Damacio’s Bar & Tapas – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“I wanna open a Jamaican/Irish/Spanish small plate breakfast restaurant and call it Tapas the Morning to Ja.” ~Harris Wittels (Comedian) It wasn’t Wittel’s humorous quip that came to mind as we approached Damacio’s Bar & Tapas but rather something legendary raconteur and television host Anthony Bourdain once said. During a 2013 episode of his CNN television show Parts Unknown filmed in Granada, Spain, he declared “We will never have tapas culture in America.” Calling tapas “that greatest of Spanish traditions,” Bourdain added “You may think you know what a tapa is. Like if you’ve had small bites at some fusion hipster bar where they do a whole lot of little plates. Yeah, that ain’t a tapa. Quite naturally Boudain’s comments got me to thinking: what exactly is a tapas culture and what are we doing wrong here in the Land of Plenty. Accompanied by his longtime Director of Photography Zach Zamboni and his fiancé, who live part-time in Granada, Bourdain was told by the fiancé that “Tapa is for free. That’s the main issue of the tapa.” Bourdain liked the concept: “So, you’re just paying for the wine. So if I were like a degenerate wino I could still eat…