Last night I went with two girlfriends to a Tapas restaurant in Brighton called Tasca. Tasca is located at the intersection of Commonwealth Ave. and Washington Street. Its right on the T and the bus, but has zero parking (don't even think about parking in the Whole Foods lot across the street, they tow).
Tasca has a warm, romantic feel. The tables and chairs are dark wood, the lighting is dim (black iron light fixtures) and the walls are adorned with photos of the Spanish countryside and portraits of Flamenco dancers.
Tapas are a Spanish tradition of small plates. Its sort of like happy hour. As a table, your order several different plates to share. Each plate comes with 5-10 pieces (or bites). Tasca boats over 30 kinds of tapas. For those not comfortable ordering in Spanish, you can order by the number next to each item.
We tried a variety of plates, many which are Spanish traditions. Our order included:
1) Tortilla espanola - traditional Spanish omelet of potato and onion. Served in a giant slice, like a piece of cake
2) Pisto - a mixture of Mediterranean vegetables, served with crusty bread
3) Patatas bravas - spicy potatoes served with dijon mustard
4) Empanadas - fried and filled with goat cheese, served over a spicy tomato sauce
5) Garlic chicken - nuf said
6) Sausage three ways - beautiful presentation of three kinds of sausage, served with toasted bread
7) Black bean crab cakes - a stunning presentation, an interesting flavor combination
The beauty of tapas, is that since you don't ever have a real entree, you have room for dessert! We ordered the Crepe Helado (ice cream filled crepe). Which had a light, sweet crepe, filled with cookies n cream ice cream. Over the crepe was drizzle of chocolate and amaretto sauces, and toasted, very thinly sliced almonds. Are you drooling?
And I know what you're thinking, you didn't mention anything about sangria. Oh, we had sangria. Like most tapas/Spanish restaurants you can order Sangria by the pitcher. Tasca serves red wine sangria, which was the perfect shade of purple, and had a sublime fruit to wine ratio.
As we were leaving, I discovered they also have Flamenco shows a few times each month. You can guarantee I'll be back for one of those performances!
Tasca is a beautiful restaurant, with excellent food and drink, and is fairly priced. Its ideal for a romantic date, a special occasion, or a girls night out! Hasta luego!
