Bar 44, Cowbridge, Wales

Completely off-piste from my normal neck of the woods, and probably any of you who happen to be reading this too, but should you find yourself in the Vale of Glamorgan I'd strongly recommend you dine at Bar 44.

It's a tapas bar of rare quality. I dined alone there last week while working away in the area, and everything was bloody brilliant.

Catalan bread with tomatoes and serrano ham. Just very good bread, toasted and topped with a mush of tomatoes with actual flavour and a generous covering of glistening, gorgeous ham. This stuff reminded me how good serrano can be, how you can get something of the intense, lingering taste of the finest iberico de bellota without the scary price tag. Full marks for serving it at room temperature too, fridge coldness is the enemy of good ham but is often what you end up with early on a quiet weekday.

Crispy hake with alioli. Why isn't hake more popular? I rarely see it on menus and it's practically never sold in chip shops. I've no idea why as it has the right attributes; pearlescent, sweet tasting, flaky flesh in thick fillets that survive a good battering. The batter on these was spot on and the garlickiness of the mayo was judged just right too.

I think it might be the injudicious use of olive oil that makes veggie tapas dishes seem so luxurious. Chickpeas and spinach was a plate licking triumph of paprika laced deliciousness.

Finally, from the more ambitious dishes on the specials menu, iberico pork presa (shoulder) with apple puree and hazelnut crumble. I had to get something from an iberico pig in there somewhere didn't I? The apple brought a subtle hint of acidity, the hazelnuts variation in texture, but the meat was the star. Cooked blush pink, tender but not meltingly so, it had a sweet, lingering flavour not dissimilar to the ham but sort of milder, fresher. Marvellous.

The bill for this little lot came to around £25 including a glass of properly chilled Manzanilla. I couldn't fault the service, and didn't get any sense of my having 'outcast freak' status for dining alone (always a worry especially in smaller towns).

Excellent, and judging by the steady stream of punters arriving, the locals know it too. They also have another branch in Penarth, closer to Cardiff.

9/10

44c High Street
Cowbridge
CF71 7AG

http://www.bar44.co.uk/cowbridge/home

Northern Food on tour: Tapas in Malaga

Ever since a trip to Madrid a few years back I've been obsessed with tapas. Tapas done properly that is, a succession of snacks and small plates eaten with drinks, often standing at the bar or perched on stools in a series of different bars. Not tapas in the classic British style, rocking up at La Tasca in a large group, ordering the selection menu and sitting down to get stuck in for a couple of hours. That's a party finger buffet with more seats, not tapas.

Doing it properly is just so much fun. It's such a civilised and convivial way to spend an evening, far more so than the traditional Anglo-Saxon approach to getting pissed. Why not dine with your drinks throughout the evening, having a nibble of something quality here and there, as opposed to the 'segregated stomach lining dinner, neck a load of pints, booze soaking late night kebab' method.

To be fair to us Brits we've come along way in recent years, the concept of dining while drinking is hardly an alien one, but we've a long way to go to match the Spaniards.

On the impression of one half day visit, curtailed in the evening by the need to rise at four the following morning for a stupidly early flight (thanks, as ever, go to Ryanair), Malaga is a fine tapas city. I don't think you'll get the culinary creativity of the Basques or the sheer variety and value on offer in Madrid, but you will be fed very well for a fair price, and you will have a grand time.

I didn't make note of the names and locations of the places we went to, but it's not really necessary. Malaga has a fairly extensive pedestrianised central area that throngs with people in the evening. Just follow the crowds and you can't go far wrong. The atmosphere on the Friday night we were there was wonderful, festive and friendly without the slightest hint of unpleasantness.

Hotspots are around Calle Marquis de Larios (of gin fame, possibly), Calle Granada, Calle Alamos and on all the little alleyways inbetween.

Here are some of the things we ate. I should mention that they do sell green foods as well (you know, vegetables and stuff), it just seems that we forgot to order any on this occasion.

Mini sandwiches that were far more interesting than they look. Two each of asparagus mayo and jamon iberico with some sort of rich mousse. I'm sure it was called mousse de ca, but this doesn't seem to mean anything in translation? It was very smooth and rich, but not livery. Both flavours were delicious, and they cost 1.20 euros for two.

