Spanish Lessons At Taberna In Bridgeport

The term “Spanish food” should be as simple and readily understood as “American food,” “French food,” “Italian food,” or any number of other culinary labels. But it isn’t.

The confusion is due to people of Latin American origin calling themselves “Spanish,” presumably shorthand for saying they are Spanish-speaking or may be of Spanish descent. And I support the right of any group to call themselves whatever they choose. But obviously, it’s a natural extension of calling oneself “Spanish” to call one’s food “Spanish.”

For the dining public, the distinction is crucial. Hundreds of restaurants around Connecticut call themselves Spanish—one or two dozen pay genuine homage to the cuisine of Spain. For avoidance of confusion, I term the cuisine of Spain “Spanish” and all food south of our border “Mexican,” “Latin American,” “Caribbean,” “Brazilian,” or whatever other designation is merited.

An unfortunate side effect of the confusion generated by the overlapping terminology is that many Americans believe that Spanish and Latin American food are very similar. In fact, they are not. There are some items that appear in both cuisines—for instance, empanadas, but even these filled pastry pockets vary greatly in style not only between the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America but even throughout the Americas. And then there are a number of culinary terms that don’t even refer to the same item. For instance, in Spain a “tortilla” is a potato and onion omelet, but in Mexico it’s an unleavened pancake baked on a griddle.

Of course, anyone has the right to cook any cuisine. I may have more confidence in expatriates of a country understanding its cuisine better than outsiders, but I always keep an open mind. The proof is in the pudding. Thus, despite a belief that few non-Japanese fully understand sushi, my favorite sushi chef in Connecticut is Chinese. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he apprenticed to some first-rate sushi chefs.

Daniel and Jaime Lopez, the owners of Taberna in Bridgeport, are of Ecuadorean extraction, but they have worked in restaurants owned by Spaniards, and in the process some good things have rubbed off on them. (The brothers also own La Paella in Norwalk.) Taberna is set in an attractive house on Madison Avenue where there’s plenty of parking. The restaurant interior is comfortable and attractive.

We visited Taberna on Cinco de Mayo, which to further my point about the differences among the Spanish-speaking is a Mexican holiday of no more significance to Ecuadoreans that to Spaniards. We chose an inexpensive 2007 Finca Venta de Don Quijote Tempranillo, Vinos de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain ($20) from an extensive wine list that topped off at $1,000. Our wine opened slowly, but came around, which $20 bottles often don’t.

We began with wood-roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with Valencian salad, chicken, shrimp, saffron rice and saffron aïoli, a delicious tapa right out of the old Meson Galicia playbook, where the brothers once worked.

Boquerones, or fresh marinated anchovies, were tasty and served in extra virgin olive oil with fresh garlic, lime juice and a parsley-cilantro pesto. The boquerones struck me as commercial but were of good quality.

We shared two entrées. Our first main dish was potato-crusted salmon served in a piquillo pepper sauce with sautéed spinach. It was split for us, so you can see the half-serving was very generous.

Garnished with crispy prosciutto, our second main dish was a seafood risotto featuring bay scallops, squid, mussels and Arborio rice in a saffron and white wine sauce.

We also shared two desserts. One was described as a lemon cake in mango sauce. It was more of a lemon meringue pie, but quite good.

The second was an orange flan. Further underscoring the differences between various countries colonized by the Spanish, the flan was nice and light like a genuine Spanish flan, rather than thick and heavy like a Filipino or Mexican flan.

Open just six months, Taberna is a welcome addition to a Bridgeport restaurant landscape that has a greater wealth of inexpensive ethnic joints than fine dining venues.

Taberna, 1439 Madison Avenue, Bridgeport, 203-338-0203