La Tasca Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurant, Arlington, Va.

My friend Joe and I went to La Tasca Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurant in the Clarendon area of Arlington this afternoon for lunch and a bit of a business conversation. Tapas are little plates of food, sort of small appetizer size, that are a Spanish tradition. As people drank sherry and wine in the late afternoon at Spanish bars, patrons had two challenges: staving off hunger until dinnertime in a culture that typically doesn't eat dinner until 10 p.m. and keeping flies and insects out of their glasses of sherry. Initially, bars served slices of hard sausages that could be placed over the tops of wine glasses as people drank and socialized, nibbling a bit now and then on the sausage, and that eventually evolved into what is now a plethora of tasty cold and hot dishes. La Tasca is part of a small chain in the United States with other restaurants in Alexandria, Baltimore, and the District that also just happens to be owned by an English company founded in Manchester that operates about 55 La Tascas throughout the United Kingdom.

We started off with sangria as we perused the menu, Joe selecting a traditional sangria tinta with red wine, oranges, and apples (and using it for his Kody Pose above), and me picking the cava sangria with Spanish sparkling wine (called a "cava"—think Freixenet Cordon Negro), brandy, Triple Sec, and grape juice.

After discussing our many, many options, we decided upon five tapas to share. They were, from left to right below, pollo al ajillo (grilled chicken in white wine and garlic, montado de salmon y queso fresco (smoked salmon and cream cheese on toast), and gambas al ajillo (shrimp sauteed in olive oil with garlic and guindilla peppers)in this photo...



and albondigas a la jardinera (meatballs with vegetable and tomato sauce), and espinacas salteadas (sauteed spinach with garlic, pine nuts, and raisins) in this photo.



Afterwards, we shared a tarta de café con leche y salsa de café, which was a light coffee mousse pie with Spanish espresso sauce and slivvered almonds garnished with a squirt of whipped cream and dusted with cocoa. I thought it was very nice, and Joe, who said he didn't want dessert, seemed to concur, as he ate most of it.



It was quite a pleasant afternoon, since Joe is an excellent conversationalist and quite intelligent. We're also both former lawyers looking for professional fulfillment via other avenues, so that gives us a lot in common to discuss. The food at La Tasca was very good and the service was attentive, two things I don't always find in tapas bars here in the District. I'm looking forward to another lunch with Joe soon.