Bacalao (salt cod) blinis. I absolutely adore salt cod in anything, especially anything deep-fried. These weren't deep-fried, but were delicious anyway. The cod had been given a good soaking so it wasn't overly salty and was beautifully textured (imagine good, firm smoked salmon). 1.20 euros each.

Patatas bravas. Got to get the carbs in right? The spuds were expertly fried and the sauce had a good kick to it, though I prefer the tomatoey version to the creamy one here. This was a bit pricey as the place was a restaurant rather than a bar;- 5.80 euros for the racion.

Pinchos! One of pork loin with brie and sweet onion, the other of chorizo with fried quail's egg and roasted pepper. These were probably the best thing we ate, the star being the lovely tender pork loin. 2 euros each.

This was a bit of an accident. We ordered a half racion of what we thought would be shallow fried mushrooms (as in olive oil, garlic, herbs, that sort of thing) and what arrived was a whole racion, meaning a bloody big plateful, of deep fried mushrooms. It turned out that this bar was a freideria, basically a frying bar, where absolutely everything, and I mean everything, was doused in batter and deep-fried.

Not the most exciting plate of food, but I really couldn't fault the outstanding frying skills. To coat a load of sliced mushrooms in a thin, light batter and fry them until perfectly crisp and completely greaseless is no mean feat. Great beer snacks these. 4.80 euros for a full racion, and not much more for the seafood plates.

There didn't seem to be much in the way of freebies on offer in Malaga, but we didn't have the chance to dig very deeply so some of the more hidden away places may come up trumps. Free tapas were limited to crisps and olives where we got anything at all. At the bar pictured above the olives were gratis and the manchego tapa was 2.50 euros.

Drinks are consistently cheap by UK standards, a small beer costing around 1 to 1.50 euros and a glass of wine usually just under 2. Sherry of any variety is always a good bet, being extraordinarily good value in these parts (generally a few cents cheaper than other wine rather than a quid or two more). 

All in all you can return to your bed fully sated and suitably merry for twenty quid. Next time you visit the Costa del Sol remember that there's much more to Malaga than the airport.

Lunya, Liverpool

As a little warm-up for my impending holiday in Spain I thought I'd have a little tapas session while I was in Liverpool last week. The city is blessed in this regard, being home to both Lunya and Salt House, the pair just a stone's throw apart on the edges of the Liverpool One development.

Last time around I chose Salt House, primarily as the menu at Lunya was a little overbearing. Multiple pages describing a great many things in some detail. The menu is still comprehensive but has thankfully slimmed down to a more manageable single page crammed full of goodies.

Having eaten there I understand the rationale behind the extensive menu. Lunya is also a deli and importer of Spanish and Catalan foods, and the long list is clearly borne from a desire to show off the marvellous ingredients rather than any tendency to overcomplicate. This was evident in bowl of gordal olives stuffed with orange and chilli flakes, which were as good as any olives I've eaten anywhere, ever. The only ones I think come close are the gordal olives from Brindisa.

A glass of manzanilla, which took an age to arrive, was fantastic with the olives and well worth the wait. Tinder dry and a bit salty, but somehow cool and refreshing with it.

Catalan fish stew, or sarsuela, was simple but delicious. The thin, savoury saffron spiked broth was brimming with good quality, plump mussels and prawns and several chunks of what I think might have been red mullet.

Pear, rocket and valdeon cheese salad was enormous, and all about the cheese really. The ripeness of the blue dominated the flavour but not in a bad way. It was smooth and sweet rather than bitter, and the whole had a pleasing texture from the freshness of the leaves and added crumbled walnuts.

The only duff note of the night were the ham croquetas. Nothing wrong with the taste but they'd either not been fried for long enough or dunked in oil that wasn't hot enough (I'd guess the latter) rendering them a touch heavy and rather greasy.

Bread was a fine example of the usual Spanish stuff. It can seem a bit heavy at first, lacking the finesse of a French loaf, until you realise the denser texture is perfect for soaking up whatever delicious juices happen to be swimming around your various dishes asking to be devoured. In this case it became the vehicle for a good half bowlful of lovely fishy stuff. Splendid.

Save for the drinks being very slow to arrive, and the oil for the bread never arriving at all (though I didn't really miss it) service was excellent. The food arrived quickly and the guy serving me knew the menu well and was happy to offer recommendations.

