Me Gusta Mucho: Savoring Tapas in Seville

My mind froze.

People stared, beer from the spigot overflowed, the noise level increased, the poised woman next to me gently patted her red lips, and the moment stretched painfully ... A few years earlier my husband and I enjoyed some wonderful modern Spanish cooking in fine restaurants around Barcelona with cosmopolitan maîtres d'hôtel and menus in English. But this time, my first in Seville, gourmet chefs weren't my priority. I wanted to eat like the locals, and had diligently listened to my Learn Spanish in Your Car tapes in preparation. I was ready ...  until it was time to order in this busy restaurant with no menus, no English, no time for beginners.