Cox: Bravas Bar de Tapas

Octopus at Bravas Bar de Tapas in Healdsburg. (Jeff Kan Lee/ The Press Democrat)

In Spain, tapas plates and plentiful wine are the glue that holds together an evening’s enjoyment among friends. You sip wine, you laugh and talk, you nibble on tapas, you laugh some more and sip some more. It takes hours and lasts into the night.

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At Bravas Bar de Tapas in Healdsburg, Mark and Terri Stark’s latest restaurant, a backyard renovation sets you up with everything you need to create this most pleasurable Spanish-style get-together for yourself and a few well-chosen companions. A beautiful full bar dispenses sangria and other Spanish bebidas. A slew of tables sit al fresco, punctuated with tall heaters to keep things comfy. If it rains, there’s a covered deck.

The main building was once Ravenous, a very popular spot. The interior is now entirely renovated, with a large, white, ceramic bull’s head over the warming fireplace, and the walls decorated with 1960s-era psychedelic posters for acts like the Yardbirds and The Doors, the same music that’s playing on the sound system.

Tapas translates as “snacks,” and while you can certainly sit down to a dinner of snacks, and easily consume them in an hour, they are really meant to be eaten serially, over time. Instead of thinking of Bravas as a dinner venue, think of bringing a few friends and having a relaxed, convivial, social time as you graze your way through your choice of the menu’s 38 items, washing them down with sangria.

Yes, there are 40 white and red wines on the list, sold by the glass, half-liter, liter, or 750-ml bottle and including six Spanish whites and seven fetching Spanish reds, but sangria is the go-to drink at tapas bars. Here it’s made with white or red wine; a shot of brandy; Royal Combier liqueur (flavored with aloe, nutmeg, myrrh, cardamom, cinnamon and saffron) and wedges of citrus fruit.

A feature of Bravas is the ham and cheese bar. This is no ordinary ham. It’s Jamon Iberico from the Fermin company in Salamanca province, the first producer of this superb ham allowed to slaughter and cure hams for export to the U.S. The meat is from the black Iberian pig, pasture-raised and allowed to forage for acorns in the region’s oak forests to give the meat its rich flavor, which is enhanced by flecks of fat comprised primarily of heart-healthy oleic acid. The hams are salted for several weeks, rinsed, then air-cured for 24 months. Jamon Iberico ($15 ****) slices are thin, dark, mysterious-looking and intensely delicious. With the ham, order Pan Tomate ($4 ***), toasted slack dough bread smeared with crushed fresh ripe tomato, very much like bruschetta.

When Columbus returned to Spain, he brought with him potatoes and spicy chilies, and these two nightshade family members were combined there to make the staple tapas, Patatas Bravas ($7 ***), which means spicy potatoes – hence also the name of the restaurant. The potato chunks are roasted and served in a tongue-tingling tomato sauce aided by a garlicky aioli.

Mussels Escabeche

A glass of 2010 Albarino from Rias Baixas is $8 and pairs beautifully with Mussel Escabeche ($9 ***), a small bowl of vinegary, marinated, poached mussels with a chili relish. As your evening hits full fun mode, don’t miss the Romano Beans with Sobrassada Sausage ($9 ***). This raw pork sausage from the Balearic Islands off the Spanish Coast (or from Catalonia on the mainland) has a wonderfully complex flavor. Pair it with the 2007 Izadi Reserva from Rioja for $9 a glass. The romano bean pods are braised in a tomato sauce and there’s a bit of manchego cheese to nail down the pleasure.

One of the most visually interesting tapas is Maitake Mushroom ($10 ***), a feathery fungus sautéed and dotted with fluffed-up fresh goat cheese. A trio of luscious Duck Meatballs ($8 ***) are served like mini burgers on slider buns, embellished with gastronomic fireworks provided by a tomato sofrito and olive puree. Octopus ($16 **) was the most expensive but least pleasing item on a recent night. The flesh was rubbery and accompanying potatoes, smoky paprika and olives spoke more of the earth than the sea.

On the other hand, Lavender Quail ($12 ***) with sherried grapes and honey made an exquisite end to the experience.

To sum up: Bravas goes all out to give customers a successfully authentic Spanish tapas bar experience.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review column for the Sonoma Living section. You can reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.

BRAVAS BAR DE TAPAS
Where: 420 Center St., Healdsburg
When: Open from 11:30 a.m. every day until 9:30 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, to 10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and to 9 p.m. Sundays
Reservations: Call 433-7700
Price range: Individual snacks from $4 to $16, so the bill can vary from moderate to very expensive, depending on how much snacking you do
Website: www.starkrestaurants.com/bravas.html

Wine list: **
Ambiance: ***
Service: ***
Food: ***
Overall: ***

**** Extraordinary
*** Very good
** Good
* Not very good
0 Terrible