Bodegas Castañeda ♥ ♥ ♥

I walked away quickly from La Gran Taberna to make it to my next tapas stop before it closed for the night.

Bodegas Castañeda, a local haunt before Rick Steves brought all the tourists in -

myself included!

A row of sexy jamon legs greeted me as soon as I entered and I knew this was 

my happy place

Bodegas Castaneda is a very typical Andalusian tapas bar which looks like it hasn't

been renovated in centuries. There are barrels of wine behind the bar, and absolutely

no chairs to be seen. You stand by the bar and eat and it's a lot of fun.

I was so hungry I made the mistake of ordering food before the server could give me free

tapas with my drink. For people traveling to Granada, remember that it is one of the very

few cities left in Spain where you get complimentary tapas with every drink you order.

Please take advantage! Haha! :)

At least I was given a generous pour

One of the beautiful things about traveling in Europe is that nobody cares what you do.

You can go about doing your own business and people won't judge. 

Like ordering AND finishing this plate of assorted montaditos

Joselito Jamon Iberido de Bellota

Jamon de Trevelez con Manchego

Salmon, Avocado, Caviar

I wolfed down 6 montaditos in 15 minutes. 

They were still at it when I walked out the door.

 Nobody cared.

I love España.

Bodegas Castañeda: Calle de Almireceros, 1-3, 18010 Granada, Spain
Phone: +34 958 21 54 64

La Gran Taberna ♥

After dropping off my bags at Hotel Casa 1800 Granada, I ran out immediately to get some nourishment.

I was so hungry I rushed into the first restaurant I saw that was still open at 11:28pm.

La Gran Taberna

A traditional tapas place in a great location in the middle of Plaza Nueva.

There was upstairs seating. I grabbed the nearest seat at the bar.

One of the best things about Granada is that every drink 

you order comes with a plate of complimentary tapas

With my glass of house red came a plate of sad olives and a tiny omelette filled with... 

processed meat and cheese. WHY??? This disappointed me extremely. After all, I was in 

a country known for jamon and queso, not in the Republic of Costco!
I disliked the place immediately.

The jamon de pato montadito and anchovy montadito were good, but not great enough

to alter my initial judgement. Sorry, I am difficult like that. Haha!

Hard to complain considering prices were very reasonable. 

Paid my bill and went in search for a better dinner.

La Gran Taberna: Plaza Nueva, 12, 18009 Granada, Spain

La Gran Taberna Facebook Page

Garum 2.1 Bistronomic Tapas Bar ♥ ♥

 I had only one meal in Cordoba so I researched heavily before my trip to make sure that one
 lunch would be special. Garum 2.1, with its many awards, seemed to be the perfect choice.

The small restaurant felt old yet modern. It felt so... Cordoba!

A glass of Piedra Luenga Oloroso while waiting for my date

who I met serendipitously just the night before

Garum 2.1 serves bold and creative tapas, four of which won awards at gastronomic events in Spain. Of course, we had to order them all. 

Tapas with medals

Salmorejo Amontillado. First Prize Best Tapa, Cordoba Gastronomica 2010. 

This was excellent, indeed. Light and creamy and full of umami.

One of the, if not the very best I had this trip. 

Crispy Pork Trotter. Second Prize Best Tapa, Eutopia 2011.

Pork trotter innards

Oxtail Churro with Chocolate. Finalist Innovation Tapa, Cordoba Gastronomica 2011.

Honestly, this was just alright. Sounded exciting but didn't really do anything for me.

Cream of Goat's Cheese with Spanish Heavenly Custard. 

First Prize Best Dessert, Porsche Gourmet 2014.

We ordered a few other dishes, too, and they were just okay. I know because, if not for these photos, I have almost no recollection of them.

Prawns wrapped in potato shreds with saffron aioli

Small cuttlefish grilled on a bed of onion and its own ink

Low temperature cod with vegetables

Except for our favorite dish of Iberico pork loin in soy and honey reduction served over couscous. 

Tasted like pork humba so it reminded us of home.

