Tapas y tapas y tapas

Greetings blogosphere. My name's Kevin and before I delve into my maiden post, I want to take a moment to discuss tapas. I'm not here to gripe or groan about the portion size or the number of dishes one must order to fully satisfy one's appetite. In fact, I'm more interested in the word 'tapas' itself. It seems to me that tapas might be one of the most commonly misunderstood words in the English language (when pronounced correctly). The parallels between the words 'tapas' and 'topless' in conversational English are uncanny. I think of the countless conversations I've had in which someone has mentioned going to "a great new tapas place" only to see their audience's eyes widen and brows raise trying to discern how the topic conversation suddenly shifted to some new strip club.

In any event, I did go to a fantastic tapas place recently and that's what I'm here to share with you. One night last month, my girlfriend and I decided to grab a quick bite at La Tasca, a small chain restaurant with five locations here in the DC area. I'm not here to tell you whether you should go there or not, but I'll tell you what I ordered and what I thought about it. Take from it what you will.

©2011 Nadine Matar

©2011 Nadine Matar

We were seated at a two-top right right by the front door and greeted by two of my favorite things in the world: Bread and extra virgin olive oil. I believe my affinity for fine bread may have originated from the after-school job I held many years ago at Best Buns Bread Company in Arlington, VA. If you haven't heard of it, I highly suggest you go there immediately and try everything they serve. But I digress. The bread at La Tasca was obviously fresh and the oil was your typical no-frills EVOO. Olive oil is deemed to be extra virgin only if it is the first cold-press of the olives. A lot of the time you'll see "Pure Olive Oil" on the side of the bottle, which basically means this is what we got when we chemically extracted the oils from the already-mashed olive pulp after we made extra virgin olive oil. EVOO is the obvious choice and my go-to for any recipe that requires oil.

Now onto the real fun.

©2011 Nadine Matar

This is a duck leg confit between a puree of roasted garlic and carrots and caramelized apples and onions and garnished with a sprig of rosemary. I love rosemary, and it enhanced the aesthetic of the plate, but this was a dish so full of complimentary flavors that the rosemary was rendered useless. The confit was prepared with nutmeg and orange peel, which gave it a wonderful flavor and acidity, and it was cooked to absolute perfection. A pat of warm butter would have been jealous of the duck's ability to melt in your mouth.

©2011 Nadine Matar

These are bits of octopus legs that were skewered and grilled and seasoned with garlic, parsley, and of course some EVOO to boot. The tasty cephalopod morsels are resting on a bed of thick-sliced fingerling potatoes and then dusted with paprika. Admittedly, I've only eaten octopus a handful of times, but this was by far the most tender and succulent octopus I've ever had.

©2011 Nadine Matar

I think you get the picture: I enjoyed the food. Speaking of getting the picture, here are a few more. All photos courtesy of Nadine Matar and her Nikon D3100.

©2011 Nadine Matar

©2011 Nadine Matar