MANILA, Philippines ? King Alfonso the Wise (Alfonso X) of Castile, Spain had an illness for which his doctor recommended that he nibble on small dishes between meals. This he enjoyed with wine. When he recovered, the wise king decreed that from then on, the inns of Castile had to serve wine with something to nibble on to prevent poor alcohol drinkers from downing wine on an empty stomach. Thus was the tapa born.
I felt the need to write about tapas first because the tapa I?m familiar with as a Filipino is beef tapa, for which the king is not Alfonso but Tapa King. Apparently in Spain, the tapa takes on a totally different character altogether!
I was of the impression that tapas are appetizers, something to nibble on while waiting for the main course. Some foodies are of the opinion, however, that a tapa is not an appetizer but, as Alfonso the Wise decreed, something served either during the long break between late lunch and dinner or while barhopping after midnight (closer to our ?pulutan?). This has to be understood within the cultural context of the Spanish, of course, who enjoy a late lunch (around 2 p.m.) and a likewise late supper (around 10 p.m.), after which it?s time to party, bar hop and enjoy tapas. Some bars offer free tapas with the wine served, while in some places, the thin slice of meat is put on top of the glass of wine. Theories vary as to why this is done?some say it?s to keep flies away (doesn?t make sense, because then you would be eating something a fly has landed on!); others say it?s to hide the smell of bad wine. Whatever the reason, this practice is probably why tapas came to be called so: tapa literally means ?lid? or ?cover? in Spanish.
The first tapas bar I remember (I?m not that old) in the Philippines was El Cirkulo in Makati, a fine idea of Malu Gamboa. However, I don?t recall the Spanish practice of serving tapas with wine there. In fact, I have no recollection of their tapas nor of their wines at all, although bar hopping was definitely practiced down Pasay Road, as friends would converge at Cirkulo after a meal at Pep?s (The Gathering Place), then back to Cable Car at around 3 a.m. for fried rice.
I discovered, through my buddy Mr. Badiday, an amazing tapas place near Metrowalk. It?s called Barcino. If you are not familiar with the area, it would be easy to miss. It?s on the second floor of a building beside the parking lot and beside a parlor?who would ever think that an amazing tapas bar existed there?
The restaurant is small, seating only about 25 in its main section and possibly another 20 in the other room (they have expanded since they changed owners). The interiors are made to resemble a wine cellar, with barrels of wine doubling as bar tables and boxes of wine used as dividers between tables. Black and white pictures that remind you of Spain, like a picture of Pablo Picasso, speckle the walls.
But the highlight of the restaurant is its menu. It offers generous plates of tapas, has a selection of close to 20 tapitas, and wine is served at pocket-friendly prices by the bottle. A plate of Tapas Gourmet comes with lomo, jamon serrano, chorizo, salchichon and cheese. This is a great chit-chat dish over wine with a couple of friends. The chorizo at this restaurant is actually flown in from Spain and just lovely.
More than the tapas, though, I find extreme pleasure nibbling on the tapitas. There are various meats to choose from: Jamon Serrano, Chorizo Iberico, spicy chorizo. But what won my heart was the Tapitas de Chistoria, a small bowl of tiny chorizos that are slightly salty, slightly smoky, oh-so-juicy and just heavenly.
I could fill up on tapas alone but if you happen to visit the restaurant for a dinner date, they have some mean main courses too. They offer paellas?regular and negra?for what?s a Spanish restaurant without paella? They also offer Bacalao and Callos. But the dish that comes most highly recommended is the Costilla de Adan. Costilla, I learned when I looked it up, means ?rib? so the direct translation of this dish is ?Adam?s Rib.? If Barcino?s Costilla is the rib from which we women were created, then it is no wonder why we women are such gorgeous creatures that men have such a nasty craving for! The Costilla is uber tender, with melt-in-your-mouth fat and lies in a savory sauce that is slightly sweet, just the way Filipinos like it. It is big enough to share among petites, but a real man I believe can finish an order on his own.
The restaurant also offers various patés, which you may also order by the bottle, in case you would like to bring a taste of Barcino home. They have salmon and tuna patés, pimiento and roquefort patés, and for the more adventurous, pavo (turkey) paté. These come with crackers?all 125 grams of it. These are bottled patés that are flown in from Spain.
The wine list is, as expected, extensive. These are Spanish wines, however, so don?t go looking for Margaux. The wine list is divided into regions: Rioja, Cava, Terra Alta, Rueda, etc. They have P500 wines and reserves that go for only a little over P1,000.
Even on a weekday, it would wise to make a reservation at this restaurant as there are few tables. Besides, meats this good cannot be kept from food hunters in the metro. On a weekend, be prepared to sip your wine standing as the crowd is sizeable. It would be easy to bump into someone you know. With Spanish music in the background, it would be easy to let loose on some Beronia and shout Tapa!
Barcino. 2/F City Gold Plaza, Ortigas Town Center, Julia Vargas Ave., Bo. Ugong, Pasig. Tel. 636 2963, 0917 5810459. E-mail barcinogourmet@yahoo.com. Major credit cards accepted. No wheelchair access.