It's also very good value here. Offers are available on every week night, on Wednesday it was any five tapas for a fixed price dependent on when you order, £18 before 6, £19 before 7 and so forth. As a result before service I paid £20 for the food and £4.25 for a generous 125ml measure of sherry. Full prices are still more than fair, with olives cheaper and far better than other places nearby (Jamie's Italian to pick an example at random) and an almost main portion sized fish stew chock-full of seafood costing only £6.95. Well worth a visit.

Roll on Friday when I'll be heading south for more of the same.

8/10

18-20 College Lane
Liverpool
L1 3DS

http://www.lunya.co.uk

 

La Rocas, Wakefield

FREEBIE ALERT

I rarely dine out in Wakefield even though that's where I actually live, as it's in such close proximity I never think twice about heading straight into Leeds. That's not to say I wouldn't eat out in Wakefield more often if I found a few places I liked. With that thought in mind an invitation to La Rocas for a night of free tapas sounded like fun.

A small group of six of us went along on Friday and got to sample a fair amount of the menu. We were looked after by Craig (apologies if I have his name wrong, I think it was Craig) who was in charge of front of house for the evening. There was no introduction or little talk from the owners as seems to be the case at many blogger events, but that didn't bother me. It's probably a little ungrateful but I often don't really care about the restaurateurs ethos and vision, I just want to know whether his chefs can cook me a great meal.

I'd love to be able to say we had a great meal, but sadly I'd be lying. Everything we ate was mediocre at best, and some of the dishes were really not very nice at all.

On the plus side, everything on a couple of mixed cold platters was ok, and of the tapas dishes the potatoes were nicely cooked and the pork ribs tender and meaty. Dense, dry meatballs and a jambalaya with overcooked, mushy rice were really a bit grim though.

After dinner we were invited up to the bar to sample a few cocktails. A Long Island iced tea was pretty good, but some of the others contained far too much blue stuff for my taste. Never trust blue food. Or drinks.

The cocktails were a fun end to a night in good company, and we were well looked after by Craig. Thanks to La Rocas for the invitation, I'm just sorry I can't be more positive about the food.


18 Wood Street
Wakefield
West Yorkshire
WF1 2ED

http://www.larocas.co.uk/

José, Bermondsey, London

I arrived in London giddy with anticipation and the joys of an Indian summer. It was a scorching hot day, despite being the first of October, and I was flying off for a fortnights holiday the morning after.

Nothing makes me smile more than good weather and going on holiday. Chuck in some good food, good company and good views and you've got perfection.

The company would have to wait until Gatwick in the morning, but I could attend to the rest there and then. But where to dine? The forthcoming two weeks would be spent in Jordan and Israel, not nations renowned for their love of the pig. Pig was required. Requirement for pig + dining alone + icy cold drinks on a hot day = hot foot it to the nearest tapas bar.

Having heard the chorus of rave reviews it had to be José. It's a classic tapas bar. Hams hung from the ceiling, marble topped bar, small, hot and a miniscule kitchen area churning out top notch food.

A glass of beer and some exemplary padron peppers to begin with. There were a couple of spicy ones in there too which is always a bonus. Filtered and chilled tap water, proffered freely cooled the fire.

My original intention was to keep the bill to a moderate level, mindful of two weeks dining out ahead, so I ordered one of the cheaper piggy options, morcilla iberico with peas and broad beans. The peas and beans were very fresh tasting, still in great nick so late in the season, and a fantastic pairing with the morcilla. This was dense and iron-y, with a very firm texture almost like chorizo.

Bread and grassy, green oil were both great quality. A glass of fino was a fine companion to this and the morcilla.

Sherry goes to my head rapidly on a warm day, so suitably relaxed I then threw caution to the wind and ordered a plate of jamon iberico de bellota and a glass of manzanilla (thought process something along the lines of 'fuck it I'm on holiday').

The jamon was perfect. As good as any I've had anywhere ever. Expertly carved and utterly delicious, each morsel releasing a constant intense savoury-sweet flavour until it dissolves to nothing. I know of nothing else like it. Try it with any other meat, eat it like a boiled sweet rolling it around your mouth and letting it rest on your tongue. Eventually you will be left with nothing but a tasteless chunk of protein. Not with this stuff. It's bloody expensive but it's the meat that keeps on giving.

