I'm not the purist many of you regular LTHers are, but since I bumped this thread and appreciated the comments of those here, I wanted to give my thoughts about our dinner Saturday night at Tapas Barcelona. To restate briefly, I had chaperoned a HS field trip that included a lunch at Cafe Iberico a few weeks back and was struck by how much I loved everything there (none of which were all that adventurous for the kids) and had a major jones for more tapas but my husband didn't feel like going downtown so we made reservations at TB.

Our table was ready when it was supposed to be; the restaurant was pretty crowded and the temperature was uneven throughout the night. We had sangria which was sadly not special nor all that tasty. We ordered a whole bunch of tapas, most of which were fine but again, nothing special and not memorable. In addition to the bacon-wrapped dates, an all-time favorite of the entire foursome, we shared crab croquettes, beef tenderloin skewer, shrimp skewer, asparagus salad, a tuna crepe, a chicken special with ham, a tortilla espanola (the omelet with potatoes), some sausages (a special that day) and some tilapia dish and a baked goat cheese. Nothing was bad; just nothing was really great. The omelet was cold...supposed to be room temperature but it was clearly from the fridge; maybe that wouldn't bother others but it annoyed me a little. And it wasn't that great either, like the onions weren't caramelized enough. I've made this myself so I can be a little snobby about it.

Service wasn't great either. Took ages to get water glasses refilled, glasses of ice were needed constantly to refresh the ones melting in the glasses, and though there were extra plates on the table, several dishes came out with no serving pieces or even additional utensils (when obviously we were sharing everything). The hit of the night was the caramelized banana with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Maybe my expectations were too high since I wanted this so badly, but I wasn't impressed and would really not return any time soon. Not sorry we went mind you, and I bet the outdoor seating on a nice evening is fabulous, but for us, we'll head downtown next time I need tapas.

We hit Tapas Barcelona last night. Our Catalan paella lacked soccarat, but was otherwise tasty. A mushroom and a stuffed avocado dish were both very good.

But most importantly, our server told us the restaurant will be changing its menu within the next few weeks. It will be a smaller, more focused menu, with greater emphasis on presentation on the (small) plates. Apparently they're consulting with a chef from a restaurant in Seville, Spain, who will be coming to Evanston every so often to oversee the operation.

We had an excellent dinner last Friday at Mercat a la Planxa. Nearly everything was excellent, except for the kobia (sp?) fish special and the squash/lamb bacon dumplings (this was just a bit strange - not bad, just strange). The short rib flat bread and the cheese with the bacon jam and the fig/ham salad were just really, really good.

It was a great meal on a great night. It was a bit expensive though (we had 2 ~$50 bottles, and total w/ tip was $300) - about twice the cost of our previous most expensive meals (so far), but worth it.

Mercat is it for me, though I was at Vera again a few weeks ago for the Thursday fabada special, smashed pea toast, and kale salad, and that was the best showing yet, good paprika and legumes outshining the "everything must be anointed with a second treatment of cheese, oil, and salt" Purple Pig pitfall. The stew was good enough to recommend to Spanish colleagues, just not quite generous.

Hosted a dinner party for 25 the other night at Mercat a La Planxa with the following menu:

FIRST
Pan con Tomate
Grilled Ciabatta, Fresh Tomato, Roasted Garlic & Sea Salt

Datile con Almendras
Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Almonds

Ensalada Verdosa
Mixed Select Lettuces with Green Beans, Avocado & Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette

Pimientos de Padron
Flashed Fried Padron Peppers, Salbitxada & Sea Salt

SECOND

Gambas Al Ajillo
Garlic Shrimp

Gambas y Chorizo
Marinated Shrimp, Chorizo Cantimpalo, Garbanzo Bean Puree, Tomato Escabeche & Black Truffle

Truita de Patata con Espinacas
Spanish-Style Omelet with Spinach, Potato & Saffron Aioli

Pelotas de Calabaza y Cordeno
Butternut Squash Dumplings, Beech Mushroom Escabeche & Black Truffle

THIRD
A La Planxa:
Black Angus Ribeye
Diver Scallops
Colorado Lamb Chops
Roasted Suckling Pig

Rosemary White Beans, Fingerling Potatoes, Espinacas

Farro y Calabaza
Warm Farro Salad, Pea Tendrils, Squash, Hazelnut, Mascarpone & Harissa Vinaigrette

Calcots
Grilled Green Onions with Salbixtrada & Sea Salt

DESSERT

Croquetas de Xocolata
Chocolate Croquettes, Banana Marshmallow, Rosemary Caramel

Overall the food was excellent with the following standouts: Dates, Butternut Squash Dumplings (with lamb bacon!!) and the Black Angus Ribeye. The pig was also very good and the chicharones served just before dessert were a decadent treat.

Pacing of the dishes was a little off but not to the point of annoyance. Service was very good and interactive with guests. Will definitely be back.