Squirreled away off Seel Street and nestling near the Picturehouse, Tapas Tapas has relatively quietly gone about is business since 2008, with the sister restaurant in Waterloo opening back in 2005. There have been some accolades passed on in the form of Tripadvisor status and even a Gordon Ramsey F-Word nomination.
As alluded to on earlier blog reviews, the climate for tapas in Liverpool has been a relatively stable one since the latin infusion from 2005-6 onward, seeing some places close, whilst others have thrived. The opening of Bar Bodega has added a string to the bow for nightlife in Tapas Tapas later on in a weekend evening, but prior to this business is food. The dark wood décor in which the restaurant is clad sets the mood perfectly, rows of various Spanish reds and jamon line the walls around the bar and the staff mill about in an unfussy but friendly manner. We decide to keep things relatively simple and stick to tapas, rather than opting for any larger dishes; three or four-a-piece is usually the going rate and I was not inclined to break the dogma. All the dishes presented were pleasing on the eye, with three of the tapas providing a pleasing meal and the other three rather hollow disappointment. The Pollo al Coronel, breaded chicken strips were golden brown and succulent inside, placed as a meaty jenga on slate with salad; not much to get wrong here, but executed well enough. The Chorizo a la Miel was meaty, smokey, earthy and very sticky-sweet presented skewered as three small sausages, tasty, but the portion size was a little on the frugal side considering prices here the same could be said for the Fritura Vegetal, courgette and aubergine battered and fried, but not substantial enough for the price-tag. The other tapas were, as previously alluded to, disappointing to say the least. The lambs kidneys cooked in Jerez sherry were almost inedible due to the acrid aroma of a club’s toilets halfway through a Saturday night. It has to be said, reducing the smell can be difficult, but additional soaking usually reduces the unpleasantness greatly. They were also slightly overcooked and towards the chewy end, although not as much of a work out for the jaw as the Calamares. Fragile insubstantial batter, superfluous oil and overcooking are 3 nightmares in one for squid; all together they make for a roll of the eyes and waste of a dish. Finally, a staple of many a tapas bar or restaurant, Tortilla is not something that is particularly diffuclt to master, but when done well is a superbly comforting addition to any tapas session. Here, the Tortilla was pleasant but for the reheating which had dried out the slice. Sometimes it is far better to have it cold with alioli and a side salad, leaving an uncomplicated room-temperature pleasure. In the current climate, there has been upping of game for the city’s tapas fraternity, borne of competition. This is not up to the standard, considering the restaurant was not stretched by any measure. Some sloppy touches have led to a significant drop in what should have been. Improvement is definitely needed as other establishments continue to up their game. Pedro. ------------------------------------------------------- Tapas Tapas Arthouse Square Liverpool City Centre L1 4DE Web: http://www.tapastapas.co.uk/ Email: [email protected]
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It’s been a few months since my visit to go and see a friend living over in the Czech Republic’s second city, but I thought the trip definitely warranted some words for those considering a trip out in that direction for something of a slightly different pace. Flying out from the UK to Brno is an awkward proposition, the easiest route for us from Liverpool John Lennon was to fly into Bratislava, the Slovakian capital and take 3 changes (two trolleybus/trams onto a coach) to get into Brno. The trip was a little more stressful than it needed to be with neither myself or my companion speaking any Slovak; the older generation do seem to be responsive to German however. Nevertheless, we arrived in Brno in one piece with the travel costing us in the region of £7-8 in total from Bratislava airport to the coach station in Brno. The first night, my friend living in Brno collected us from the (very desolate, it has to be said) coach station to drop our bags and then go and find something to eat and drink. Not much after an hour passed before we were sat in ‘STOPKOVA PLZENSKA PIVNICE’ [http://www.kolkovna.cz/index.php?show=hot&place=16]a bar/restaurant supposedly of some renown for serving good beer and pretty authentic Czech dishes. A steak with cream and cranberries was placed in front of me, known