Tapas may win the Perfect Cheap Food contest in the first-ever “Nationwide” category. The Spanish actually seem to have their own PCF phrase to describe the tapas category, “Bueno Bonito Barato” (literally: good, pretty, cheap). This bite-size cuisine is cheap across the country and we have yet to meet a tapa we didn’t like. Dishes glitter under bar lights and seem to gloat their casually artful presentation. Now, our vote for this award may be swayed by the fact that tapas were made to go with drinking, and drinking is usually what we were doing when we had tapas… However, it is with a clear head and happy taste buds that we hand out this blue ribbon.

Hurray For Tapas from Eva Rees on Vimeo.

Throughout our cross-country adventure, tapas took on many forms. In Barcelona seafood rules widely, followed by sliced and cured meats. Andalusia proffered more stewed dishes on the tiny plate. The best way to enjoy tapas is with abandon; once you’ve learned what a few basic tapas are, just order things off the list which you can’t define. After all, it’s only a bite or two, and you might find a new favorite.

The ultimate foray into the world of tapas must certainly be the city of Granada. Local tradition dictates that each tiny beer purchased come with a FREE tapa. Incredible, we know. Even locals confess that the business model for this indulgence hardly makes sense. But we won’t look a gift horse in the mouth! As if to sweeten the deal, the tapa offered in Granada bars changes with each consecutive beer, upping its own ante and raising our curiosity as to what might come next.

It didn’t take more than two or three beers (and two or three tapas) to hatch our epic plan of a bar hop in Granada, fueled by chilly three-inch Alhambras and free tapas. Truly, what could go wrong?! We managed to pull a willing participant from our hostel, as well as from our Twitter list. The lower Albaicín district in Granada is lined with bars crowded with eager, happy faces in the evenings, and seemed to be the perfect setting. Our night started well; a good group, a fun bar, a new beer.

Alhambra Reserva 1925

The beer had apparently already started to cloud our bar hop judgement, and we started breaking the rules. Soon, we were ordering sherry and wine and who really knows what else? (The young kids in Spain drink Kalimotxo, a blend of wine and coke) A relatively short time after abandoning beers for liquor our bar hop came to an epic fail, with Eva asleep at the hostel, and Jeremy locked in our new friend’s bathroom.

So as of today it’s Team Rees 0, Granada 1 — but we’ll be back to settle the score on the tapas crawl, and thank Granada for it’s beautiful and generous traditions.