tapa | Wholesale Food Equipment New York

A few days ago while trying to come up with our weekly blog ideas, I posed a question. What really is new in restaurant equipment? Everything that people have bought previous has been what everyone else has bought consistently for many years. Dyanne Scherb, our Sales Associate, mentioned that several people have inquired about equipment for a tapas bar or restaurant. I was curious. As a world traveller and one who lived in Spain for a year, it was amazing to me that such an interest was brewing over this centuries old idea. I was intrigued. Unfortunately, the concept that was being tossed around wasn’t nearly what I was talking about. Hence the debate…

Tapas seem to becoming more of an interest around town. Many people are coming in an asking about Tapas and do we know anything about them. The General notion, here, was that tapas were just smaller servings of food that people can order and eat, much like the american appetizer. So basically they wanted to open an appetizer restaurant.

This seemed so wrong to me. Going out for tapas in Spain was more about the wine than the food. It was meant to be a meal but as a courtesy from the bar to enjoy with your drink. It was something with which to be hospitable to your patrons.

The owners didn’t slave all day over the stove trying to prepare these tapas either. It was whatever they had left over in the fridge. They could be anything from deli type meats, last night’s meal, cold Spanish tortilla, and olives and other anti-paste type treats. Every once in a while, you’d find a bar/ restaurant that served gourmet tapas. But its hard to really distinguish one from the other in Spain for the most part because they served both and had tables and the bar area. Except for the really affluent places like English pubs and American Chain restaurants in Valencia, where I lived.

I once had tapas in the afternoon with my friends. I was the first time I ever had a drink. I was stuffed and drunk, my host mother was so upset. Not that I was drunk but that I couldn’t eat any of the food she prepared for me. I felt bad. I didn’t know they were going to give some much FREE Food and that it would be delicious. Lesson learned.

If someone is going to create a tapas place it should be in that same spirit. A tapas place is not a family place. It is more mature. Like buying a glass of wine. You wouldn’t be having beer and tapas, generally although I’m sure some do. The tapas generally were free. There were some you would have to pay for but not as a rule.

There are a few restaurants and functions that are doing tapas well. They are Places like Salinas in New York where it is a standard in the menu section. The next questions was, can tapas be translated to any food type/ cuisine?

At first I didn’t think it could be translated into other cuisines. Especially, since, it is a Spanish cuisine. But, if you applied the general idea, yeah. It could be done in any cuisine but I don’t think you could call it tapas. Anyway then it got me to thinking like what kinds of things would you buy for a tapas restaurant. Like what would you need, as far as restaurant equipment is concerned. Small plates, back bar equipment, maybe a wine cellar and a food prep table for all the small dish ingredients, etc. The possibilities are endless… What do you think? Let us know @WholesaleFoodEQ #tapas