Tapas

Love Tapas, but only in Spanish restaurants, not the same at home

We are going to Granada in a couple of weeks. You are given a plate of tapas when you buy a drink there so I shall get to try some that I wouldn't normally choose.
I agree that it is never the same in a ready meal than at an authentic restsurant. The same is true for most meals.

I love them when in Spain/Gibraltar but I wouldn't bother to buy them here to be honest.

We have a couple of tapas restaurants in Brighton and they make a change. But they are not like the tapas you get in Spain which are delicious!!!!

Yes, like meze in Turkey, no one can 'do' them like the country of origin.

Agree with others, tapas in the UK are nothing like the dishes you get in Spain. They seem to be effortlessly delicious. I love it when you go into a restaurant / bar and there are little dishes all along the bar for you to choose from - probably not terribly hygienic, but best not to worry too much, just enjoy! And yes, Anya that same goes for meze in Turkey and Greece.
Do you think people in other countries talk about fish and chips in the same way? "Oh if only we could get decent fish and chips here, like you get in the UK!" Nah, probably only the ex-pats who can be heard saying that

An Italian friend who came to stay was in raptures over the fish and chips she had at a Harvester. Definitely the high point of her English dining experience

Tapas started out as a slice of, sometimes stale, bread put over your post-work glass of sherry to keep away the flies - in Andalucia, I think. They developed into a bar snack and the best bar snacks are still yummy bits on bread or toast or some delicious cheese or possibly chorizo. Tapas is not designed to be a complete pick-and-mix meal, although some people like to dine that way, especially in cities like Barcelona. They are just designed to be snacks with an after-work drink - and that's when they are at their best in the evening sunshine in southern Spain.

I had an American friend who thought fish and chips were manna from heaven- cant say I enjoyed any of the food when I went to her home town Nashville.

Yes so much of our national food was introduced by immigrents, fish and chips is aa European Jewish dish.

We went to Spain a few years ago and drove up to Granada from Malaga, stopping off in a little village cafe for directions and refreshment. They sent to the table a spicy potato dish, some sort of meatball things and a dish of pickled carrots, which was one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten, and have tried to emulate it since but not succeeded.

My daughter who is a veggie loves tapas I have never tried it apart from potatoes in canaries which I liked but I must admit don't understand menu .