lets guests help themselves. The tapas should present a variety of tastes and textures that compliment each other: something cold or marinated; a tapa in a sauce; another with bread or pastry; and one that is baked or grilled at the last minute. She serves dry fino sherry or Spanish wine.

If you would like to try preparing tapas at home, here are some easy recipes:

Sauteed mushrooms with garlic

Best of Spain cookbook

1 pound mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons minced parsley

2 garlic cloves, minced

Lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large skilled and saute the mushrooms over high heat for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley and garlic. Continue cooking briefly until mushrooms have softened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle mushrooms with lemon juice and serve at once. Serves 6 to 8 as a tapa.

Garlic shrimp

Best of Spain cookbook

3/4 pound shelled shrimp

Salt

4 garlic cloves sliced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon dry white wine

2 tablespoons minced parsley.

Sprinkle shrimp with salt. Heat oil, garlic and pepper flakes in a shallow pan over medium-high heat. When garlic begins to brown, add shrimp and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice, wine and parsley. Serves 4 to 6 as a tapa.

Chorizo speared on bread

Tapas cookbook

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 pound chorizo sausage in 8 pieces

1 tablespoon dry red wine

8 pieces sliced baguette

Heat oil in skillet and cook chorizo until brown on all sides. Deglaze the pan with wine and let it evaporate. Spear the sausage to the bread with toothpicks.

Banderillas

Banderillas are tidbits of fish, olives, and vegetables skewered on toothpicks. To determine the price of banderillas in a tapa bar, the custom is to count the empty toothpicks. Here are suggestions from the "Tapas" cookbook.

1. Combine a cooked shrimp; one cooked asparagus tip, 2 inches long; a dab of mayonnaise; 1/4 small hard-boiled egg. 2. Combine one pitted green olive; one thin slice dill pickle; one piece pimento; a 3/4-inch chunk solid white meat tuna.

The Iberia restaurant is located at 190 Ladera Country Shopper, Portola Valley. The Garden Grill is located at 1026 Alma St., Menlo Park. When the two restaurants are combined the name will be Iberia; however, some Garden Grill favorite dishes will continue to be served.