BARcelona Tapas
201 N. Delaware Street
Indianapolis, Indiana  46204
http://barcelonatapas.com/

tapas [ˈtæpəs] pl n Spanish

a.    light snacks or appetizers, usually eaten with drinks

As I understand it, barhopping is a popular pastime in Spain.  When one goes out with a group for the evening, they skip from bar to bar, drunkenly chowing on the house specialty snacks or tapas of each establishment.  Most places make one particular dish and they make it well.  In America, these types of dishes are more commonly known as “small plate” items and they’re gaining in popularity.  BARcelona Tapas, as evidenced by the name, is a bar/restaurant that specializes in tapas-style cuisine. On a bitterly cold and dreary Sunday evening, I hauled my wife and family downtown for Spanish feast of epic proportions.

What We Got:  Serrano Ham & Manchego Plate, Baked Goat Cheese & Marinara with Garlic Bread, Chicken & Serrano Ham Croquettes, Bacalao, Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna, Sauteed Broccolini, Garlic Pepper Chicken Wings, Meatballs, Grilled Sausages, Beef Tenderloin Brochette, Tres Leches Cake and Carmel Flan.  Plates ranged in price from about $5.50 to $8.00.

My lord, looking at that in print makes me feel like a hopeless glutton.  I really should seek help.

But really, this wasn’t the piggy-fest that it appears to be.  As you can see from the pictures, each plate was a fairly small portion and only equated to about one or two really good bites of food after sharing with the group.  Personally, I love dining like this but I understand that it’s not for everyone.  If this isn’t your cup of tea, I really cannot recommend BARcelona Tapas, as it is the main attraction on the menu.  By nature, I can be a little indecisive with meal choices and I love the ability to try several different items without investing too much time or money in any one given dish.  We ordered the dishes in waves and the server kindly paced their arrival.

I struggled over this review for quite some time because I could easily write a full review for each dish.  For the sake of brevity, I will highlight my three favorite dishes along with only dish that I didn’t really like at all.  As for the others, just assume that they were enjoyable enough to likely be ordered again.  See their online menu for a description if you can’t make it out from the pictures.  I might have to throw a few honorable mentions in there too.

First off, bonus points for the wine list.  I love Spanish reds…especially those of the “old vine” variety.  They had one at a very reasonable price point and I was a happy camper.

1^stPlace – Bacalao:  Crispy patties filled with a silky salt cod and potato mixture.  The creamy aioli coupled with a fresh spritzing of lemon made this my absolute favorite dish of the night.  I took more than my share and didn’t feel guilty about it at all.

2^ndPlace – Serrano Ham and Chicken Croquettes:  Although they arrive looking like store-bought fried mozzarella sticks, these little fried morsels are far from ordinary.  The cumin aioli is very good and the croquettes contain just enough salt and grease to straighten you up when the wine starts to kick in.

3^rdPlace – Broccolini:  The lovechild of broccoli and Chinese kai-lan proved to be a much needed green reprieve from the onslaught of aioli smattered fried goods.  This dish disappeared all too quickly and I found myself wanting more.

Dead Last – Grilled Spanish Sausages:  I can admit that this may actually be an okay dish. However, after consuming all of the other fried, fatty, salty items, I simply could not stomach this one.  The cumin aioli, which was heavenly on the croquettes, now tasted like I was licking the drip-pan on a gas grill.  There is only so much fat that a person can stomach in one sitting.  It was my probably my own fault for ordering so meat-heavy toward the end.

Honorable Mention – Desserts.  Both were excellent.  I could have eaten the Flan three times over.

Would I Buy It Again? Oh heck yes.  I might not order the exact same twelve dishes again, but I’m already craving the Bacalao as I’m writing this review.  All of the food was well prepared and pretty tasty, although some dishes were definitely better than others.  The overall experience was a lot of fun and the nature of the menu makes the food something of an adventure.  It’s a great place to try something new and step outside your normal comfort level without going too crazy.  The service was perfect and the atmosphere warranted a long, relaxed dining experience.  I’ve heard that this place is usually swamped, but we were there early on a Sunday evening and the dining room was fairly sparse (also the night of a Colts home game).  The price might drive some people away…the bottom line of our bill was a little on the embarrassing side, but I believe that one could eat here relatively cheaply.  Splitting the cost in a really large group tends to help.  The prices of individual plates might not seem like much, but it can add up after a while, especially when coupled with alcohol.

BARcelona Tapas might not be the best value in town, but I have to admit that it was one of the best meals I’ve had in quite some time.

-Indy Food Geek

I usually go on an annual trip to San Francisco.  If you ask anyone in this country that knows anything about food, they would say that New York and San Francisco are tied for the country’s best restaurants.  I would almost tie in Las Vegas, but they are basically satellites of NY and SF restos.

So what I try to figure out, is it a must have when I go to San Francisco next year?  My first meal straight off the plane:

Ike’s Place
http://ilikeikesplace.com/

What I Got: Al Bundy $9.99.  Salami, Ham, French Dressing, Avocado and Smoked Gouda.