I remained in ham rapture for a good long while then, still feeling peckish ordered a slice of tortilla to finish things off. Well seasoned and with a soft, almost liquid centre it was very good. A fitting end to the meal.

Service was efficient and amenable, and I accidentally spent £40. Do bear in mind that well over half of that was on sherry and ham, so you can certainly eat here for much less than that.

Good food done, it was back to the good weather and a good view. I meandered up to the South Bank to the little area of parkland just by City Hall, and sat in the sun for a long while looking out over Tower Bridge and the City. Lovely.


9/10

José
104 Bermondsey Street
London
SE1 3UB

http://joserestaurant.co.uk/

Bar Pepito, King's Cross, London

When it opened a year or two ago Bar Pepito was London's first dedicated sherry bar. Any regular readers may have noticed that I'm a big fan of sherry. Given that fact, and Bar Pepito's location only two minutes walk from King's Cross station I'm surprised I haven't been there before.

Last night's premise was a simple one. How much sherry can we drink in a couple of hours before my train departs? The answer, rather predictably, was lots. We got lucky as a table was vacated just as we arrived, so we grabbed it quickly and ordered a half bottle of Lustau Puerto Fino. An excellent choice, it was dry and tangy with an almost meaty, savoury flavour. I'm not sure that really makes sense, but I know what I mean (can you get umami flavours in a wine?).

In addition to the extensive list of sherries there's also a short tapas menu. There's no kitchen to speak of, just a small assembly area at the end of the bar so we're talking meats, cheeses and the like rather than more complex cooked dishes. For more of a restaurant meal, neighbouring Camino (run by the same people) across the courtyard would be a good bet.

Gordal olives were sublime. Huge, meaty and intensely savoury. The only down side being that I could easily eat about twenty quid's worth.

Plates of lomo iberico and morcilla with romesco sauce. The lomo was disappointing as it lacked the depth of flavour you expect from any iberico pig product, but the morcilla was fantastic. Rich and irony, and a great match with the nutty, garlicky sauce. I'd have preferred it served in chunks rather than thinly sliced though.

Tortilla was the star of the show. Completely different to what I was expecting it arrived in a little glass with two teaspoons. Inside was a layer of the smoothest, creamiest, almost liquid egg mixture imaginable covering an equally smooth, buttery potato layer. It was topped with what I think were caramelised onions that added both savour and sweetness. Wonderful. I wish I knew how to make something so delicious with such basic, everyday ingredients.

Pan con tomate was nice enough, but a bit boring. This time the simplest of ingredients didn't really gel to create something special. There wasn't a great deal of flavour to the tomatoes.

After the food and the first bottle, we inadvertently ordered another bottle of the same. In hindsight that may not have been such a good idea, we should at least have tried something different. Still, it was bloody lovely.

I really enjoyed Bar Pepito. The bar itself is tiny and cave-like, and feels authentically Iberian. The pig leg sat on the bar helps with this! The food is what I'd describe as contemporary Spanish, with small portions beautifully presented and novel takes on the classics (that splendid tortilla). All of it was high quality, but I think I prefer the more traditional, rustic sort of tapas. For me, it was a little overpriced and not everything hit the spot flavour-wise (the lomo, the pan con tomate). Our bill came to £75 for two half bottles of sherry, two beers, the food and 10% service.

I'll definitely return, but will probably dine elsewhere and stick to sherry, olives and perhaps a tortilla here.


7/10

Varnishers Yard
The Regent Quarter
King's Cross
London
N1 9FD

http://www.camino.uk.com/pepito

Barrica Tapas Bar, London

I made a flying visit to London for a meeting on Friday, in and out in barely more than a couple of hours. I just managed to squeeze in a quick lunch at Barrica, and am very glad that I did.

Goodge Street is a lively spot at lunchtimes, buzzing with people eating at one of numerous restaurants, cafés and even a few street food stalls in Goodge Place. I was in the mood for a tapas fix, and Barrica is one of two well regarded places serving Spanish food on the street (the other being Salt Yard). I chose Barrica because it seemed to be the more casual of the two. It's a proper tapas bar, rather than just a restaurant serving tapas, with stools available at a long, marble bar counter where you could perch happily with a glass of something cold and a few olives.

