Tapas in St. Louis

For dinner, I had some homemade tapas, with a tinto de verano.

The idea came from today's trip to Whole Foods- my first here in St. Louis. I was hoping for a wider variety of produce than Trader Joe's, and was somewhat disappointed. In any case, they were having a sale on vinegar-cured anchovies (aka boquerones) that I couldn't pass up, so I decided to go for tapas.

First, I need to pontificate about tinto de verano, aka "tinto verano". It's crappy Spanish red wine mixed with European Fanta, or whatever facsimile one can find in the U.S. The idea is to find something with at least 8% real orange juice (EuroFanta does, American Fanta does not), and mix it in 1:3 or 1:2 proportions with red wine. It's supposed to be cold and refreshing, and not terribly sweet. It's brilliant, and I love it, but no one in the U.S. seems to know what it is. Outside of the 9th Door in Denver, I've never been to an American tapas place that has even heard of it. Waiters and bartenders look at me like I'm crazy. Granted, it took more than a month living in Spain before I heard of it, and most American tapas places are in it for marketing rather than a passion for Spanish food, but still. It's too simple and yet delicious to remain unknown.

In any case, I made my tinto with Condesa de Sarabella 2007, a grenache I found at Trader Joe's for $6. It was good enough to drink alone, but I made my tinto anyway, mixing it with some "Club Orange" soda from Ireland I found at the Global Market a few days ago.

In addition to the boquerones, I roasted some red peppers and topped them with goat cheese, and marinated some mushrooms in a garlic and wine broth. It made for an interesting and relatively easy dinner.