I wanted to have something simple and yummy with wine for dinner, but in a low-key setting. I would have been just fine with some cheese, cured ham, and wine on our couch in front of the TV. But the markets were already closed and I don’t have enough foresight to prepare for nights like these. So we decided to go to Alcala, a Spanish tapas restaurant that’s not too far from us that we’ve been to before.
You don’t really think of tapas when you want to avoid crowds. But unlike other bar-like tapas places, Alcala has a more classic, laid-back dining room. It’s definitely a more conventional sit-down restaurant. It may not be the typical tapas experience, but it definitely hit the spot for me on this particular night.
The first tapas we got were slices of toasted bread topped with a tomato jam, anchovies, and smoked salmon. I really loved how this dish woke up my taste buds. When I took my first bite, I was surprised by the burst of competing flavors and textures that worked so well together. The salmon and anchovies had a borderline heavy acidity that was simultaneously mellowed out by the sweetness of the tomato spread. The toasted bread also gave the dish a hard crunch against the delicate toppings. When I have tapas like this, I’m amazed at how much diversity you can fit in one small plate with such ordinary ingredients.
Another tapas we had was this crepe. The pancake was nicely browned and filled with minced mushrooms that really packed a lot of umami essence. It was surrounded by shreds of jamon Serrano, which added a salty meat component. I appreciated the fact that they didn’t add it in the filling and chose to keep the integrity of the ham; it made sure that you could fully distinguish its taste and bright red color.
For the rest of our meal, we had more traditional tapas, which were just as delicious. The croquetas, bacalao stuffed piquillio peppers, grilled lamb chops, and squid in squid ink sauce were all simply prepared and tasted so clean and distinct from one another. And that’s what I love about tapas. Each dish is clearly Spanish and yet so different from one another. It’s like a little buffet of flavors every single time we have tapas.
For dessert, we got the ‘postres variados’, which is literally a variety of desserts. It was a scoop of chocolate mousse with 2 kinds of custard in cake and fried square form (I always expect some custard for dessert in a Spanish restaurant). Again, I’m not much for dessert, so I wouldn’t do it much justice describing it (I know she will). The one thing I did like was how they weren’t very sweet – that’s my kind of dessert.
Like I said, there isn’t much of a “scene” at Alcala like other tapas restaurants in NYC. But it is a quaint, neighborhood restaurant with friendly service and great traditional tapas. Which for me is great, because I'm starting to have a lower tolerance for crowded restaurants. The ambiance and food definitely make Alcala one of my more favorite comfort food restaurants I'll frequent.
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