This is exactly what I did, kicking things off with some very good olives and a glass of bone dry Colosia fino sherry.

Next came clams, girolle mushrooms and peas cooked in fino sherry. This was a great dish, the clams and girolles having similar textures, soft but slightly chewy but complementary and contrasting tastes. The clams sweet and fresh, the girolles deeply savoury and earthy.

Cow's curd cheese, broad beans, tomatoes and mint was all about delicate summery flavours. Mild, milky cheese, sweet beans, fragrant mint. Really refreshing on a warm day.

Ham croquetas were available in portions of two, so I had to have a couple. Can't be going for tapas and not having anything with pig in it. They were greaseless and tasty, but could have done with more ham in the mix.

Rustic, chewy bread was perfect for mopping up. Possibly the most pleasurable part of a tapas meal is scooping up delicious oily juices from the terracotta crockery. I could do this all day, consuming loaves in industrial quantities.

A very good lunch, service was also good. Professional and unpretentious. The bill was just under £22 including 12.5% service added automatically. Not a practice I'm fond of, but pretty much standard practice in London. A minor quibble, because here they earned it.


8/10

62 Goodge Street
London
W1T 4NE

http://www.barrica.co.uk/

Salt House Tapas, Liverpool

I finally got round to a long planned day out in Liverpool on Saturday. Good intentions of spending some time in assorted museums and galleries were curtailed by the glorious weather, so I actually spent most of the day strolling the streets, loafing in parks, and stopping off for refreshments here and there.

Tapas had been part of the plan for a while, having not had any decent Spanish food for a while, and having received glowing recommendations for both Salt House and Lunya. On the day there was little to choose between the two, but Salt House won on account of its outdoor tables being in the sun rather than shade.

Things didn't get off to the best of starts. I was sat at the table for a good ten minutes, and watched a couple arrive after me, sit down, peruse the menu and order all before anyone seemed to notice I was there. A waitress eventually came over and said 'Are you waiting for someone?' 'No, just me' I replied. 'Oh', she said, 'can I get you something?' 'Perhaps a menu?' 'Ok', she wandered off, looking a bit surprised. Maybe solo dining is still unheard of in these parts, it's still quite uncommon in a lot of places, and can be an uncomfortable experience. I've long since stopped caring though, if I'm out and about alone and want a good meal then why not. I'm not going to get Iberico ham at Greggs am I?

Fortunately things improved rapidly from thereon, the menu arrived swiftly and the waitress was soon back to take my order. I chose from the lunch special menu (3 tapas plates and bread for £8.90) and added a half plate of acorn fed Iberico ham (£7) from the main menu. To drink, a glass of manzanilla sherry.

Before we proceed further, I need to make this clear. Sherry is categorically not just for your Gran at Christmas time. Anyone who still thinks this is true is missing out. Try a glass of chilled dry sherry (Manzanilla or Fino) with just about any savoury dish, you might be surprised. With a plate of good quality ham it's a match made in heaven.

The Iberico ham at Salt House was excellent, carved properly in thin slivers, each morsel delivered an intense flavour that was somehow both deeply savoury and sweet at the same time. The fat was rich and creamy, slowly melting on the tongue to release layer upon layer of flavour. This in combination with the cold, dry, slightly salty tanginess of the sherry is just perfection. I sound like I'm getting a bit carried away here, but it really is that good.

Once I'd stopped salivating over my ham, I did eat some of the other food that had arrived. A piece of mackerel with piquillo pepper sauce was excellent. Spankingly fresh and cooked accurately so that the skin was crisp and the flesh soft, moist and sweet. The portion was perhaps a touch stingy, I know it was from the lunch menu, but it was mackerel which is usually cheap as chips.

Which leads me on to fried potatoes with bravas sauce, which are basically chips of a sort. This was the only duff note of the meal. The potatoes were fried nicely, but the bravas sauce was a bit bland, having only a very mild tomatoey flavour. Something with a bit of chilli in it, or at least a more concentrated tomato taste would have been better.

A cos lettuce salad was simple and perfectly pleasant, it came dressed with olive oil, manchego cheese (I think), and a couple of anchovies. The sourdough bread with oil and vinegar was also fine.