With my lovely date Tessa. Garum 2.1 will always be memorable to me because of 

the wonderful company.

Garum 2.1: Calle San Fernando, 122, 14003 Córdoba, Spain

Tel: +34 957 48 76 73

Garum 2.1 Facebook Page

La Brunilda ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

When I travel, I plan 90% of my eating itinerary (eatinerary as I like to call it) and leave one or two meals for random discoveries or recommendations from locals.

For my last dinner in Seville, I took the suggestion of my seatmate at Eslava - a nice man with protruding stomach (sign of good taste in food, lol) - and went to his favorite restaurant in the city, La Brunilda.

Blue door marks the spot

I arrived without reservations on a rainy evening and was lucky to score the last empty table 

English menu! Yay!

A glass of ribera del duero because I saw the word "beef" on the menu

But first, an incredibly delicious plate of tuna tataki on a bed of couscous.

To this day I've never had a better version and I dream about this dish once a month.

The server was not kidding when he said portions were huge. He did not allow me to order more than two tapas and he was right.

Grilled beef tenderloin with potatoes and thyme. 

This could be a sharing size in Asia, but I finished it all.

How could I not when every piece was this tender?

The waiter handed me this when I signaled for him. But I was asking for the dessert menu,
not the bill!!! Lol!

Moist and lovely carrot cake

I promise I didn't finish the whole slice :P

The best €18.90 I spent in Spain!

On my way out of the restaurant, I saw an Asian lady and started talking to her. Tessa was the first and only Asian I saw since I arrived in Seville and I found out she is also a Filipina! She asked me to join her for a second dinner. I said yes, of course! :)

Tender and tasty grilled octopus

Duck confit with spiced carrot cream 

Everything I tried at La Brunilda was so delicious and a cut above pretty much everything else I ate in Seville. Had I discovered it earlier during my trip I would have returned a second time and most probably a third time, too.

I highly recommend!

As for Tessa, we've kept in touch and managed to catch up over halo-halo when she visited

Manila during the holidays. Yay to new friendships born out of mutual love for food!

La Brunilda: Calle Galera, 5, 41002 Sevilla, SpainTel: +34 954 22 04 81

La Brunilda Website

Eslava ♥ ♥

I read so many wonderful things about Eslava I put it number one on my list for my trip to Seville

The place does not take reservations and I was lucky to get a seat at the bar as soon as I arrived.

Another perk of being a single traveler! ;)

Tapas bar menu

English version for you and me

There is also a restaurant behind the tapas bar. It was packed for a weekday lunch.

Something light and refreshing to prepare my palate

A plate of olives and some kind of beans that I hungrily polished off. I was so hungry!!!

And then my server looked at me, aghast. He immediately grabbed a bag from under the bar 

and explained to me that the yellow things were lupin beans and the skin was not edible.

I looked around me and saw empty lupin bean shells on every plate. Hahahaha! OOOPS!!!!!!

I told him I was seriously starving and he made sure my food came immediately. Lol.

Scallops of seaweed puree and kataifi noodles. Just a tad overcooked for my liking.

Razor clams a la plancha

Look how plump and tender. This was, hands down, my favorite at Eslava.

Okay, this was the only dish I enjoyed at Eslava.

Slow-cooked egg on boletus cake. I was most excited for this because it won 1st Prize

for Best Tapas at Sevilla en Boca de Todos 2010. Turned out to be rather underwhelming. 

The Cigar for Becquer won 3rd Prize, but the brie pastry stuffed with squid ink cream

 and algae did absolutely nothing for me.

My dessert of chocolate orange torte saved the day

Wiped out in 5 minutes! My server was totally amused by me. 

And these gentlemen seemed to approve of my appetite

Good job, Jin who really loves to eat!

Service was great at Eslava. Come for a plate of razor clams then move to 

ConTenedor or La Brunilda for a proper meal.

Eslava: Calle Eslava, 3, 41002 Sevilla, Spain
Tel: +34 954 90 65 68

Eslava Website