Tapas

n. – a variety of appetizers

Tapas restaurants are challenging when you’re an only child like me. The thought of ordering food I really want to eat and then sharing it with others is hard. It’s the same problem I have when people want to share dessert. I know it’s selfish and perhaps not lady-like since we’re not supposed to eat very much, but I want my own dessert. Well, I’ll offer a bite here or there, but not half.

Last night we went to a lovely tapas restaurant in the Marais where you could order up to seven different small servings, but whatever you ordered ends up altogether on your plate. In fact, you even have to write your name down next to your selections. My name is Dawn, but here I am mostly known as Down so I have to pay special attention when someone is calling my name.

“Croquettes” sounds like it should be something served at a tapas restaurant, but it’s actually like kibble or dog food. I always confuse the word with “Cracottes,” a light, crunchy fruit filled biscuit that we eat in the morning. What we call an appetizer, here is called an “entrée” and what we call an entrée, here is called the “plat” or dish. “Assiette” is actually not what you sit on, but the word for plate and “serviette,” while it sounds like something you would serve something on actually means napkin or towel. “Drap,” which looks like it’s the start of the word drape actually means sheet. “Rideau” means curtain and “ride” means wrinkle. “Moquette” means carpet, where “tapis” means rug and tapas brings us back to where we started.