Gerald Hirigoyen - Pintxos: Small Plates in the Basque Tradition

My sense of taste is at full strength only when standing up.

CALVIN TRILLIN

Even as a kid I enjoyed ir de tapeo, or the tradition of going from one tapas bar to the next, in San Sebastin with my parents and their friends. In my earliest memories of those days, I first see a wall of legs on a floor littered with sawdust, toothpicks, cigarette butts, and shrimp shells, and then my father sweeps me up so I can sample from the awesome display of food on the bar. When I was older and seated at a table in a restaurant, I chafed at having to mind my manners and to wait for each course to arrive, but at the tapas bars I was free. I could take anything I wanted from the platters of child-sized portionsmaybe a piece of chorizo, a square of tortilla espaola, or a hard-boiled egg, along with a Fanta sodaand run off down the street to play with my sister and the other children, before catching up with my parents at the next tasca (tavern).

I still like the freedom from formal dining that tapas bars offer, though now as an adult I also appreciate them for their convivialityas places where people from all walks of life can get together for lively conversation, a glass of wine, and premeal, postmeal, or even full-meal bites.

In Spain, tapas specialties vary from region to region and are commonly eaten with knife and fork while seated at a counter. In the Basque region, where I grew up, tapas are known as pintxos, the Basque spelling (pronounced PEEN-chos), or pinchos in Spanish (from the word pinchar, which means to skewer) and are typically finger foods eaten in one or two bites while standing up. Indeed, the tapas tradition is so strong in the Basque Country that a hard-fought competition, complete with strict rules defining the size of the pintxos, is held annually.

Some pintxos are quite basic, maybe just some cubes of chorizo or cheese on toothpicks. Others are more elaborate, such as small sandwiches (bocadillos), plates of fried seafood (fritos), or little earthenware dishes (cazuelitas) of various braises (estofados). And always in San Sebastin you will find creative bite-size combinations of meat, cheese, vegetables, and/or fruit, either threaded onto skewers (pintxos) or placed on top of small slices of bread (montaditos). But whether you call them by their Spanish name tapas or Basque name pintxos, it is the casual way they are served that makes these small plates synonymous with a relaxed, fun-filled atmosphere.

Even though informality and spontaneity are the hallmarks of a good tapas bar, the food they serve is taken seriously, and every bar has its specialty or specialties. I cant count the number of times I have been involved in an intense discussion of politics or soccer while sipping Txacol (a mildly effervescent Basque wine), only to have to stop and say My God, that pintxo is good! Of course, many cultures have their little dishes, such as Greek meze, Cantonese dim sum, and Italian antipasti, but the Spanish have turned the concept of small plates into both a social event and a culinary art form.

Spaniards still like to debate the origin of the tapa, but most agree that the first tapas were created in Andalusia to serve a practical purpose: to keep flies out of glasses of sherry. Tapa means lid and is derived from the word tapar, to cover, so the commonsense theory is that tavern owners would drape a slice of ham or cheese or place a small plate of olives or almonds on top of a glass to create a barrier against bugs. Eventually, the bars with the better covers began attracting more customers, and a competition soon developed among owners to see who could create the tastiest tidbits. Not surprisingly, patrons began to move from one bar to the next to sample their offerings. Tapas also served two other seemingly contradictory functions: a few salty nibbles not only increased patrons thirst for more wine, but also helped to keep them from getting drunk, a serious transgression in polite Spanish society.

It is ironic that from such humble beginnings an entire culturea kind of traveling street partyhas been created around the bars that serve tapas, and food that was once so simple has become, in many cases, not only baroque but also frequently global. This is particularly true in San Sebastin, a popular resort city, where some of the most delicious, and in recent years, innovative tapas have been created. Although San Sebastin still harbors old-school tapas made from unique Spanish ingredients, such as marinated boquerones (anchovies) or slices of serrano