When your dad and his retired friends disappear every Friday around lunch, they’re probably at La Vasca. The Spanish spot next to Versailles doubles as a tiny market and even smaller restaurant, where tapas are shared in a cramped room flanked by TVs playing soccer and more wine than you could drink in a 100 lifetimes. You’ll have to walk past the deli counter full of cheese and round the corner by a shelf of tinned mussels to find a table (and there aren’t very many). So call to make reservations because eight out of the 10 are usually reserved by regulars, families eating tortillas, and groups of older gentlemen sharing a whole cochinillo you have to pre-ordered a day in advance.
La Vasca feels like a neighborhood restaurant you’d find in Spain. The food is simple, but delicious—like their fried chorizo bocadillo or pulpo a la gallega. There’s also a rotating list of entrees that range from roasted pork butt to lamb chops, but we love the seared bacalao that’s served with a garlicky herb oil and patatas panaderas. Your dad and his friends are right to keep this place a secret. But you should definitely crash one of his viejito lunches and treat him and his friends to a bottle of Priorat wine, great tapas, and crema catalana.
You can order an entire tortilla days in advance for parties and family dinners. But you can get two slices at the restaurant for $11. It’s as thick as a brick, not too wet (or dry), and comes with two dollops of garlic aioli.
Octopus is on every Mediterranean menu from Homestead to Sunny Isles, but you’ll rarely see boiled octopus. La Vasca’s is simply boiled until the color turns a deep purple. If you’re still not sold on the delights of boiled cephalopod, you can also get it grilled.
We’d happily join an old pilgrimage and walk a 30-day journey to eat this almond cake. Famous for being a special treat at the end of El Camino De Santiago De Compostela, the one at La Vasca is luckily much closer, moist, and served with a scoop of fluffy almond ice cream on top.
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