locally as svíčková, I was initially bemused by the offering of such things, but any apprehension gave way to hunger. The meat was actually perfectly cooked, the dumplings were excellently seasoned and provide enough stodge to fill me up, although I did try the cream and fruit with the dish, it is not something I was overly fussed on revisiting. My companion was struggling to select something suitable as this part of the world is not exactly known for its vegetarian offerings, but the sight of Cheese on the menu piqued interest; the sight of it being deep fried even more so. This was a definite theme throughout the trip involving cheese, breadcrumbs and vats of oil where food was concerned; however, this first venture into such heavy and decadent food was pleasant. There was no residual trace of oil on the wedges of cheese in a light breadcrumb and it was served with bootlace fries and salad, it therefore provided an excellent companion to the Pilsner Urquell on offer. If you want to eat here, it is best to try and book a table in advance as it does get quite busy of an evening; be wary that places like this do not have a smoking ban either, so you may need to request a non-smoking table. A few bars and many beers later, it was time to rest, the next day we were due to have a wander around the town and then catch up with a few of my friend’s other acquaintances for lunch and a few drinks (it would have been rude not to partake when this country provides amongst the finest pilsner and lager beers in the world). ‘PIVNI OPICE’ (Beer monkey)[http://www.pivniopice.cz/] was our next port of call following a wander around past the Ossuary (bone storage place, macabre yet interesting), castle and cathedral. Pivni Opice is a relatively small basement bar that houses quite a relaxed atmosphere and very reasonably priced selection of food, with the usual czech cuisine augmented by some burgers, ribs and schnitzel dishes. The beer, is as always in this part of the world, very very good and cheaper here than in many other bars around the town. There is plenty of seating during the day and it does get a little busier in the evenings, but the atmosphere remains very relaxed and the service competent. There are a mix of higher tables and standard height dining arrangements, with a warmth to the place given partially by wooden decor and low ceilings. The food was superb value, with the plates of chicken legs and ribs with salads and bread being more than enough for one person, whilst the burgers and portions of the fried cheese are pretty much plentiful for even the most gluttonous of visitors. The quality of the food was nothing mind blowing, but for somewhere to grab a relaxed and cheap (it's under five pounds (UK) for a large burger with bacon, egg and salad with fries and three beers at the time of the visit) bite to eat and a decent beer, you can't go too far wrong with this enjoyable establishment! The city then became a bit of a blur of bars and pubs thanks partly to some overindulgence and partly thanks to a very unusual 24 hour dose of a heavy cold which miraculously cleared up by the end of our second day in Brno. On place that stood out if not on novelty value, but also on the portion sizes on offer, with numerous branches across the Czech republic THE PUB [http://www.thepub.cz/brno/?lng=en] specialises in free pour beer (i.e. you pour your own drinks from a central tap on each table). Although there are other beers on offer, the chance to ‘race’ against other people in the bar and indeed against those drinking in Prague or Ostrava is quite some novelty. The beer itself is massively drinkable and as stated, the food is a good companion to a convivial affair, pizzas, burgers and steaks all cooked well and reasonably priced. Needless to say, with three of us having a go at the pumps, we were quite outgunned by a table in Prague sinking twice as much beer (likely having twice as many people – at least we hope so). A few more beers were taken in along with watching a Davis Cup match (featuring the Czech Republic in the final, which they won) with some locals wrapped in the Czech flag and clearly very proud of their team in a restaurant/Beer Hall called ‘ÁČKO’. Besides the smoky atmosphere, it was pretty loud and an evidently popular place with the locals with various progressive rock band album sleeves scattered around the ledges in the main room at the back of Áčko. The beer was as it was elsewhere on our trip, cheap and very drinkable and pilsner style lager, there were plates of deep fried cheese brought out to us on a couple of occasions, but it was a struggle to stay too long in such a smoke filled room. POTREFENA