Let's Talk Food

Spanish food, what is it exactly? Many people have the misconception that Spanish food is very similar to Mexican food, or food from Latin America. This is really far from the truth. Spanish food is different in a lot of ways, and this post will be dedicated to the food here in Spain and how I'm feeling about it so far.


So being a vegetarian, there are certain parts of Spanish cuisine that I haven't tried, such as jamón serrano or sobresada. I hear they taste great, but not for me. I'll only be talking about the food I've tried here, which sometimes includes sea food but not often.


One of the most popular tapas (smaller portioned starters, like an appetizer) is patatas bravas. Every restaurant makes them a little different, but basically you have fried potatoes of some sort with a slightly spicy brava sauce. This is one of my personal favorites here in Spain. Sometimes it even comes with aioli sauce.

Next on our list of tasty bites is another potato dish called patatas a lo pobre. This is a really similar dish to patatas bravas, but the potatoes are prepared a little differently and it can come with sauteed veggies like red peppers or onions. This is typical of the Andaluz region of Spain. 

Spain is probably most well known for its flavorful rice dish called paella. Paella is technically from the Valencian region, but we've enjoyed it everywhere we've gone in Spain. It is made in a large flat pan on a special paella grill. Typically it includes veggies and seafood, but sometimes you can get it with only vegetables or with meat as well. The spice saffron is used to give it that signature golden look. This is one of my favorite dishes in Spain because it always fills me up! However, I always have to add a bit of salt or hot sauce. Spanish people don't put a whole lot of spices in their food so sometimes it's a little bland for me. 

Tortilla de patatas is another classic. Basically it's an egg omelet with potatoes cooked in. Sometimes people add onions as well but I prefer it without. A really common way to eat this is in a sandwhich, or bocadillo, but you can also get it just on top of a piece of bread or by itself. Again, good but needs a little salt, pepper, and maybe some cholula sauce.

Another thing I love love love here is the use of goat cheese. I don't typically eat cheese, but goat cheese is one of my all time favs. One of the best tapas I've ever had was in Madrid. It was a simple piece of bread with goat cheese with a bit of jelly. Sounds simple but it has my mouth watering just thinking about it.

Lastly, I want to talk about the one and only, 100 Montaditos. If you haven't heard of it, you will. This is one of the most popular places in Spain, where they serve over one hundred different types of montaditos, or small sandwiches. On Sundays and Wednesdays, all montaditos are 1 euro. I'll definitely be missing this place the most when I head back home. It's so convenient but also extremely delicious. Some of my favorite flavors are the tortilla de patatas with brava sauce and goat cheese and pesto. Even though there's so many to choose from, I usually stick to the same three or four!