• SomeoneElseModOPM
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      1 year ago

      In the UK? My favourite restaurant is an independent Spanish tapas bar! It’s only a 15 minute walk away so I eat there more than my waistline would like! Isn’t there a tapas chain in the UK too? I can’t think of the name now. But yes, I wish there were more!

            • SomeoneElseModOPM
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              1 year ago

              Condescending much? A large part of this thread is discussing the difference between Latino (from the Latin American region) and Hispanic (of Spanish decent). Americans might use the word interchangeably, but not in Europe. Spanish cuisine is not the same as LatAm cuisine. It is influenced by it, but it’s not the same.

              A very obvious example is a “tortilla”. In Spain it is an omelet made with a base of potato, egg and onion. In LatAm a tortilla is a corn bread used to make tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, burritos etc. None of the latter are considered Spanish cuisine.

              The Mediterranean sea is a huge influence on hispanic food; seafood and shellfish dominates the south. Paella is Spain’s national dish, pescaito frito and calamari and are very common. Cured meats, olives, aubergine and tomatoes are also staples.

              Tequila, mescal, “frijoles” (literally not a word a Spanish person would use) avocado, chilli, and stewed meats are all much more common in LatAm than they are in Spain. LatAm food tends to be spicer, relying on peppers and chilli powder whereas Spanish food is more about the aroma than spice; saffron is used commonly. LatAm food is heavy on the coriander where it grows more easily. It’s only used sparingly in Spain.

              As to your Britain has no good LatAm food statement, we do, at least in the big cities we do. Right now I’m within half an hour of restaurants specialising in Argentinian, Peruvian, Mexican, Chilean and Cuban food - as well as Spanish and Portuguese. And that’s proper restaurants, not just American style drive-thru take outs. Theres a whole bunch of chain restaurants here too; las iguanas, chiquito, wahaca, chipotle, tortilla etc.