Tapas Bar: Casual Spanish Cooking at Home (Cafe)

Rating:
Summary: More style than substance
Review: This is a beautiful little book of tapas recipes, with tasteful art direction and lovingly photographed food. However, while it dazzles with presentation, and I enjoyed looking at it, I found the actual selection of recipes lacking. It might be good for a few dinner parties, but after that, you've pretty much exhausted the possibilities.

Perhaps the key is in the title: "Casual Spanish Cooking" - casual being the operative word. If you have a friend who likes to dabble in cooking and appreciates eye-candy, this book would make a great gift.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a real work-horse of a cookbook for tapas and other small Mediterranean dishes, check out Little Foods of the Mediterranean by Clifford A. Wright. With over five times as many recipes as this title, plus a wealth of supplemental info, it won't leave you hungry!