Arlington Heights Tapas (La Roca vs La Tasca)

Last night, SueF and I went to La Roca Tapas in Arlington Heights. We had a coupon (one we'd let expire, but the face value was still good -- and was bought with a promotional code so there's still a bargain). We'd been wanting to try them, to see how they stacked up to their long-term Tapas neighbor, La Tasca (which strangely doesn't have its own thread, but many citations throughout this forum).

Ambience: Much more modern and casual -- LT has a more rustic cafe feel. I'd give the win to La Tasca here, as La Roca felt very generic inside.

Prices: La Roca wins here, about $1 per dish cheaper, although I don't know how La Roca can charge $7 for a plate of olives (we didn't get it, so perhaps it's huge).

Menu: Both have a pretty wide selection, perhaps a bit longer menu on La Tasca, but perhaps less adventurous

Food: Everything we had was delicious:
* A platter of Serrano ham and two hard sausages (the menu only listed chorizo) was very good. I liked the Serrano, but it's a far cry from Iberico.
* Patatas Bravas - everyone's interpretation here is a little different. Nicely fried spuds (too many places merely roast them), but the nicely garlicky tomato sauce didn't seem quite right compared to the usual peppery aioli
* Berenjena Formenton - Fried eggplant with chorizo. This was outstanding: a quartered crispy small eggplant, with chunks of tomato, chorizo and onion. Definitely orer again
* Higos Con Tocino - Figs with bacon. Could have used more bacon, I think (each was stuffed with a crispy bit, rather than being wrapped like dates often are), but the brandy cream sauce was amazing
* Rollitos De Carne - Steak rolls stuffed with goat cheese and pesto. Very tasty, again, their sauces are fantastic.

Bourdain has said that the reason why tapas aren't as big in the states as they are in Spain is because there's no local competition spurring one place to outdo the other. With two places in easy walking distance from each other, you can have a sherry at one and a rioja at the other -- I'd recommend doing so. Either one is a good choice. With a large party, where you want to pass around a lot of plates, perhaps La Tasca provides more choices, but I think I preferred the more interesting items on the La Roca menu.

La Roca Tapas Restaurant
http://larocatapas.com/‎
6 S Dunton Ave, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(847) 483-9903

La Tasca
https://www.latascatapas.com/‎
25 W Davis St, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(847) 398-2400