Tia Pol: Not enough Hemmingway in you to pen a Pulitzer Prize winning novel or bail on the U.S. for Spain? No sweat. Literary prominence will still elude you, but shoot over to Tia Pol, a narrow little hole-in-the-wall tapas bar in Chelsea and you’ll feel like you’re smack dab in the middle of Burguete. The frail young men in jeans shod with that telltale non-USA-made footwear and skinny scarves wrapped around their collars, as well as the longhaired artsy-looking women with a too good for America look on their faces will make you feel less like a poser. Still not quite feeling like an ex-pat? Many of the authentic dishes like pescado en adobo should make you forget your cell phone and those e-mails legally allowed to be monitored. Sadly, whoever orders the booze must have been “siesta-ing” on the job because the the tequila sunshine does not also rise. Yep. No tequila in the house. Regardless there’s enough Sangria or Albahama and Estrella Gagilica, some of Spain’s strongest beers, to inspire you to break out that pen and write the next great American novel. It won’t happen, but, “isn’t it pretty to think so.” |
