Tapas

The sign tacked to the outside of the plain building on the corner of Third Street and Girard Avenue says that the small bar and restaurant is open despite the remodeling. What it doesn't tell you is that just about all the remodeling has been accomplished, and that the restaurant's Spanish-specialties menu has been expanded to include entrees along with tapas - those savory dishes that serve as Spanish hors d'oeuvres. When it first opened, the restaurant - appropriately named Tapas - served only the hors d'oeurves, though a few could be had in entree sizes.

Tapas, a tiny treasure at Third and Girard that scores of my foodie friends think of as their secret place, has been in business four years. For three of those years, I've been trying to get Walt the wary to go there with me. I finally succeeded. As I expected, he liked it as much as I did. We both like the way Tapas looks. A dark stamped-tin ceiling from an earlier incarnation gleams softly overhead, reminding me, at least, of hand- tooled leather. Tables have colorful cloths and small bouquets of fresh flowers.

The letter came from a neighborhood resident who claimed he had no connection to the restaurant. Nevertheless, he said, "I would like to recommend that you give a write-up to Tapas. . . . It is very attractive and the food is good, but it is almost empty and I fear it will go out of business without some publicity. " When I mentioned the missive to acerbic colleague Stu Bykofsky, he harrumphed, "The way you give out stars, you'll probably close the place down for good. " Wrong this time, gossip breath!

Jose Garces was Latino way before Latino was cool. Before it was prefixed with nuevo. Before the Chicago of his childhood had a single Latin restaurant - "zero," he recalls - though the occasional taqueria had begun to sprout. He is a stocky, serious, focused 36 now, the toast of the town - a recent Iron Chef win under his belt, three tapas restaurants, Amada, Tinto and Distrito, climbing the charts, with one (Peruvian-Chinese Chifa) on the way. Maybe two, if you count the low-key-burger-high-end-whiskey joint he has up his sleeve.

HOW MUCH tapas is too much tapas? My dining companion asked me this question as we ate and drank at Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran's new tapas spot, Jamonera. Now, before I answer that, a confession: I love Spain; I love tapas. Some of the best nights of my life have been spent in one Spanish town or another, hopping from bar to bar, dropping a handful of euros on small bites and glasses of wine or sherry in one spot, then moving on to the next. I love Spain and tapas so much that last fall I was invited to judge an international tapas competition in Valladolid, Spain.

Pamplona's doors were unlocked when we arrived for our first review meal early on a recent weeknight. We walked inside to find a dining room that we would have sworn was ready for business. But no. "We're closed. We open at 5:30," said the tall young woman blocking our way. "It's that now," said I. "Not quite," said she. Near at hand was a bench where we might have waited without interfering with whatever final business the staff needed to transact. I was sure that's what the woman would suggest so I said, jokingly, "Would you like us to wait outside?"

Bold idea there, naming a restaurant/tequila bar after a fertility god. That's what entrepreneur Adam Solomon, along with partners Richard Brenner and Kenny Yeretzian, are doing with Kokopelli , at 1904 Chestnut St. The spot, for many years a Little Pete's diner, spent a brief period as Pearl and later, even more briefly, was Akoya. Solomon, who expects the opening late this year, says the menu will feature American Southwestern tapas.   What's new The cozy/casual Lillian's Cafe has replaced Alphabet Soup (34 W. Merchant St., Audubon, Camden County, 856-547-1902)

Chef Jose Garces left the glittering cocoon of Stephen Starr's organization, where he helmed Alma de Cuba and then El Vez, to open Amada, his intoxicating Spanish tapas establishment in Old City. He did so, however, with considerable trepidation. "I was petrified," Garces says, sitting near the immense marble bar crowned by three hanging Serrano hams, $210 apiece. Garces, 33, certainly doesn't look petrified. He doesn't look like a man on the brink of creating a gustatory empire, either, which he appears to be. "I basically signed my life away.

I've dipped fresh churros into the profound darkness of Apamate's hot chocolate more than once and thought to myself: This is one of the most sublime morsels of indulgence Philadelphia has to offer. And yet Cafe Apamate, the paprika-colored Spanish bistro that Ane Ormaechea opened on South Street in May 2006, has never been formally reviewed. Ormaechea shouldn't take it personally, as she has plenty of company. I currently have a list of 119 restaurants, old and new, that would be more than worthy of a complete review in this space.

