Here is a supplement to my post yesterday on the tapas course I took at the Culinary Institute of America. If I sparked your appetite for tapas here is where to go in Boston and New York. I have been to all the Boston spots. I got the New York selections form Will Price, one of my classmates at the CIA tapas class.
Boston
Toro is a new Spanish tapas place started by the chef/owner at Cleo. It has received good reviews for the food but less so for the setting that is a bit crowded and dark, although we sat by the front window so it was not an issue. They have great pan con tomato which is always a test. It is located at 1704 Washington St (Cross Street: Massachusetts Avenue) Boston, MA 02118 (617) 536-4300
Dali is a Spanish restaurant with great tapas and complete meals. They have new tapas every week along with their regular. There is a long tapas bar and full seating in severlal small rooms. The site started as a drug store and then was The Pleasant Stock restaurant for years. Across the street is the Wine Cask, one of the best wine and cheese stores in the area. In the early 70s I had friends who worked there who had great parties upstairs after the place closed for the night. It is on the Cambridge border at 415 Washington St Somerville, MA 02143-4346 Phone: (617) 661-3254
Tapeo is owned by the Dali people. It is a good place to have tapas if you are in Boston. It received the 2007 CitySearch award for 'Best Group Dining.' 266 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116 617-267-4799
Solea Restaurant & Tapas Bar is also owned by the Dali group. I have been there and it is the best place I have eaten on Moody Street, a good destination when you go to the nearby Embassy Theater. 388 Moody Street, Waltham, MA 02453 (781) 894-1805
New York - Manhattan
Casa Mono is Mario Batali’s “Spanish taverna with a New York sensibility.” The New York Magazine review says, “At Casa Mono and Bar Jamón, the latest Mario Batali–Joseph Bastianich creations, the plates may be pequeño, but the flavors are decidedly grande.” Fried calamari, $12; patatas bravas, $8; fried duck egg, $13; sliced skirt steak, $15. We made the first two at the CIA. It is located at 52 Irving Place between 17th and 18th Sts. Phone: 212-253-2773
Tia Pol – authentic, teaches courses “Tapas from the richly varied regional cuisines of Spain from Galicia to Andalucía, the Basque Country to Cataluña. An all-Spanish wine list as diverse as Spain's viticultural heritage.” It is located at 205 Tenth Avenue between 22nd and 23rd. 212-675-8805.
El Quinto Pino – New York Magazine calls it a “Tía Pol spinoff spurns the clichés of the tapas bar, but embraces its spirit.” Here is more – “El Quinto Pino honors Spanish tradition by offering some foods, like olives and anchovies, virtually untouched. But elsewhere, Raij and her chef de cuisine, Amorette Casaus, personalize the fare with unexpected flourishes. Five tender shrimp float in a pungent garlic sauce that’s infiltrated with ginger. The meaty bite in a chickpea-and-spinach stew comes from pimentón. And instead of gazpacho, Raij offers its so-called cousin, salmorejo, a creamy tomato emulsion with bits of hard-boiled egg and chorizo.” 401 W 24th St. New York, NY, 10079 - 212-206-6900
Xunta – Will said it is authentic, feels like you are in Madrid. New York Magazine writes, “A cozy East Village tapas bar with an authentic Spanish feel to its food, decoration, and dawdling service… Somewhat rough around the edges, Xunta is the perfect place to get a taste of Spain. 174 1st Ave, New York, NY, 10009 (212) 614-0620
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