I still had some ham left after finishing the other dishes, so I ordered a Mahou lager and sat back sipping my icy cold beer, nibbling on bits of ham, feeling the warm sun on my face and generally thinking I was in Madrid. I wasn't of course, but on Saturday afternoon Liverpool made a very fine substitute.

A great meal topped off by what turned into great service. After the initial hiccup my waitress became increasingly chatty and turned out to be a lovely Liverpudlian lass. This little conversation we had as I paid the bill made my day:

Waitress (hands me the card machine to enter my pin): Here you go.
Me (no option to leave tip on the machine): I'm not sure if I have any change, do you still get the tip if I add it on here? If so can I add it on here?
Waitress: Yeah you can, but you don't have to give me a tip.
Me: No that's alright, I want to. I've enjoyed it.
Waitress (not taking machine back): Nah, don't be daft I haven't done anything special, I don't expect one.
Me (entering pin then checking wallet for change): I used to live in London, I'm used to places adding 12.5% whether they deserve it or not.
Waitress: Well that's out of order that, I think it should be up to the customer if they want to leave a tip. I'm just doing my job.
Me (finds coins, leaves generous tip): I agree, I'm leaving a tip though 'cos it's been really good.
Waitress: Aww, cheers.

As far as I can recall that's the first time the staff in any restaurant I've been in have tried to turn down a tip!

In total the bill was £23 not including service. Good value for top notch ingredients and a generally high standard of cooking. Service was friendly, efficient and completely lacking in pretension. Highly recommended.

8/10

Salt House
Hanover Street
Liverpool
L1 3DW

http://www.salthousetapas.co.uk/ 

Where to find the best Spanish food in the North?

I'll warn you now, by the time I've finished writing this post it may well have grown into a long and rambling eulogy to the joys of Spanish food.

I fell in love with Spanish food and the Spanish way of eating as recently as last year. I always had a sneaking suspicion that I was a fan, but had never really experienced Spain properly (Costa's notwithstanding) until I was lucky enough to spend two long weekends in Madrid and Valencia last spring.

Madrid was a revelation. I had planned it as a foodie weekend, with the intention being to explore the bars and immerse ourselves in the tapas culture. I went with high expectations, but never thought I'd be so blown away by the sheer generosity and variety of it all. Madrid bars generally offer a free tapa with every drink ordered and the range is astounding; - peanuts, olives, salt cod & chickpea stew, tuna pastries, manchego cheese, jamón offcuts, braised mushrooms, mussels in white wine, hunks of chorizo, open sandwiches topped with ham, cheese or pate, crisps, pork scratchings; - all of these things and more were served up with small glasses (cañas) of beer, beakers (copas) of wine or glasses of wonderful sherry rarely costing more than a couple of euros apiece and sometimes less. During an evening of barhopping the freebies were supplemented with paid for tapas or sometimes a larger portion (ración) of whatever tickled our fancy. In this way I ate some of the best ham (jamón ibérico de bellota), some of the best seafood (galician style octupus - pulpo a la gallega), some of the best spuds (patatas bravas done perfectly) and some of the best deep fried goods (wonderfully light croquetas de jamón or de bacalao) I have eaten in my life.

We didn't really dine in restaurants in the evenings, preferring to stick to the bar crawls, but did frequent a couple at lunchtime. Generosity, value and quality were once again to the fore, as many bars have a dining room (comedor) offering a set menu at lunch. In the most memorable of these I dined on a nourishing salt cod & spinach soup, a rich, reduced oxtail stew served with (proper home-made not frozen) chips, a large slice of custard flan, half a bottle of passable red and mineral water for the princely sum of eleven euros. None of the food was mindblowing, but it was all cooked on the premises, substantial and tasty. This kind of thing would amaze back home, especially for a tenner, but in Madrid it seems to be pretty much the norm.

Snacks and breakfasts were also in keeping with the rest, in that they were invariably delicious, readily available and great value. Freshly squeezed orange juice, crusty sandwiches de jamón, and of course the magnificent churros with chocolate (freshly fried long doughnut type things with thick, dark, bittersweet chocolate to dip them in), which the Madrileños like to eat in the early hours after a night on the town (slightly classier than your average doner..).

All in all, my brief sojourn in Madrid was nothing short of a foodie awakening. Valencia had a lot to live up to. The first potential pitfall was that the Valencia trip was a stag do, not usually the type of break associated with dining well.

