For much of central Andalucia in the day, it’s too hot to do much of anything. Seville is one of the hottest places in Europe, and many of the nearby regions such as Cordoba and Ronda it can be almost equally steamy, even in October. In fact, in the summer it can get into the 40s. As with most places with such stuffy temperatures ranges, the day is often chopped up into pieces, divided by ample opportunities to grab a quick bite and sometimes even a drink (and a quick nap of course). Most of Andalusians, or Spaniards for that matter, starts the day with a typical breakfast consists of fresh squeeze orange juice, coffee in a small glass (apparently this was a Moorish influence), and some sort of tostadas sandwich which is often a toasted ciabatta bun spread with olive oil and tomato paste with or without added fillings like ham or jamon serrano. Traditionally however, if you fancy a sweet tooth, you can have a churro con chocolate, the tasty long tubular deep fried dough that you dunk into thick gooey sweet hot chocolate. I was surprised at such a sweet treat so early in the morning (in Madrid, I see this as more of a night time “bubble-tea like” social activity). I’ve heard of people having a pet so that they would wake up smiling to a puppy to their faces. For Andalusians, I guess they prefer to wake up to chocolate.
By mid morning, there is often a “second breakfast”, intended to sustain life until lunch time. These can be various pastries or mini sandwiches called bocadillos or the popular spanish tortillas. Lunch is often pushed late into the 2-4pm range, and it seems for some Andalusians they still choose to go back home for the meal, an often inconvenient and inefficient affair with the snail pace traffic of the city. As I walk around, I see many locals popping in for a quick drink with tapas (by drink I do mean the alcoholic version). I’m surprised that there seems to be that much drinking in the middle of the day when clearly they all have to go back to work after. “The servings are smaller..”, I was told by a local. But I guess it’s just part of the culture.
Post siesta, many Andalusians return back to work until probably around 8-9pm. Dinner is, of course, quite late, and often consists of more bar hopping and tapas as a social engagement. The key cuisine, as in most of Spain but particularly here in the south, is tapas (most menus would indicate the item with a choice of 3 different price points: tapas around 2-4 euros, half raciones around 6-10 euros, and a full portion or racione for a fuller price). The unique feature that used to be widespread in the region but now specifically for Granada is the so called “free tapa” that is served if you walk in and simply order an alcoholic drink. The catch is you don’t get to choose what tapas, but I was told the quality goes up after each successive drink. To be honest, by the 3rd or 4th drink you probably don’t care what they serve anymore as everything starts to taste quite wonderful. Be ready to be standing a lot, as most places are packed and it’s pretty standard to be eating and drinking and chatting at the counter or high table and then go on to the next one.
But the key to tapa tasting is to be quite shameless, and walk in, order one drink and one tapa, and go on to the next venue. That’s because most places probably only specializes in one thing. To maximize your chance of hitting the right order, you walk in, look around, realize that EVERYBODY is eating the SAME thing, then just point to that item, making sure to ask for a tapa size portion. If food is important to you, I suggest you consider joining a food tour in the city, something I did for the first time this trip, and did it twice. The better one, in Seville, which costed more than my 4 nights at the hostel, was quite worthwhile as I get to experience some places that I honestly would never venture into myself (I choose the Devour nighttime Tapas and History Tour for 91 euros). It was a little steep, but the experience was quite worthwhile.
Of course, there are some particulars that are quite famous here. Among the usual spanish flare you’ll find regional specialties like rabo de toro (slow cooked bull’s tail braised in thick rich sauce over fries), solomillo de cerdo (pork loin sometimes served in a whiskey sauce). As with other places in Spain, they really liked their preserved salter cod, called Bacalao, and it's super tasty when dressed with olive oil over bread. Fried fish seems to be a thing as well, sold in many of the freiduria (fried house), as is other types of fried tiny crustaceans like little shrimps that you eat whole. One thing I was surprised to see was how much they love pork blood jello. While us Chinese put them in congee, they fried them with onions or make black-looking sausages. Cheese wise, manchego seems to be the most popular choice. Think of it as a softer less strong version of parmesan, but eaten directly with drizzles of olive oil. And of course, the refreshing cold soup gazpacho is quite popular especially in the summer. They even sell that bottled in the supermarket, but the best one I’ve had came as a tapa size portion in a little glass at an unpretentious little local street side cafe. There are other varieties depending on regional influences. In Cordoba, they add chunk bits of cooked egg and cured ham and called it salmorejo, and I’ve also seen ones made with asparagus or avocado, but didn’t get to try them as I was already quite full.
And finally, to drink. Perhaps the most refreshing of the choices is the tinto de verano (red wine mixed with splash of citrus and soda), and it seems that, once again, sangria is mainly an invention for the tourists. Vermouth is still popular as an aperitif, but seems the younger people now just drink beer. But by far the star of the show is their famous Sherry, a fortified wine with various herbs that takes years to produce and can taste a little medicine-like (as opposed to Vermouth, which is produced every year). There is a wide variety of sherries, ranging from dry white versions to uber sweet post meal digestifs. A common variety is the Manzanilla, but I find that a little dry. So, usually, I just stick to my tinto.
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