Btw, anyone that names a sandwich after the biggest G ever is awesome.

Man v. Food darling Ike’s Place was a must have for me when I was in SF.  Grub Grade had a few nice segments on it as well.  What makes Ike’s special is two things: 1. The garlic heavy “Dirty Sauce” and 2. The bread is baked to order.   It takes a few more minutes, but who cares?

It took us about 25 minutes to order, but the line can be an hour or so on the weekend.  Call ahead is available.  It took around 10-15 minutes to get the sandwich after ordering.

The sandwich was excellent.  Quality meats and the bread was crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside.  The sandwich was a good size and my uncle said that I wasn’t going to be hungry for dinner, but he was wrong.  This sandwich was about as good as it gets.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes, easily.  It’s a must have, although probably for lunch.

Barbacco
http://www.barbaccosf.com/

My beloved Aunt said that it is like tapas, but Italian.  Interior was trendy casual and packed at 5:30 on a Wednesday.  We ordered about twelve items between three people and were stuffed.  The total was around $110 with just food.  There were some flat out misfires like the pork, olive and almond dish that was oil drenched.

However, I did enjoy the roasted pork pasta:

Otherwise, 80% of the food was a let down. A cool menu and a lot of good looking items, they just need to learn how to make them.

Would I Buy It Again?  No.  A bad meal and really bad for San Francisco.

This is a continuing series, so I will cover day two in a future post.

-wibia

Spanish Bocata

During the week after Christmas, I went back to El Bodegon to give it another shot. I arrived at 11:40 AM and there was not a single customer in the store. With their menu lending to lunch, this was not a good sign. Previously I commented on how impressive their deli case of imported meats and cheeses was in relation to what you can find in the Indianapolis area, but today, they were completely empty. Is this place going out of business?

What I Got: Spanish Bocata $5.98

This sandwich is made with a crusty bread, olive oil, Serrano ham and Manchego cheese. The ham had a nice smoky flavor and had a texture similar to prosciutto while the cheese was thick with a smooth, creamy taste. The bread was fresh and there was a small amount of a orange colored Spanish relish topping on the bread that had a sweet taste that set apart the smoky ham.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes, but only if I could have 2-3 times as much of the relish sauce on the sandwich.

Overall, my feelings on El Bodegon are mixed having some good and some very bad food. Based on my two visits, I do not see how this store will survive long-term unless it makes some improvements and gains some needed visibility. Give it a try yourself and let us at WIBIA know what you think.

-EatHSE

El Bodegon

El Bodegon
8510 East 96th Street
Fishers, Indiana  46037

El Bodegon is a Tapas Bar and gourmet shop.  Although the store has a few grocery items, it is what you find in the deli case that makes this store unique to the north side of Indianapolis.  Inside the case, you will find many meats and cheeses imported from Spain and South America.  Although the prices are high, the quality and authenticity looks good.  You can buy the product to take home and prepare or choose items off their menu and have them prepared for you.

What I Got:

Paella Valenciana (Seafood Paella) $7.99 (far left of photo)

There are probably hundreds if not thousands of versions of paella in existence.  This paella was fresh and just out of the pan when I walked into the store and it smelled great.  The seafood included some whole shrimp that were quite large, some squid and some small clams mixed in with the rice.  Unfortunately, the dish was overcooked with the seafood being rubbery and the rice too soft with little taste or seasoning and clearly not cooked in fish stock.  This was a special on the menú and is one I would avoid if it happens to be on the menu if you visit.

Tapa de morcilla de arroz (Rice-filled blood sausage tapa)$2.50 (top right of photo)

I tried this because the sausage in the case looked excellent and it was something completely new and unique to me.  The bread tasted fresh and the crust had a nice crunch like you might get in a European bakery.  The sausage was freshly made and the rice complimented the sausage nicely.  They key here is fresh.  Unlike the chicken empanada this was fresh making me wish I had ordered a couple more tapas to try.

Empanadas Argentinas con pollo $1.99 (bottom right of photo)

I love a good chicken empanada if it is well made.  If you have never had an empanada, it is like a turnover that is stuffed.  Although this one had a good shape and size to it, the turnover was chewy and the chicken inside was dry.  It was only after I ordered that I noticed they were pre-made and sitting under a heat lamp at a counter behind the main counter.  What could have been great was a disappointment.

Service

I waited for 15 minutes to get my order and there were only two other customers in the store.  Considering that there were more employees than customers, I found the wait time to be unacceptable.  I took advantage of the time to talk to both of the other customers and both were returning customers that had favorable experiences previously.

Would I Buy it Again? Of the three items reviewed, I would only try the tapa again.  However, I like to see a place with a unique products succeed in a city with little character and many strip malls.  Per the recommendation of the other customers, I will go back and try one of their Spanish Bocatas made with a crusty bread, olive oil, Serrano ham and manchego cheese along with some more of their tapas.  A follow-up review will be posted early in 2010.

-EatHSE