Until Rich Melman’s Cafe Babareeba! made tapas a household word a half a dozen years ago, Spanish cuisine was a mystery to most diners, who often mistakenly assumed it was hot like Mexican. In fact, except for a few dishes from the Basque region, in Spain’s northeast comer, the cooking is savory but uses no hot peppers. Garlic, yes. Sometimes lots. But nothing with a chili burn. It’s closer to French Mediterranean food than to Latin American, though Cuban cooking shares a few classic dishes with Spain.
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The place hasn’t changed much since it opened: a low-key, quietly elegant spot with leather booths and massive copper chandeliers that shed light just bright enough not to cause eyestrain. There are tastefully hung gilt mirrors, embroidered banners, and escutcheons–and always a warm welcome from Paco or his wife Carmen.
Their menu draws on all regions of Spain: a few potent dishes from the Basque country, which feature a lot of onions and sweet peppers; the seafare of Catalonia, whose center is Barcelona, and the sun-drenched dishes of Andalusia, best-known of which is gazpacho, the cold vegetable soup. The entrees range from traditional country dishes such as the eponymous paella–the inspiration for Cajun-creole jambalayas–to such haute cookery as roast duck and mangoes in a brandy sauce, prepared these days by chef Fernando Oca, who did tours of duty in France, England, and Canada before going to New Orleans, where he worked at the famed Brennan’s and also briefly had his own spot.
For my seafood here I prefer either the zarzuela, an elaborate mixed saute flamed with brandy and hit with a walnut-based Romesco sauce ($17.95), or the cazuela, a kind of bouillabaisse done with a few light vegetables in a traditional clay pot ($17.95). Both bring out the sweetness of the shellfish in different ways.
Two people can fill up on five or six tapas. There’s also a massive Sunday brunch buffet from noon to 3 for $11.95; the spread includes paella.
