trying tapas: rockville restaurant week (& giveaway!)

For the last few days, Cora and I have read Susan Middleton Elya’s Bebé Goes Shopping more times than I can count.

In the story, Mamá y Bebé take a trip to the supermercado, and along the way. . .

. . . [j]ust as Mamá is ready to throw up her manos, she gives sweet Bebé a box of animal cookies. A dulce, at last! He finds a camel, nibbles on a giraffe . . . eats an oso. Then they’re off to the checkout line, smiling all the way.

Cora and I both love the rhythm of the language, we adore the Spanish words that Elva includes in the primarily English text, we giggle like crazy when the baby is naughty, and we smile our way through Steven Salerno’s fantabulous illustrations. 

This book takes word consciousness to a whole new level, as it’s impossible not to talk about the words since they are new, exciting, and beautiful.

So when the opportunity arose for our family to try out a local Spanish Tapas Restaurant in honor of Rockville Restaurant Week (September 10-18, 2011), yo salté a bordo.

We were, after all, reading about shopping in Spanish.  Why not bring a little Spanish food into the mix, in honor of Rockville Restaurant week?

Lucky for us, La Tasca–the restaurant we visited–not only gave our family a fun night out on the town, new tastes for our pallets, and a totally fun way of bringing a little more Spanish into our lives, they also kindly offered to give a $50 gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader.

Fantastic! ¡Que fantastico!

Here’s the delgado:

• Trying Tapas at La Tasca — Rockville Restaurant Week: We visited La Tasca for dinner mid-week, and we had an absolutely wonderful experience.

From the moment we stepped foot inside, Maddy, Owen, and Cora’s eyes were wide, because the ambiance is altogether different from what they’re used to. Dim lights, fancy pillows with jewels on the leather booths, Spanish-inspired paintings and tons of pretty things everywhere.

The servers were incredibly helpful in recommending dishes for us, and my husband and I decided we’d go with the suggested Seafood Tapas Tasting Menu.   La Tasca offers an extensive menu, but the The Seafood Tapas Tasting Menu gave us a focus, which I liked. It included grilled scallops and artichoke hearts, calamari, grilled salmon, fried mussels, shrimp, short noodle paella with seafood, stuffed eggplant rolls, mushrooms, and a salad. Y-U-and M.

We also ordered a vegetable paella off of the children’s menu as a go-to for the kids.

Our family loves seafood, and though we also adore paella, we only had a short amount of time for our night out (we couldn’t afford to wait the 30-40 minutes for it to be prepared if my husband was going to make his first PTA meeting of the year!).

While Maddy, Owen, and Cora completed word searches, colored a senorita, and played games on the children’s menu, my husband and I caught up about the day’s happenings. And I enjoyed one of the best glasses of sangria I’ve ever had.

 

I looooooved the Ensalada de Espinacas — spinach, Cabrales cheese salad. . .

 

. . . and Owen and my husband loooooved the Gambas al Ajillo — shrimp sauteed in olive oil and garlic.

 Yum. Setas al Ajillo — mushrooms (and my sangria).

It really was a great mid-week treat for all of us.

The food was so flavorful, so tasty, so fresh–so filling–that the kids barely had room for their scoop of ice-cream for dessert. Though some of the dishes were a little much for their pallets, everyone loved the calamari, the shrimp, the scallops, and the mussels.  Lucky for us our kids have inexpensive taste.

Personally, I cannot wait to return to La Tasca for my next Girls’ Night Out or Date Night with my husband. The sangria is calling me.  No worries. Volveré.

During September 10-18, 2011, Rockville’s Restaurant Week, many Rockville restaurants are offering a special prix-fixe menus, priced at either $8 lunch/$15 for dinner or $15 lunch/$30 dinner. 

La Tasca is just one of many establishments participating in Rockville Restaurant Week.  Please see the complete list of participating restaurants for more information.  (La Tasca has several locations in the DC Metro area: Rockville, MD; Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC; Arlington, VA; and Old Town, VA in case you’re a bit far from Rockville, and the gift certificate can be used at any location!).

UPDATE: 9/11/11– random.org chose lucky number 21, so Heather K will enjoy tapas at La Tasca! Thanks for entering!

GIVEAWAY: $50 gift certificate for La Tasca: Spanish Tapas Restaurant!

Do you want to win $50 gift certificate for La Tasca: Spanish Tapas Restaurant? (Think about how far that will go during Rockville Restaurant Week!)

• All you have to do is leave a comment here (with email address!) explaining when you will use the $50 at La Tasca.

For extra entries:

• Tweet this: Win $50 for Spanish Tapas at LaTasca #restaurantweek @teachmama  http://wp.me/p1NAxy-19U  #giveaway

• Share this post on your Facebook page–very easy!

• Share this post with a friend (just tell me who you shared it with!)

This contest is QUICK!! It ends on Saturday, September 10, 2011 at midnight ET.  I will notify the winner on Sunday, 9/11/11 and personally put the gift certificate in the mail on Monday so he or she can use the $50 next week!

 

fyi: La Tasca provided me with $35 to use at their Rockville restaurant, and they are providing the $50 gift card for one teach mama reader.  This is an unsponsored post; the ideas are all my own, influenced only by my tres hijos y mi esposo.  Rockville Restaurant Week is a promotional partner with The DC Moms, for which I am a section editor and contributor.