Pulpo and Pulpitos

I do love me some octopus. See here for a failed attempt from January to make some delicious pulpo tapas. Luckily, octopus is to Spanish restaurants like spinach dip is to American bars, which is to say, it is in everywhere. They also have lots of calamari, but I find that calamari is both chewier and less flavorful than its tentacled cousin.


Pulpo Gallega is a pretty standard preparation of octopus when it is served tapas style. In this preparation, the octopus is boiled with some potatoes, and then tossed with oil, salt and paprika. Silpa wasn't a huge fan of the pulpo, so when we ordered some, I was lucky enough to get to eat most of it myself. This particular dish was ordered from Las Bravas, a chain of tapas bars that have patented their own brand of bravas sauce. Luckily, their pulpo was just as delicious!

Onto Barcelona where I had the joy of digging into pulpitos. For those who don't speak the language of seafood, that means "little octopus." I had them as part of a "menu del dia," in a little neighborhood restaurant up the street from the Sagrada Familia. For 8 euro, my lunch included paella, pulpitos, crema catalonia, and a beverage of my choice. What a deal, right?

Anyway, Silpa again, did not like the pulpitos. I think she was turned out by the copious amount of oil and the fact that you could actually pop the entire octopus in your mouth. While this dish wasn't the best I'd ever had, it certainly was delicious (and a new experience, which I'm always looking for).