Chistorra (sausage).
I recently attended Taberna Alabardero Spring tapas menu tasting. Lauren DeSantis, Girl Meets Food, Johnna Knows Good Food, myself, and a few others sampled the following dishes:
Deviled Eggs Stuffed with Tuna served with a Red Potato Vinaigrette. This was a crowd pleaser.
Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Braised Oxtail. General Manager Javier Velazquez (who is extremely personable) asked Johnna, Girl Meets Food, and I if we grew up on things like oxtail, and we said yes, but I explained that we all grew up in NYC and (also) have backgrounds that are not standard (North) American. What he was getting at is…would the American diner (who would eat at this type of restaurant) eat oxtail? Yes. Brains? probably not.
Olive oil spongecake with olive crackers.
Marinated Dogfish Fritters with Creamy Tomato Sauce. I’ve never had dogfish before; it was a fishy tasting fish, but I enjoy that in a fish. It is also a bit of a dense fish.
Chistorra in Wine Sauce with Roasted Bell Pepper Salad, Honey and Corn.
Creamy Rice Peppers and Manila Clams with Yellow Pepper Sauce. This is normally served with razor clams, but they were awaiting a shipment. I would have really liked to try the razor clams.
House-made Chicken Pate with Tomato Marmalade and Sesame Crackers.
Asparagus Tempura style with Marinated Garlic and Olives. Another group favorite.
Grilled Flank Steak over a bed of Sautéed Mushroom in a Sherry Wine. I had to skip the mushrooms due to an allergy but the steak was good.
Steamed Mussels in a Garlic, Tomato and White Wine Sauce. Like much of their seafood, these mussels were imported directly from Spain and were very good.
Olive Oil Sponge Cake with Olive Chips, Bread Ice Cream & Manchego Cheese. A dessert featuring olive oil, and it’s good! Chef Javier came up with this sitting at the bar late in the evening.
Grilled Asparagus Soup with Lemon juice and Caramelized Olive Oil. This DESSERT is served over dry ice and is very good…and surprising. It even makes bubbling noises.
Lemon flavored Sponge Cake with Mascarpone Ice Cream placed on a Cream of Rose and Lychees. This was the one dish that had non Spanish influences (mascarpone and lychees). Also very good.
I tried both their red and white sangrias before realizing that the restaurant was recently nominated for two awards for their wine program. I should have been sampling their wine menu. They did pair wines with two of the desserts, and even though they were non standard desserts, the wine pairings were truly amazing. These two wines were (Red) Silvano Garcia Moncestrell 2008 D.O Jumilla and (Sparkling White) Flare: Sparkling Moscatel NV Valencia.
I was very pleased with the food at Taberna Alabardero. It definitely reminded me of the wonderful food I ate on my trip to Spain.
-JAY
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