This clever flexible spoon flips from one tablespoon to one half, and from one teaspoon to one half, thus providing four measurements with one dual-action spoon. Also available in cup and spoon sets. - Maureen Fitzgerald Naturally nutty That's it, just nuts. Mostly. An ingredient list you can understand. These nut-brittle-type Roasted Nut Crunch Bars from Nature Valley contain 7 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber (no cholesterol, no trans fat, nothing artificial)

Il Portico (1519 Walnut St., 215-587-7000, www.il-portico.com ) is launching Pasta Mista Fridays. "Pasta mista" means "mixed pasta," and Il Portico's version, available for lunch or dinner, includes gnocchi, parpadelle, fettuccine, tagliolini and eggless bigoli tossed with fresh seasonal ingredients. Tomorrow from 5 to 8:30 p.m., Granite Hill, the restaurant at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 215-684-7990, www.granitehillrestaurant.com )

Amada 217-219 Chestnut St. 215-625-2450 amadarestaurant.com Bar Ferdinand 1030 N. 2nd St. 215-923-1313 barferdinand.com Jamonera 105 S. 13th St. 215-922-6061 jamonerarestaurant.com   Tinto 114 S. 20th St. 215-665-9150 tintorestaurant.com

HOW MUCH tapas is too much tapas? My dining companion asked me this question as we ate and drank at Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran's new tapas spot, Jamonera. Now, before I answer that, a confession: I love Spain; I love tapas. Some of the best nights of my life have been spent in one Spanish town or another, hopping from bar to bar, dropping a handful of euros on small bites and glasses of wine or sherry in one spot, then moving on to the next. I love Spain and tapas so much that last fall I was invited to judge an international tapas competition in Valladolid, Spain.

Center City restaurateurs Valerie Safran and Marcie Turney, enjoying hits with their Italian themer Barbuzzo and Mexican BYOB Lolita , have converted Bindi, their Indian BYOB across the street, into Jamonera , an intimate Spanish tapas bar. Jamonera (105 S. 13th St., 215-922-6061), opening Sunday, represents the couple's takeaway from a trip to southern Spain, where they indulged in cheese, olive oil, and sherries. Turney cures her own cecina, the dried beef, serving it with artichokes, fennel, and amontillado sherry.

* The trendy 13th Street corridor south of Chestnut trends up a notch next month (exact date hasn't been announced) as Chef Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran open Jamonera (105 S. 13th St., 215-922-6061), a cozy Spanish tapas bar. Expect multicultural Mediterranean dishes with a Spanish accent. Wines will match the cuisine, and there will be an extensive list of sherries. Pricing will be from $4 to $36. Tim Shaaban of Urban Space Development created Jamonera's interior look. * Already up and serving in Fishtown is East Girard Gastropub (a/k/a The E.G.G., 200 E. Girard Ave., 267-761-9343)

Gripping a pair of long, lethal-looking tweezers, chef Tristan Lopez is hunched over a plate of pale anchovies, painstakingly applying tiny silver-powder-coated potato paper "scales" to each slender sliver. Beside him, waiter Manel Vehi Mena dispenses "liquid olives" - just one at a time, presented on its own plate. He serves them with such reverence that I sense, even before tasting star chef Albert Adria's invention, that they aren't snacks to be absentmindedly gobbled, but miraculously soft, melt-in-the-mouth bursts of flavor that deserve to be savored.

I'm always on the hunt for my next great summer white - a wine that can refresh, keep things interesting at a casual meal, and also be soft as an ocean breeze on the wallet. This year I've found a new infatuation, and it's verdejo, the signature white from the region of Rueda that dates to the 11th century, but only lately is becoming one of Spain's rising export stars. This fresh 2010 Protos, on Chairman's Selection sale for $10.99 (down from $15.99), is a perfect introduction to a bottle that is 100 percent expression of the grape.

MADRID - Unemployment stands at a staggering 20 percent in Spain, and no one is predicting that the economic boom Madrid enjoyed just two years ago will return anytime soon. Still, tourists visiting one of Europe's most breathtaking cities this summer will have to do some homework to find bargains. Booking ahead for hotels is crucial because unrest in North African countries such as Egypt and Tunisia has prompted many European tourists to change plans and head for the sun and safety of Spain instead.

Bold idea there, naming a restaurant/tequila bar after a fertility god. That's what entrepreneur Adam Solomon, along with partners Richard Brenner and Kenny Yeretzian, are doing with Kokopelli , at 1904 Chestnut St. The spot, for many years a Little Pete's diner, spent a brief period as Pearl and later, even more briefly, was Akoya. Solomon, who expects the opening late this year, says the menu will feature American Southwestern tapas.   What's new The cozy/casual Lillian's Cafe has replaced Alphabet Soup (34 W. Merchant St., Audubon, Camden County, 856-547-1902)

There is a symmetry as bittersweet as homemade hoisin to the notion that Jose Garces' Chifa is building its Chino-Latino head of steam at the same moment Susanna Foo has announced plans to turn off the lights for good at her seminal atelier of French-Chinese cuisine. On the surface, it's simply a case of one era's fusion visionary ceding the spotlight as the star of the next act takes the stage. Foo's Frenchified dumplings and tea-smoked duck are taking their final bow this summer on Restaurant Row, while Garces' Latin spin on noodle bowls, pork-belly buns, and ceviches splashed with "tiger's milk" is only just starting to bask in the glow.