If you asked at any point during my previous note "Why is he eating at an Argentinian restaurant if he's in Spain?", then you are a completely sensible person. That's why the following day I decided to go out to a Tapas bar a few blocks from my flat, again with the roommates. We each picked a tapa (the arrangement where tapas are free as long as you drink does not apply in Valencia), and waited anxiously in the outdoor patio for it to arrive.
Chris ordered fried shrimp in a dry tomato paste. I don't know what that paste had, but that is hands down the best tomato-based food I have ever eaten. Spicy (not hot), flavorful, strong and pairing very well with the shrimp, Spanish food came out strong.
Brandon ordered Patatas Bravas. A fairly simple, basic dish of potatoes in a tomato based sauce (not the same one as the previous one). Again, the amount of flavor put into even the humblest of ingredients (like the potato) is astounding. The sauce was hot and spicy (by European standards), and slathering a good amount of it on the perfectly seasoned baked potato with chives, salt and butter gave you a full palette of flavors.
My dish arrived last, and again I sort of cheated the Spanish out of an original dish. I ordered Bacalao (cod) ceviche. I know, I know; ceviche is of Central or South American origin (Which is disputed up to this day. Most people assume it's Peruvian, but there is evidence both for and against this theory), BUT there were no limes in Pre-Columbian Latin America, so it does have some Spanish aspect to it. The ceviche was good, not great, and I've had better. What was a welcome change to the tried and tested ceviche combo was the bread that came with it. Baked in house, it was still warm from the oven and it had some sort of garlic seasoning on it that went well with the fish.
Accepting the better judgement of both my roommates, it'll only be Spanish food from here on out.
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