Del Mar

When I want tapas, I tend to go to Jaleo, but Tom Sietsema can't stop raving about Del Mar, so I had to check it out.  This isn't the first place which comes to mind for a vegetarian.  A self-described "Coastal Spain" restaurant, which includes a plethora of seafood and charcuterie on the menu (along with paella, of course) they have tapas, which is your only choice as a veggie.  They do try, however.  On their two pages of tapas offerings (one is traditional tapas, the other is seasonal choices) there are several items with a green leaf.  NOTE -- this doesn't mean the item IS vegetarian, it means it can be MADE vegetarian.  And that is an important distinction.  I told my server I was a vegetarian and she worked to guide me to good choices.  There was an epic fail, but I will get to that later.  I got a pressed juice (Organic Liquid Gold) and two of the seasonal tapas selections and one traditional one.  There was the Ensalada de Naranja, a blood orange, red onion and raddichio salad with roasted hazelnuts and the Salmorejo de Calabaza, a butternut squash soup.  My traditional pick was the Patatas al Carbon, because you really can't get tapas and not get Patatas, IMHO.  I wrapped up the meal with the soft-serve Horchata.  The drink came first.  While the carrot/apple concoction was very good it was loaded with ice -- more than half the glass.  This meant that the last half was pretty watery (not to mention feeling a little gypped as it was $8).  The Patatas was next, steaming hot from the kitchen.  The sauce was delectable.  The chef had chosen to use mini-potatoes instead of potato cubes, which was nicely inventive but made it hard to get that delightful alioli sauce on them, so I ended up chopping them up.  The salad followed and was the weakest of the offerings.  While each element was interesting the salad as a whole was too bitter and tart.  Instead of sweetening the raddichio, the oranges just made the dish very acidic.  A contrasting dressing might have pulled it together but the only dressing seemed to be vinegar-like as well.  The butternut squash soup was a nice selection, along with the Horchata, given the spicy, autumn inspired flavorings.  The soup was poured at the table but the croutons became soggy quickly.  A better choice for crunch might have been the roasted hazelnuts.  It was the soup, I decided later, which was the problem.  The salad and the soup had to be "modified" for vegetarians.  No tuna on the salad, no ham in the soup.  The server told me she had made sure the tuna was absent from the salad but someone must have messed up and included the ham in the soup, as I became "quite ill" within an hour of eating the meal.  It's always sad when a good meal is ruined that way, particularly given the price points here, which aren't just high, they are atmospheric.  My meal, with tax and tip, came to $75.  You are paying for atmosphere, as well as the food.  Black glass tabletops along with gold colored utensils and crystal-like glasses and bowls give a sense of elegance.  The open layout, peppered with blue glass and white vases, gives a sense of airy lightness.  Everything is evocative of a seaport -- from the tiled floor which suggests sea-grass and the impressive sword-fish light sculpture right down to napkin holders which echo a fishing net. With a wait staff who is extremely conscientious and enough utensils to make my mother happy (one or two utensils for every dish) this restaurant boasts a lot for those who want to celebrate a special occasion. Unfortunately for me, however, if a place makes me ill it is "one and done."  That being said, American Son and Rasika had food which was better for slightly less moola, so I'm thinking my next special occasion won't be here.

Very upscale Spanish Coastal menu

791 Wharf Avenue

https://www.delmardc.com/