HUSA [http://www.potrefenahusabrno.cz/] was visited later, sat in a very central location in Brno, this place was a very enjoyable place to visit and eat/drink in. The modern surroundings of the bar and a good atmosphere twinned with the food and drink makes for this to be a place very high on the list worth visiting in Brno. Its location lends itself to making it a good bar to finish a night on, along with beer snacks and food served until fairly late (although not all night - after 10 the kitchen may be closed). The snacks include excellent pickled cheeses (in oil, spring onion and peppers), which to some might not sound too appetising along with a few pints, but you'd be very surprised and pleased with the range of food on offer. It is towards the pricey and of bars in Brno, likely and quite noisy, with a much younger clientele compared to many of the other bars around, but it is still worth popping in for a drink. The return visit to Bratislava was intended to be brief, with only a few hours to kill until the return flights to Liverpool scheduled for 9pm, alas our stay was extended until 1pm the following day – without the ability to experience more of the city’s hospitality. The time that was spent there was used to wander to the Parliament and Castle, gaining excellent (if somewhat fog-hampered) views of the Danube and some good photographs of the interesting architecture on show. One thing that grabbed my companion and I was some of the brilliant graffiti that was hidden away in various parts of the city, the photos I have included are not necessarily in keeping with the main remit of this blog, but are worthy of inclusion from an artistic viewpoint. Only one visit was made for food and yet again, the deep fried cheese was on offer at the SLOVAK PUB [http://www.slovakpub.sk/], who were we to refuse? CLICK ON THE PHOTOS BELOW TO ENLARGE.... Flying into Bratislava airport and planning an onward journey in this part of Europe is relatively easy to handle given a bit of research; Ostrava, Prague, Brno, Budapest and Vienna are all within a few hours by coach, meaning a weekend break could see you take in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria with a single flight. You’ll need 3 sets of currency though!
Until next time, hopefully you enjoyed my little tour.... Pedro x Having noticed a recent trend for salted caramel (be it on popcorn or in a multitude of desserts) and experienced some salted caramel chocolates, I drew on the rather pleasant experience to put together a dessert recipe, which is relatively simple and rather satisfying in the presentation and in the flavour combinations on the plate. The salty and sweet tang of the caramel, umami* and saltiness of the Stilton in combination with the poached soft fruit gives a solid combination for an unusual twist on a classic dessert. *(For those not familiar with it, umami is the 5th taste and most recently discovered, there’s loads around the Internet trying to pin down the flavour descriptively – just have a look around!). Ingredients (four pears comfortably): 4 Conference or Dessert Pears Enough water to just immerse the pears in a pan 75ml of Dark Rum 50g Brown Sugar 1 handful of sultanas 50g of Blue Stilton cheese …and for the salted caramel sauce: 50g of Butter (unsalted) 125g of White Sugar 25g of Brown Sugar or Muscovado Sugar 150ml of double cream 1tsp of Salt (table or sea salt is fine) 2tsp Dark Rum What to do:
1. Peel the pears of all their skin, leaving the stem at the top intact. Now slice horizontally across the bottom of the pear to allow it to stand upright on a chopping board or plate. 2. Bring the water to a simmer and pour in the sugar, allowing the sugar to dissolve. Once it has all dissolved, place the pears into the water and let them simmer for 12-15 minutes. 3. For the final 5-3 minutes (so that’s a cooking time in total of 15-20 minutes for the pears), add the rum and sultanas to the mix. At the end, the pears should be soft enough to slide off a knife once pierced, so you’ll have to keep an eye on them and use your judgement! 4. Heat up a small saucepan and then combine the Butter, sugars and rum in the pan, once the sugar is dissolving, add the cream and salt to the mix, continually stirring in the pan until the mix thickens and darkens. 5. Chop the Blue Stilton into small ½ inch cubes where possible, then plate up the pears, sultanas and Stilton cubes, finally placing the pear in the centre and then drizzling with the caramel sauce. 6. EAT. Let me know how you get on if you give this dish a try and feel free to post pictures of the outcome!! Pedro. x |
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