Tapas Barcelona Evanston

We dined at Tapas Barcelona last night. Perhaps I'm spoiled by a recent trip to Madrid and Barcelona, but they're not up to those standards. Nothing was bad, but almost every dish fell short in at least a small way. Combined with really spotty service (a 20-minute gap between the first three items served and the next, and a 10-minute wait to get a check, on a not-very-busy weeknight), we aren't likely to go back.

The only hit was the goat cheese in tomato sauce. A very nice, mild chevre in a smooth sauce with a lot of roasted red pepper flavor.

Patatas Bravas: Tasty, but for some strange reason they tossed the fried potatoes in the sauce, losing any chance of enjoying fried crispiness.

(daily special) Artichoke Hearts with Crab: Beautiful, but tiny artichokes (there was probably less than a teaspoon of crab on each of four tablespoon-sized hearts), and underseasoned.

Bacon-wrapped dates: one of the better dishes, a generous portion of dates and bacon, but a sweet sherry-based sauce (that appeared in another dish too) left it a little one-note: some spice or acid would really help here.

Empanadillo: Ground lamb and minced veg in a gorgeous pastry crust, but again underseasoned.

Jamon and tomato bread: flavors here were good (Serrano not Iberico but we knew that going in), but I was surprised to see four tiny discs of bread topped with tomatoes -- this is not pa amb tomaquet, it's bruschetta.

Eggplant stuffed with goat cheese and hazelnuts: The sherry sauce was also used here, and overall the dish tasted more like a dessert than a savory tapa. Pretty, tasty, but it needs garlic or something to kick it up.

Price was reasonable ($50+tax&tip including one glass of sangria), although at least 2x what we'd have paid in the tapas bars of Madrid, where nearly everything we tasted was a wow, and nothing here was. Did we just not order well? Did the chef run out of garlic, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper?

1615 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 866-9900

JoelF wrote:We dined at Tapas Barcelona last night. Perhaps I'm spoiled by a recent trip to Madrid and Barcelona, but they're not up to those standards. Nothing was bad, but almost every dish fell short in at least a small way.

For me, this place has always fallen just below the satisfaction line. But you only compounded its shortcomings with the timing of your visit. I often feel a strong pull, after returning from a place (foreign destination) that has great, interesting food, to have it again locally. But I've learned that this desire should be suppressed immediately. These meals are almost always disappointing.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

JoelF wrote:We dined at Tapas Barcelona last night. Perhaps I'm spoiled by a recent trip to Madrid and Barcelona, but they're not up to those standards. Nothing was bad, but almost every dish fell short in at least a small way.

For me, this place has always fallen just below the satisfaction line. But you only compounded its shortcomings with the timing of your visit. I often feel a strong pull, after returning from a place (foreign destination) that has great, interesting food, to have it again locally. But I've learned that this desire should be suppressed immediately. These meals are almost always disappointing.

=R=

Yup. Reminds me of my first trip to Paris about 25 years ago. When I got back I was eager to go to a bakery I had recently discovered that made really good baguettes. It turns out I was wrong, the baguettes were awful.

I like tapas Gitana in Northfield,
And if you're in the south loop Tapas Valenciana is quite good,
plus there's Flamenco on Sat nights...

The tapas are very good at Cafe Iberico in River North, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba in Lincoln Park, and Emilio's in near west suburban Hillside. However, I'm not claiming they would satisfy immediately after a trip to Spain; I've never been to Spain (but I kinda like the music).

nsxtasy wrote:The tapas are very good at Cafe Iberico in River North, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba in Lincoln Park, and Emilio's in near west suburban Hillside. However, I'm not claiming they would satisfy immediately after a trip to Spain; I've never been to Spain (but I kinda like the music).

And they weren't in Evanston, which is where I needed to be.