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Tapas y Tintos (Tapas
and Wine) is located on
Espaņola Way
in Miami Beach. We spent
an afternoon at the kickoff party for SoBe's new Gay Pride parade and
festival which will take place on the beach next March and afterward ended
up having a magnificent dinner at Tapas y Tintos.
After an odd momentary
exchange with the waitress/hostess, we ended up putting a couple of tables
together under an umbrella, seating ourselves and hunting up a few menus. It
was no big deal, and maybe that's the way it is supposed to be done, but
nonetheless, it seemed like an odd moment. Fortunately, it was not a sign of
bad things to come!
We ordered four selections
from the tapas menu, Verde te quiero verde, Popeye y Olivia,
Calamares a la Romana and Pinchos Morunos chicken. Not being a
big fan of calamares myself, you'll have to take my dinner partners word for
it that the homemade sun dried tomato, garlic and olive oil dipping sauce was spectacular.
The two of them dipped and dipped the deep fried calamares until they were
scraping the sauce off the sides of the bowl. Apparently the "a la Romana"
part was spectacular!
The Verde te quiero verde is a
typical goat cheese and spring mix salad with olive oil and vinegar and it
hit the spot quite nice on the warm SoBe afternoon. The Popeye y Olivia, chick
peas marinated in olive oil, wine and spinach were raved about in a similar
fashion to the calamares. The Pinchos Morunos chicken was a tasty, but
typical chicken kebob. The tapas menu also
includes boiled octopus,
marinated seafood salad, stuffed scallops, shrimp, fried chick peas with
Spanish ham, smoked salmon, sauteed clams, Spanish omelettes, fried hake,
fresh vegetables, baby chorizo, white beans, seafood paella, swordfish, and
tuna steak. If you have someone along that doesn't want to do the share
their dinner thing, there are a few meals served traditionally on a plate
including steak or seafood, veggies and potato. The
wine menu is focused on Spanish selections and is rather extensive, although
it is certainly no La Lupa Di Roma
(which we just love).
One of the best things about dining on
Espaņola Way
is the laid back atmosphere. Everything moves a little bit slower on this
narrow side street that is located in the thick of the SoBe's nightlife
and entertainment. Within a few blocks are the Lincoln Theater, home
of the New World Symphony, Lincoln road, a shopping
extravaganza and world famous nightclubs like
Cameo,
Mansion,
Score,
Halo and
Aero Bar.
Also located on
Espaņola Way
you'll find another one of our favorite restaurants, possibly the best
craperie in Florida,
A La Folie.
Tapas y Tintos also offers
entertainment moist nights. The offerings range from flamenco and salsa
dancing to an unplugged night and Spanish bands. A little bit something for
everyone that wants to get into the Latin mood.
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