Spanish cuisine, with its tradition of tapas and small plates, lends itself well to lingering with friends.
“By talking and sharing, it’s not unusual to have diners here for two hours,” Castro said. Castro co-owns the restaurant with his parents and sister.
El Meson specializes in Hispanic cuisine, including Central and South American dishes, as well as Spanish meals. The menu is also always supplemented by a theme menu, typically centered around a national cuisine, which gets changed every six weeks or so. Spain is currently being featured, through mid-October.
Specialty restaurants like El Meson — whether the culinary focus is Hispanic, Asian or African — may require diners to move a bit out of their comfort zones, but the effort is often worth it.
Try to let preconceived notions behind at the door. For example, Castro, who was born in Panama to Colombian parents, is quick to point out that Hispanic does not necessarily mean Mexican. “There is a misconception that if you see the word ‘El’ in front of a name, that it means you’re going to get chimichangas and margaritas,” he said. “People say, ‘I don’t like Spanish food. It’s too hot and spicy.’ ”
Not true. Spanish food is neither hot nor spicy. In fact, Castro maintains, it’s not really that exotic. “We prepare steaks and chicken and fish and rice,” he said. “All the basic foods Americans are used to.” The specific flavors of individual Spanish dishes often have more to do with where the dish originated. In southern Spain, the food is influenced by the region’s proximity to Morocco; food from northern Spain can have a French flavor.
We asked Castro for his suggestions for an introductory Spanish meal for a table of four.
“I would start with three to four tapas,” he said. “Tapas can be a first course or a grazing course. It literally means bites. It’s nothing complicated.”
A tapas menu can be quite extensive, depending on where you’re dining. That makes it perfect for experimenting. Since you only have to commit to a few bites, it’s easier to bypass your usual chicken, say, and instead, try some seafood or a cheese you’ve never heard of before.
When in doubt, ask your server for suggestions. As an example, for the tapas course, Castro said he’d recommend the Calamares a la Parilla o Rebozados, Manchego cheese puffs and Gambas al Ajillo. That translates to an order of calamari grilled — not fried — with lemon and garlic, served with a passion fruit, citrus and sweet red pepper dipping sauce on the side; thick slices of toasted bread slathered with a garlicky spread of creamy sheep’s cheese; and jumbo shrimp served in a deep platter, bathed in a garlic and olive oil sauce with a bit of red pepper for bite.
Next, try two to three small plates. “Small plates are the same idea as tapas, but now it’s food that you would normally see as an entree, modified into small portions to share and pass,” Castro said. For example, instead of a big slab of filet mignon, a small plate offers three medallions. Or, your table could sample a Tortilla Espanola, a small Spanish omelet with potatoes, asparagus and roasted red pepper, and a Grouper Con Salsa Romesco, which is sauteed fish with a roasted red pepper sauce served with lentils and rice.
Instead of sharing several small plates, you could also try ordering paella, either individually or for sharing. Paella is a comfort food staple for Spaniards — almost like casseroles are to Americans — and are complex dishes cooked and served in a large skillet, with a base of rice and saffron. From there, ingredients are many and varied, and can include chorizo sausage, pork, mussels, scallops and fish, as well as peas, onions, tomatoes, pimentos, garlic and lemon. It takes a while to cook, 45 minutes or so, which gives plenty of time to savor the tapas.
You should still have room for a bit of dessert: order a couple for the table. Spanish desserts aren’t overly sweet. Try a flan, which is Spanish traditional custard. At El Meson, they sell a version that comes with blackberries.
“In our 34 years here, we’ve tried to do our part to educate people both about cuisine and culture,” Castro said. To that end, restaurant staff conduct nearly 250 programs a year with high school students studying Spanish, lead biennial trips abroad (most recently to Italy) for local food enthusiasts, and offer special tasting nights, “outlaw dinners,” to provide newcomers an introduction to the cuisine.
It can be a tough sell, encouraging diners to slow down and let go of their individual, usually oversized, restaurant serving. Castro tries to promote a different attitude toward eating: “It’s not the amount, but the variety.”
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