Spanish restaurants in USA
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Cafe Iberico
Iberico’s creative tapas burst with flavor. Among the standouts: salpicon de marisco (seafood salad with shrimp, octopus and squid), croquetas de pollo (chicken and ham puffs with garlic sauce) and vieiras a la plancha (grilled scallops with saffron). The cafe’s heady sangria draws wearied Loop workers by the dozen in the summer.
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Xixon
It takes a lot to stand out in Miami’s crowded tapas-spot stakes. Having a Basque-country butcher-and-baker-gone-hip interior is a good start. Bread that has a crackling crust and a soft center that fluffs your tongue, and delicate explosions of bacalao (codfish) fritters, secures your spot as a top tapas contender. The bocadillo (sandwiches), with their blood-red Serrano ham and salty Manchego cheese, are great picnic fare. This place is a few miles north of the central Coconut Grove area.
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Columbia Restaurant
See that enormous building covered in hand-painted tiles? That's the famous Columbia, serving Spanish and Cuban specialties since 1920. Reservations and $6 gets you seating for flamenco performances.
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El Carajo
Pass the Penzoil please…literally. We know it is cool to tuck restaurants into unassuming spots, but the Citgo station on SW 17th Ave? Really? Really: walk past the motor oil into a Granadan wine cellar, and try not to act too phased. And now, the food, which is absolutely incredible. Chorizo in cider blends burn, smoke and juice, frittatas are comfortably filling and sardinas and boquerones …oh God. These sardines and anchovies cooked with just a bit of salt and olive oil are dizzyingly delicious. It is tempting to keep El Carajo a secret, but not singing its praises would be lying, and we’re not gonna lie: if there’s one restaurant you shouldn’t miss in Miami, it’s th…
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Lola’s
Wait outside in that warm Esplanade air with clouds of Mid-City locals who swear by Lola’s paellas and fideuas (an angel-hair pasta variation on the former). Once you get inside, it’s all elbows and crowds and buzz of conversation and, incidentally, some very good grub. This isn’t haute Barcelona cuisine; it’s the sort of Spanish peasant fare Hemingway wrote chapters about, all rabbit and meats and hams and fresh seafood and olive oil and lots of lots of delicious garlic – vampires need not apply.
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Jaleo
The whole tapas thing has been done to death, but Jaleo helped start the trend in DC and it still serves some of the best Spanish cuisine in town. The interior is an Iberian pastiche of explosive color and vintage mural-dom, which all underlines, rather than overpowers, the quality of the excellent food. Opt for the tapas over the main dishes, which are a bit overpriced, and why not wash down those little plates with a heavy rioja to get that Flamenco edge on.
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Rio Mar
New Orleans is a city that hasn’t embraced the tapas trend with the fervor of other American foodie towns, perhaps in part due to the excellence of homegrown cuisine. Rio Mar bucks this trend with a good selection of simply done but satisfying small plates; salt cod cakes, garlic oysters and white anchovies in vinegar top out a menu slanted toward but not limited to seafood. Lunch or dinner, we say opt for the tapas over the mains.
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Dalí
Crowded with kitsch and craziness, this bustling bar sets the standard for imaginative and appetizing tapas. Don Juan waiters deliver an endless array of goodies, all of which will make you think you've died and gone to Andalusia. The place is usually packed (reservations are not accepted), so order a pitcher of sangria to sip while you wait. From Harvard, walk across the yard and up Kirkland St.
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Mala
It may be a new kid on the block, but this waterfront bistro is already winning awards. Mala fuses Spanish and Pacific influences in dishes like 'opakapaka (pink snapper) ceviche and black-bean Manila clams in a ginger sauce. Save room for the delightfully decadent 'caramel miranda' dessert. The best time to come is at night, when the tiki torches on the ocean lanai add a romantic touch.
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Arcos de Cuchilleros
The owners come from Madrid, and they have faithfully replicated a traditional Madrid family cafe, with a long bar, a narrow room, dark wood furniture and small plates of classics like sautéed lima beans, chickpea croquettes and tortilla española (a cold egg and potato omelet). Don’t bother keeping track of how many pitchers of tangy sangria you drink; just keep ordering.
