tapas

it is said that as far back as the 13th century, ailing spanish king alfonso x el sabio ("the learned") took small morsels with wine on his doctor's advice and so enjoyed the cure that he made it a regular practice in his court. even cervantes refers to tapas as llamativos (attention getters), for their stimulating properties, in don quixote. often miniature versions of classic spanish dishes, tapas allow you to sample different kinds of food and wine with minimal alcohol poisoning, especially on a tapeo -- the spanish version of a pub crawl: you walk off your wine and tapas as you move around.