Jamon Iberico. La Boqueria, Barcelona, Spain, July 2010
I am not a fan of Tapas bars, with their minimalist portions. The custom of grazing on small portions throughout the day is tedious and absurd -- after your third Tapas "meal," you begin to get that Bill Murray/Groundhog Day deja vu feeling. I prefer the Italian tradition of a big lunch of pasta and a midday rest until three.
That said, as I was forced to eat at these Tapas places during meetings with friends in Spain, I did reacquaint myself with a delicacy known as jamon Iberico. Quite literally, Spanish ham. It's shaved razor-thin and often served on bread, or alone on a plate, and is the most heavenly pork confection my taste buds have ever experienced. Think of it as Canadian bacon crossed with prosciutto. I'm in pig heaven!
