February 18, 2012 Tapas de la tarde at “la boca” and Pork and Spinach Lasagna

February 18, 2012 Tapas de la tarde at “la boca” and Pork and Spinach Lasagna

I ate the PPI Fiskgratin with a glass of Ferme Julian rose at around 11:30 a.m. and drove to Santa Fe to spend the afternoon with Dee and Bridgett.  I parked in the 225 lot and met them at a coffee shop at around 200 Canyon Road.  After a few minutes of conversation, I found out that Bridgett is an artist.  After fortifying ourselves with coffee and discussing what art might be interesting to see, we walked up Canyon Road toward the gallery located in the old Gromley’s Market, stopping at Michael Smith, Medicine.Man, Ernesto Mayans, Labrink, Zaplin-Lambert, and several other galleries on our way and at Tibet Project, Darnell, Martha Keats (that had a number of Carol Hoy’s encaustics), Jane Sauer and Eight Modern on our way back down to the car.

We then drove to Peyton Wright Gallery and I talked with John, while Dee and Bridgett looked at the gallery’s huge Spanish Colonial art exhibit.  I then went to Aaron Payne’s and talked to him and looked at his lovely gallery and then met Dee and Bridgett at Owings Gallery. 

After we looked at the art at Owings, Bridgett said she was hungry and since we did not want to walk very far, I suggested tapas at “la boca” which is located on Marcy about one block west of Owings Gallery.  When we arrived at “la boca” it really reminded me of a tapas bar in Spain. I remembered talking to chef/owner james campbell caruso in March 2011 before our trip to Spain in April and his desire to go cook at Arzak for his vacation. We were seated and given a menu (the bar stools by Chef Caruso were all filled).  We are all meat eaters, so we immediately decided to order three hot meat tapas at $6.00 each: spiced lamb kefta with gazpacho salad and spinach-artichoke-manchego flavored yogurt sauce (a tzatziki sauce), Morcilla a la plancha – black (blood) sausage slices served with roasted red peppers served with a puddle of garlic aioli, pincho de puerco (cubes of marinated pork tenderloin grilled on a skewer laid on a sauce made with honey and apricots and sliced small green olives), and  a tapas trio with hummus, a red pepper-almond spread, and a lovely goat cheese with spinach, raisins and capers served with grilled flatbread ($5.00).  Each of the three spreads were served in a small white ramekins on a special plate with a divider in the center with the sliced grilled flatbread on one side and the ramekins on the other side.  We drank a 2009 Ergo Tempranillo from Rioja ($7.00) and loved the food.  Bridgett and Dee asked me where I would go for dinner and I suggested Trattoria Nostrani, which was within walking distance of their hotel on Washington and has a Japanese style noodle shop, connected to the restaurant if they did not wish to eat an expensive Italian meal.

Finally, after finishing our tapas and wine, I called Suzette and discussed with her the fact that I had bought some ricotta style cheese at Pro’s Market *she had it out) and we agreed that a layer of spinach would be a good idea and she said she was starting to make the fresh lasagna pasta, so I bid Dee and Bridget farewell and drove home, full and happy after a real Spanish tapas experience.

When I arrived home, I was greeted by a lovely, large ceramic baking dish of steaming hot lasagna, so I immediately went to the wine cellar and fetched a bottle of La Loggia Barbera D’ Alba 2010 (Trader Joe’s $6.99 imported by Santini Fine Wines) because we had drunk a bottle of chianti reserva with the same basic pork and tomato dish over rice on Thursday night and I wanted something a little more elegant and different).  I was surprised that I enjoyed the dish so much, because I had just eaten exciting tapas, but it was delicious and it had been about 2 hours since tapas; just like in Spain where tapas with wine or beer is a way to end the work day, like our happy hour, and then dinner is eaten later in the evening.

A bit later in the evening I heated up the PPI chocolate fondue from last Sunday’s fondue party and we dipped apple slices, cookies, apricots and pretzels into it and sipped cognac as we watched a re-broadcast of the sixth episode of Downton Abbey and then went to bed happy after a full day of interesting food and activity..

Bon Appètit