I just finished reading a City Paper review of Centro Tapas Bar.
Back in May of 2007, former Sun critic Elizabeth Large commented that changes at Pazo might indicate that the tapas craze has peaked. At that time, Pazo was probably one of a handful of Baltimore-area restaurants serving tapas-style small plates. I thought the comment was ridiculous because from my ongoing observation of the NY restaurant scene, the small plates movement was chugging along, and if it's not peaking in NY, it's nowhere near peaking in a relative backwater like Baltimore. And of course more and more restaurants serving both traditional Spanish-style tapas and otherwise-ethnically-inclined versions on the theme are popping up regularly.
Personally, I love the idea of small plates. I enjoy when my palate is stimulated by several different flavors in the same meal, which is why I'm such a big fan of dim sum, the rotating sushi bar at Kyodai, Pazo, Korean panchan, and order multiple appetizers in place of a single entrée at dinner. How about you? What do you think about eating small tastes of several items as opposed to one big plate of food?
3 comments:
I LOVE the idea of tapas, as you well know. Our lunch at Pazo was probably one of the three top dining experiences of my life.
I adore tapas and don't see that changing. I know restaurants hate it when you order a few apps instead of an entree but sometimes that is what I feel like eating, damn it. Pazo was excellent and I really want to go back- it's been forever. I go to Tapas Teatro every once in a while and really enjoy it.
I'm not a huge tapas fan, mostly because if I like something, I usually want to eat a whole lot of it :) Also, I end up spending a TON more than usual!
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