I needn't have worried. It wasn't quite Madrid, but Valencia put up a pretty good fight, giving me reason to believe that any large Spanish city is likely to be worth an eating and drinking weekend. The food highlight of the visit was an outstanding beef chop (chuletón de buey), up there with the best steaks I've ever eaten, and this from a restaurant selected completely at random in the centre of town. Honourable mentions also go to the quality of lamb and pork purchased from the supermarket, the melting-fat deliciousness of a five euro plate of ham scoffed in a scruffy bar in the local town where our villa was situated, and a paella for twelve people served up in a seafront tourist trap that could have been expensive and dire, but was neither.

At this point, if anyone is still reading this, you may have realised that I rather like the food in Spain. You may also have recalled that this post is titled 'Where to find the best Spanish food in the North?', so you may reasonably be wondering why I have waffled on about Spain at such length. So, in a rather roundabout way, to Britain.

In Britain, we don't really do Spanish eating properly. Let us take tapas, as the majority of Spanish restaurants in this country tend to focus on the tapas theme. Tapas restaurants in Britain are not really like tapas bars in Spain. For starters most of them are restaurants, rather than bars, which rather defeats the object in the first place. I don't mind this, as Britain is not Spain. Unless there is some huge, unexpected cultural shift we are not going to have bars in the Spanish style in any significant quantity in British towns and cities. As I've already said, I don't mind this, as bemoaning this fact would be like complaining that you can't get a decent pint of cask ale on every corner in Madrid, i.e. a bit silly.

So if we are going to have to sit down and eat our tapas all in once place what we can do is focus on the quality and value of the food, and in this respect a lot of the tapas places in the UK seem to fit into two camps.

In the first corner is La Tasca and it's ilk. Fairly cheap, but mediocre at best food that I'm pretty sure all comes pre-packaged and frozen for assembly line reheating. I have been to La Tasca twice in the last year or two, neither occasion of my choosing. The first occasion was with a large group of blokes, and the party menu had been pre-ordered. What this means is that they bring out all of the food all at once, on huge platters. This bears no resemblance to tapas, it's basically just a massive, shit buffet (you know the sort of thing; - manky chicken legs and budget frozen garlic bread). The second occasion was after more than a few drinks, when one of our group had 50% off vouchers for the food. As expected it was all dull if not actively bad. I recall that the pork ribs came with a particular recommendation for being tender and delicious. The meat was indeed tender and fell off the bones, but unfortunately was drowning in a horrid brown, gloopy sauce tasting of sugar and artificial smoke-flavour. I am not a fan of La Tasca.

In the second corner is the increasing number of upmarket Spanish places that serve very good food, but at generally very enthusiastic prices. Now I understand that certain Spanish foodstuffs are very pricey because they are the finest, most exquisite of their type (yes I'm looking at you iberico ham), but this does not apply in all cases. Charging six or seven quid for a single scallop or a tortilla (it's just eggs!) is taking the michael however well executed the dish. These are the type of places where you will eat some delicious food, but leave feeling peckish and not even slightly pissed having parted with forty of your finest english pounds. I'm not really sure whether this type of Spanish restaurant has spread to the North in abundance yet, as I haven't sought them out since returning, but their numbers have grown rapidly in London over recent years.

So what am I actually looking for? Some sort of halfway house really. Good quality, well cooked, generous, unpretentious, good value Spanish food. Like in Spain. Sounds like a simple formula, but obviously isn't.

Here is a very short list of places that I have compiled from searching the web and reading a few reviews. I have only been to one of them, so I don't know whether the rest fit the bill or not.

Liverpool - Salt House Tapas

Manchester - El Rincon de Rafa

Ripponden - El Gato Negro Tapas

Leeds - El Bareto

El Rincon and El Bareto look like they are in the Spanish bar style, hence their inclusion. El Gato and Salt House are much more in the new, upmarket pricey mould but are included on my shortlist for their great value lunch deals. El Gato I know is great, because I went a couple of years ago at lunchtime and it was excellent, and Salt House is getting some fine reviews from some trustworthy sources.

All being well I'd like to visit those on my shortlist over the coming months, but would love to hear any comments or suggestions that anyone has to offer. I can't be jetting off to Madrid twice a year, got to satisfy the craving somehow...