Granada - Tapas for two

http://www.granadatapasbar.com.au/

Dark and mysterious inside

I love Spanish tapas.  While I am sure everyone is familiar with the concept of Tapas, it's worth talking a little bit about the history and origin of tapas.  The original tapas were the chunks of bread that drinkers used to cover their drinks (usually sherry) between sips, often to keep insects out of their sweet alcohol.  Normally chorizo or ham was used and the saltiness of the meat often activated a diner's thirst which was a great way for bars and restaurants to increase the sales of alcohol.

In more recent times tapas are usually a wide variety of Spanish appetizers or snacks, served both warm and cold.  Tapas has evolved into an entire and often sophisticated cuisine with an entire meal dominated by serving after serving of delicious Spanish treats.

It's with this in mind that I finally got over to South Brisbane to check out Granada.  I had heard many great things about this little Spanish taparia, including the mexican influence and was keen to check it out for myself.  With me was my good mate CI, who was feeling a little under the weather and was not super hungry, which left more to eat for me!

Looking through the extensive list of tapas, I could see many traditional Spanish tapas but could definitely see a bit of an influence from Mexico and we ended up mixing it up with our order.  CI had been to Granada a couple of times, so I left it in his very capable hands to choose the tapas.

First up, there was no way CI and I could go past one of our collective all time favourite foods and ordered the Chorizo char grilled on a white bean puree.  We love chorizo so much that we did not get a share plate and ended up getting one each.  The chorizo came out with a lovely char on the bed of white bean puree with a sprinkling of herbs for some colour.  The chorizo was delicious, cooked very well and had that great tangy sweetness from the meat and crusty caramelisation.  I was not super impressed with the white bean puree, which was cold and lumpy and did not add anything to the flavour of the chorizo.  I could definitely have skipped the puree and it would have been a much nicer start for me.

Chorizo, who doesn't love it?

You could really see the Mexican influence with the arrival of the Corn Tortilla with Pork Belly and a salsa and tomato sauce.  I had high expectations of this because it combined two foods that I love, tortilla wraps (essentially taco) and pork belly.  This was presented flat but was eaten like a traditional soft shell taco by picking up and stuffing it in your mouth (and if all goes well, not wear any down your shirt).  After the first few bites of this I was pretty unimpressed, with there being no strong flavour from the pork belly or the salsa or sauce.  Accompanying this dish was an extra 'hot' sauce that I was not too game to smother all over the pork, but put a few small drops in to see if this improved the flavour, but unfortunately it didn't.  I also didn't think the Mexican / Spanish combo worked, so definitely not a memorable tapas for me, however CI thought it was not too bad.

Pork Tortillas - Mexican influence

Out next was a big bowl of Calamares Fritos - Fried baby calamari with aioli and lemon and I mean a BIG bowl.  This was good because CI and I both dig flash fried calamari.  A squeeze of lemon over the whole bowl and it was every man for himself.  The calamari was perfectly cooked with a light flour coating and the lemon was a perfect foil for the sweet calamari meat, adding the right amount of acidity.  CI did not have any of the alioli and I think he missed out, it added a nice texture and depth of flavour to the acidity and sweetness from the dish.  Probably the dish of the night for me and primarily due to its simplicity.  The only problem was the sharing aspect of tapas, we both could have had a big bowl each!

Flash fried calamari - yum

Last of the tapas to come out (but not the last we ordered, more on this later) was Pollo a la Yucatan - Marinated chicken thigh fillets char grilled with beans and rice, corn tortillas, another dish with a heavy Mexican influence.  When CI and I were deciding on the 'main' tapas dish we deliberated over quite a few of them, but CI maintained that last time he had this it was divine.  With really high expectations I started to put together my first tortilla wrap, with a base of beans and rice and then a whole chicken thigh fillet, added a little 'hot' sauce and took a big bite.  Wow, what a let down.  There was practically no flavour at all.  The chicken looked really well cooked with a lovely looking char and it all smelt great, but there was nothing going on in my mouth.  I looked to CI and he confirmed the same and told me that this was very different to the last time he had this dish, by a long way.

Chicken thighs and rice with tortillas - Mexican influence

After the disappointment of the chicken dish I decided that I needed a dessert to finish off the meal and what better way than the traditional Spanish dessert Churros with chocolate sauce.  There is a great churros dessert bar just around the corner from here at Southbank that I have been to a few times and I was expecting something really sweet and tasty.  The churros were OK and that was about it.  I am not exactly sure what was wrong with them, they had a nice coating of cinnamon and were crisp and crunchy but it was just a little plain tasting.  Even the melted chocolate sauce did not add that exciting mix of flavours that churro and chocolate can deliver.  With three churros, I was actually struggling to get through the last of them, which is really unusual for me.  I would have loved the option of different flavoured chocolate, I really like white chocolate with these Spanish treats.  Overall, not bad but.....

Churros!

Meal finished and and waiting for the bill CI and I contemplated the meal that we had just consumed.  It wasn't terrible but I certainly was not great tapas.  CI was surprised with the inconsistency this night as the previous times he had been were all really good.  Perhaps it was the selections we made tonight, apart from the chorizo, we didn't really go for the traditional Spanish tapas.  Two of our choices were very much the Mexican influenced dishes, which for me didn't work well.  Maybe a Mexican influenced Spanish taparia is not a great idea, but others I have spoken to have loved it.  I guess everyone can have a bad night.

Walking back into the city with CI, I couldn't help feeling that we had missed something, something important.  CI felt the same way, but for the life of us we could not think what it was.  It wasn't until much later that night when walking SC home from her night out that I realised.....  We missed a dish that we had paid for!  A quick text to CI confirmed it.  We had ordered the Albondigas - Braised pork and veal meatballs in rich tomato sauce and it never came.  Could this have been the missing piece of the puzzle that would have taken average to good, or even great?  I guess I will never know.

@FoodMeUpScotty