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Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!
At this long-standing, delightfully ersatz tapas joint, the garlic-laced sauces may have you licking the plates. The menu changes daily but always includes some spicy meats, marinated fish and heaps of hot or cold small plates. For a main event, order one of the paellas ($11 to $13 per person, minimum two people) as soon as you get seated – they take a while to prepare.
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Casa Juancho
A massive, upscale, traditional Spanish tavern that’s a bit out of the fray, this is the place to go for a special occasion or pull-out-all-the-stops evening. Join the festive mover-and-shaker crowd for updated takes on standards, including pan-seared salmon in creamy saffron-almond sauce, baby lamb chops and filet mignon stuffed with goat cheese and peppers.
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El Mesón
Chef/owner David Huertas brings the flavors of his native Spain to the table in the form of famous paella and fine Spanish wines. Solo travelers can find conversation at the communal table. Within El Mesón, ¡Chispas! is known for excellent tapas, live music Wednesday evening and flamenco (cover around US$8; ;20:00 first Sat of the month).
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El Farol
This popular restaurant and bar, set in a rustically authentic adobe, features live music nightly. Although El Farol does excellent steaks, most people come to sample chef James Campbell Caruso’s tapas. The weekly Wednesday flamenco dinner show ($60) is lively and perfect for birthdays or special occasions. Kids will also dig it.
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Soccarat Paella Bar
A cozy, narrow room dominated by a glass-topped communal table, Soccarat is famous for its heavenly, saffron-scented paellas filled with veggies, seafood and/or meat. Tapas are served too, but nothing compares to the rice. No reservations, but you can wait at the wine bar next door. Lunch is less crowded than dinner.
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La Taza De Oro
Keeping it real for more than three decades, La Taza de Oro has a long, functional countertop with barstools and plain tables that won't win any design awards. But the decor goes with the stomach-filling cheap eats like rice-and-beans, lechón asado, flan and more. Unpretentious, and very satisfying.
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Alcala
A well-kept secret near the UN, you won't find a quieter backyard anywhere. It'd be a shame not to try the excellent Basque wines - they go so well with dishes like salted codfish salad with black olives, baby squid, meat cannelloni with truffle and béchamel sauce, and the obligatory seafood paella.
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Alegria
The trippy, Technicolor mosaic floor, an eccentric art nouveau bar and trompe l'oeil murals form an appropriately spirited backdrop to Alegria's fresh and vivid Latino cuisine. The tapas menu is great for grazers and the paella a feast for both eyes and stomach. There's even live flamenco on some nights.
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Aqua Ardiente
Sshhh, don't tell anyone, Washingtonian's would rather keep this neighborhood Spanish place a secret. The vibe is tribal trendy meets spiritual, with a Madonna shrine, Indian masks and silky rouge curtains. The menu is billed as Nouveau Latino, and offers a slew of ceviches and an extensive wine list.
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Dominicano Internacional Restaurant
These Dominicans immigrated to the Land of Plenty to serve plenty: of chicken, pork, goat etc. It's all good. Technically in Highlandtown, bright island murals and Spanish-speaking waitstaff make this a fun place to eat on a summer afternoon, although there's no Red Stripe - damn.
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Casa Panza
They might as well hang out flashing ‘Ole!’ signs at this kitschy cavern of Spanish stereo¬types, where the nightly flamenco entertainment is as good as the food, which includes caldo gallego (white-bean soup with pork sausage) and gambas al ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce).
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Bar Celona
Fine-diners savor seafood paellas and wine-braised steaks in Bar Celona’s candlelit dining room while sangria-sipping hipsters linger in the late-night lounge. Between the two scenes, chefs impress with exotic small-plate specials at the happenin’ tapas bar.
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Columbia
The sister of the famed Ybor City landmark also serves consistently well-prepared Cuban and Spanish dishes like paella. It also has prime outdoor seating and a lively evening lounge with music Thursday through Sunday.
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Tapas y Tintos
This dark, Nuevo-Spanish tapas bar is popular with the sort of good-looking young professionals who like their food and restaurants as pretty as they are. Try the octopus, or fried chickpeas with Spanish ham.
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