To add to the Boston list there's a little cafe in Harvard Sq., that is great for a tasty lunch. It is called Cafe Pamplona. It is actually owned by a friend of my great aunt's (Josefina(I don't know her last name)is from Pamplona). I just recently heard the story about how she came to open it and thought it was pretty cool. So I thought I'd mention it.

My vote for best Spanish that I have tried outside of Spain goes to Andalucia, near Washington, DC.
A pleasant Spanish ambience and outstanding, authentically Spanish food.
Cantabene

There is a wonderful Spanish restaurant with an incredible selection of tapas in Puerto Vallarta of all places -- we discovered it last Thanksgiving -- called Barcelona if I remember correctly -- in downtown not far from Cafe des Artistes -- the cab drivers all knew it and took us right to it -- there were 6 of us so we ordered all 12 items on their tapas menu and every item - except the smoked salmon - (probably hard to get good salmon in Mexico) was incredible -- outdoor seating on a terrace on the 3rd floor of the building with the beach nearby and the moon and stars overhead-- beautiful -- brought back the best memories of my first tapas in a bar in old town Barcelona. Don't miss it if you are in Puerto Vallarta!!!

Hey Granadagirl -- don't think anyone gave you a response to your question about Bolo in NYC -- I haven't been in about 2 years but it was excellent back then -- not sure how authentic Spanish it is but everything was incredibly tasty -- I had not yet been to Spain when I ate there. Check it out -- not cheap either -- but if you are used to NYC prices it was worth the price for something different, well prepared, with excellent sauces, and a great atmosphere.

In SF, Esperpento and Picaro (16th Street near Valencia) are owned by the same people, both are very good and not too expensive. A friend and I ate 5 tapas dishes and had 2 glasses of sangria for $38 the other night. I'm not sure how "authentic" it is, the tapas dishes I had in Madrid were very different, and patatas bravas in Gijon were definitely different (at Picaro it is red spicy sauce, in Gijon it was mild white sauce). But the tortilla is basically the same as anywhere in Spain. The waiters are either from Spain or S. America. There are a couple of other tapas restaurants in the Mission district on Valencia Street and around town, but I haven't tried them.

I have a feeling that most of the Basque restaurants in SF are French Basque.

A great restaurant for tapas in New York is Xunta, on 1st avenue and 11th St. The owners are gallegos and the menu is written in gallego. It is truly the most authentic Spanish tapas I have eaten outside of Spain.

HEY CALIBASCO!!! CALLING CALIBASCO AND JOSIE!!! WHEN ARE WE GOING TO THIS PLACE?

Thanks for the heads-up, josie!

And for the rest of you...doesn't this sound AMAZING????? Minneapolis is getting SO COOL!!!

(From the local "City Pages" newspaper):

Solera, Hotter Than The Sun
by Dara Moskowitz

Are you sitting down? Are you well hydrated? Are you holding the newspaper with asbestos gloves and wearing a heat shield while sequestered in a special underground chamber? I certainly hope so, because super-hot news is coming at you, and be careful, it's hot! Okay. Take a deep breath. I don't want you to pass out or anything. Breathe, I said! All right. Here we go.

Chefs Tim McKee and Josh Thoma bought the old Backstage @ Bravo building, next to the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis, and will be opening a big Spanish complex called Solera there! Finally. Finally because the two have been trying to do something along these lines for two and a half years but kept having space after space fall through. McKee and Thoma, the partners at Stillwater's La Belle Vie, the critics' and connoisseurs' darling, were in the kitchen at D'Amico Cucina when that restaurant was the most important one in town. From La Belle Vie, they have changed the culture of local restaurants by inspiring chefs and diners with their bedazzling Spanish-inflected cooking, and by setting the bar high for standards of service in wine programs. They also have about as much goodwill as restaurant people can have--or at least they did until recently. Looks like Bill Summerville, sweet and suave general manager of D'Amico Cucina, has jumped ship to helm the new project, and even more players in town are signed up to abandon their current homes. "We're really, really excited," said McKee, when I spoke to him on the phone about Solera. "I can't talk about who I have in place, but they're employed, and I think it's safe to say I'm going to lose some friends." Ooh!

Oh well, you gotta spill a little blood... If I were a restaurant with some chefs I wanted to keep right now, I'd definitely start making sure everybody is happy.

I'm happy, because Solera looks to be bringing a few entirely new things to town: For one, there will be an extensive sherry menu to pair with appetizers. "I think sherries are great with all kinds of salty, piquant, or seafood plates," says McKee. "If you try one of my favorites, La Gitana, with some Marcona almonds, you'll get the idea: It's a rich and complicated pairing. Most people think of sherry as being sweet, what your grandma drank before she went to bed, but it's actually very nice as an apéritif." Another new idea: The tapas bar will be more like a sushi bar--a 20-seat counter wrapped around a chef's working kitchen area, where you'll be able to sit and talk with the chef, order little plates, and watch him cook them. McKee says prices will be reasonable; expect to pay what you would at Campiello or Palomino. In the sit-down, regular restaurant part, expect a mostly or all-Spanish wine list, and a menu featuring a few pages of tapas, as well as more conventional dishes. "One of the reasons I wanted to do a restaurant like this is because my favorite way to dine is to taste a lot of things," says McKee. "Solera will have a more convivial atmosphere than most restaurants--basically, we want people to have just a ridiculous amount of fun."

Fun? I love fun! Don't you love fun? See, I knew you did. I just knew it. So I guess you're ready to make your 2004 New Year's reservations then, right? Don't laugh. Scout's honor, two days after Thoma and McKee closed on the sale of the building, I happened to talk to Robin Martin, the owner of the metro's fanciest wedding-cake shop, Gateaux, and a bride had already booked her wedding into Solera. Hot enough for you? Look for the place to open in March.

Estoy aqui, Tara! Already got the ganas to go to Solera, can't wait til it opens!
I'll be watching the local prensa for details--we are overdue for a real Spanish restaurant here. We definitely will have to get all the MM members together to check
this place out. Hopefully they won't serve Ketchup, in any form.
josie (who loves sherry)

¡Jo--! I was in Minnesota the weekend of Oct. 5th, and I didn't even know this place existed! Next time I'm in town, that's the meeting place...¡fijo!

Adiós...

Kurt,

you mentioned one of my faves! 'Cafe Ba-ba-ree-ba' is really nice... As if the meal itself is not good enough, one *has* to top it off with the sherry sampler at the end!

also, my brother was the chef at 'Meson Sabika' in Naperville, which i only got to eat at once, but was excellent! hopefully that one is still there. the owner of that one also had 'La Perla,' which was pretty nice too.

in LA there just aren't enuff good ones! echo park has 'Restaurant Spain,' [did i get that right?]. they have a lot of authentic spanish food products for retail sale, and the food from the restaurant is pretty darn good. if you like good croquetas, don't order them at this one, tho. everyone has their own recipe and i just haven't had any like Tia Pepita's. the paella is *great*! it's right at where the 2 freeway ends. i definitely recommend it.

also, i've heard a lot about 'La Luna Negra,' which is here in Pasadena, but i don't really like it. for authentic spanish, no way. for mexican/spanish fusion, maybe. my Spanish friends didn't think it was authentic either.

in san diego, there is at least one good restaurant in the gas lamp area which was good. i don't know about the other ones... sorry, i know it's no help to forget the names of those two. i found it on the internet, tho!

andrew
:wq