Topless Bars

Er ... I mean tapas bars.

Went to a great Spanish one last night, Zipi Zape in Williamsburg. Everything we had popped in the mouth and made us wonder how we could top that dish, at least until the next one came. We started with a simple olive bowl and a glass of the house red, a bright fruity wine which I have no complaints about at $4 a glass. Deciding between the fried baby calamari and the whole grilled calamari proved difficult, but we opted for the fried calamari when the server said "you've never had fried calamari like this." I've heard that refrain at just about every halfway decent place that offers fried calamari, so I decided to take  the challenge. And it was *very* good. The whole baby calamari were tiny, most about half an inch, and the breading had a definite zing to it, which intensified even more when complimented by the garlic dipping sauce. (About the garlic, I consumed countless sweet cloves last night and enjoyed every minute of it, starting with the crisp pickled pieces offered free to start the meal.) Next up: Four grilled shrimp each atop a lemon slice and sprinkled with salt. Despite my hesitancy at removing the shell--the head! all those legs!--the simple lemon and salt seasoning nicely permeated the little critters, who had a smokey flavor thanks to the grill. A dab of red potato salad with garlic mayo from the cold bar tapas proved just as exciting, and had me scraping the obviously homemade mayo off the plate with my fork--and I don't even like mayo.

And then the seriously rich, salty, sop-the-juices-up-with-bread courses came. The generously sized casserole of mushrooms swam in a garlic-wrought broth that we couldn't stop thinking would be amazing on mussels. The piping chicken casserole arrived bubbling in a white wine broth that made even chicken seem like a gaudy, rich and happily heart-clogging dish. Had I had more room left in my expanding belly, I would have sampled the cheese plate or a chorizo dish, but we decided that we had eaten enough. As a testament to the sweet, convincing service, however, we somehow ended up making room for a chocolate souffle. The souffle sat atop a balsamic vinegar reduction sauce and another sweet cream sauce. But the fun came when we broke into the dessert and out came a molten berry and chocolate center. Quite delicious, and desserts do not generally impress me. I will definitely be back.

Check out: The cute little cartoon characters that decorate the outside of the building and inspired the restaurant's name.

Other reviews:
Citysearch
Go Brooklyn