Friday, January 27, 2017

Fifteen Tapas

It seems a day out on the town, any town, is not complete without us stumbling upon a really great restaurant. After Mariposario de Benalmádena (Benalmádena's Butterfly Park, see two previous posts), we continued another 5 minutes into Benalmádena Pueblo (the old village). Having only been there once before (click here for my first visit), I was familiar with only one little cafe, so we parked the car and began to head downhill through town.

It was a quiet and gloriously sunny winter day already past 2:00, which meant even the stores that might be open this time of year were closed for siesta. We thought, before settling down to lunch, we'd check out Plaza de España, a charming historic plaza. There were a couple of nice-looking restaurants. We chose the second one we came to, Restaurante Plaza.

It was warm enough in the sun to enjoy a meal out on the terrace, but the cloud of cigarette smoke hovering all around decided us to head inside. We headed up some stairs to a room with terraced windows that looked out onto another street. Service was a pleasure and the menu was varied and unusual. We each chose our own three tapas and we were definitely not disappointed.

HAMBERGUESA DE CHIVO
(GOAT HAMBURGER)
MUSHROOMS AND STUFF... (I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT
IT WAS CALLED, BUT IT WAS REALLY GOOD).
CRUJIENTE DE SALMON, QUESO DE CABRA, Y BOK CHOI.
(CRISPY SALMON WITH GOAT CHEESE.)
SALMON WASN'T CRISPY, JUST PASTRY IT WAS WRAPPED IN.

Numbers in another language can sometimes cause confusion. San Geraldo ordered his tapas by number. Cuatro (Four), Once (Eleven), and Diez y Cinco (supposed to be, but not, Fifteen). Since he was pointing to the items as he ordered, the waiter nodded and took down the information. When Judy ordered, she followed San Geraldo's lead and requested Diez y Cinco. The waiter was a bit further away. He hesitated and looked at me. I said she didn't want both Diez y Cinco (Ten and Five), she wanted Quince (Fifteen). The waiter laughed. San Geraldo laughed. And Judy said, "Well, that's what I get for following Jerry's lead!"

RESTAURANTE PLAZA, PLAZA DE ESPAÑA,
BENALMÁDENA PUEBLO.
HEADING BACK TO THE CAR.
THE SCENIC ROUTE, A DIEZ-Y-CINCO–MINUTE WALK.

29 comments:

  1. Makes welsh food look like cardboard

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John:
      We're constantly surprised by the variety and the artfulness.

      Delete
  2. and my lunch yesterday was a chicken burrito at a little stall of a restaurant in the nearby village of Independence. It was good; It was cheap ($1.25USD); it was big; and it was dinner, too. But you and SG are sure spoiled for choice for finer dining - I am envious!

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    Replies
    1. Wilma:
      We are definitely spoiled. And we don't DO expensive. This wasn't cheap eats, but it was not expensive either. I think our entire lunch was 40 euros for the three of us.

      Delete
  3. Both the food and the scenic route look delicious.

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    Replies
    1. Michelle:
      The pueblo is really beautiful. Sorry I didn't take more pictures, but this was all about the food.

      Delete
  4. Lunch looks fabulous. I loved trying different tapaas. Definitely can see myself wandering back through Spain and Portugal some day

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    Replies
    1. Cheapchick:
      I love the fact that we're always discovering entirely new dishes. We've really lucked out with our restaurant choices, too.

      Delete
  5. The salmon sounds especially delicious!

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    Replies
    1. Jennifer:
      The salmon was amazing. I really enjoyed that meal.

      Delete
  6. Looks like a delicious lunch! Too bad you were unable to eat outside. I can't imagine eating out on a patio here in my part of Canada at this time of year. It looks so beautiful there!

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    Replies
    1. Cat Lover:
      It was coolish that day (everything's relative), but the sun was very warm. Really frustrating about the smokers, but at least the interior was light, airy and charming.

      Delete
  7. What a charming place Mitch. I just had breakfast and my mouth is now watering again.

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    Replies
    1. mistress maddie:
      We are getting really spoiled here with all the incredible and affordable options for eating out.

      Delete
  8. Good food is a great blessing :-)

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  9. Yet again, I want a delicious snack after visiting Mitchell's blog.
    Darn you.
    =) xo

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    Replies
    1. Robyn:
      Homemade chocolate mousse, maybe? Jerry's been having that a lot lately at one of our favorite places.

      Delete
  10. Such variety in the food and what beautiful surroundings. I would have ordered what Jerry did just to see the two that arrived.

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    Replies
    1. Jim:
      Fortunately, Jerry pointed, so he was understood. Judy nearly received two different dishes!

      Delete
  11. You guys certainly eat well. I'm jealous.

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    Replies
    1. Stephen:
      We really are lucky and very spoiled by what we have all around us.

      Delete
  12. Oh, my! It all looks scrumptious (well, actually, the goat burger doesn't tempt me), as does the scenic route :) When I saw "diez y cinco" I thought, "Wait... I've been away from Spanish for too long" :) Thanks for reassuring me :)

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    Replies
    1. Judy:
      The goat burger was actually delicious. I ordered it because Jerry and Judy both ordered "hamburguesas de buey" (ox) and I wanted to be different. I loved it. Jerry doesn't have to use the number often enough to get them fixed in his mind. Some entertaining (and confusing) variations result.

      Delete
  13. The terrace is beautiful, but I'm sure the real reason you went inside was your fear of oranges falling on your heads.

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    Replies
    1. Walt the Fourth:
      I never even thought about the oranges. I usually think about the birds sitting above my head in those trees. I've noticed the oranges are being harvested everywhere now. Soon, orange blossoms!

      Delete

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