tapas heaven
After one meal at Toro Bravo (Portland, OR) I was ready to pack my bags and book a flight to Spain. Unfortunately, with my big cross-country move looming in the near future, I won’t be brushing up on my Spanish anytime soon, but I do think that Spain may have overtaken Italy at the top of my must-visit list. In the meantime I am going to concentrate my energy on trying to re-create the dishes I shared at Toro Bravo, or as I termed it on my twitter post: tapas heaven.
I feel comfortable claiming Toro Bravo as tapas heaven because I am pretty sure I have been to tapas hell, which goes a little something like this: You hear about a new small plates restaurant and you gather a group of friends to go check it out. Usually it is a lounge-style setting, with seats that are low to the ground and some sort of techno/club music playing in the background. The cocktail list is full of mojitos and all sorts of ‘tinis.’ You order off a short menu that is uninspired and overpriced. The plates come out spontaneously or erratically (and some are forgotten). The bill is dropped, your eyes widen, and you walk out disgruntled and hungry.
