8/30/09 Snapshot: Tapas de Sevilla

This is for you, my foodie friend. You know who you are.

I ate at the Horno de San Buenaventura at 16 Avenida de la Constitucion, +954221819.

Overwhelmed by the tapas offerings, I took a combination plate featuring
Sherry-braised pork loin (mmmmmmmm...)
Potato salad with prawns (picnicking goes gourmet)
Cured ham (aaaahhh...)
Aged cheddar (ohhhhhhhhh...)

Remember the scene in Ratatouille where Remy the gourmet rat pairs two wonderful foods (I believe a strawberry and cheese)? How each one is rhapsodically delightful by itself, but when he combined them, it opened new possibilities for gustatory ecstasy? Yeah, eating the braised pork loin wrapped around the aged cheddar - the first hard cheese I've eaten in 18 months that's not redball gouda - was like that. It made me think of an orchestra: as much as I love the rich, dark sound of a cello, no single instrument can match the magic that comes from adding winds and brasses and drums into a swirling symphony. The whole really can be greater than the sum of the parts.

So I wrapped pork loin around cheese, then added cured ham on top, then ate a bite with all four piled together... Turns out there's no wrong way to eat tapas. And lots of right ways. Lots and lots and lots of blissfully right ways...

...mmmmmmmmm.......