Girls' Bite Out: Tapas for Me, and Tapas for You.

It's taken us forever, but we're finally posting about some of our most recent dining ventures, including Martine, a delightful European tapas-style restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City.

If you've never been or never tried tapas, you really must go. This was Jaimey's first time eating (or even hearing of) tapas. In case you've never heard of them, too, tapas are appetizers in Spanish cuisine. Bonnie taught us that tapas were originally created because of a law in Spain that didn't allow people to drink alcohol without eating food, too. So restaurants began serving small appetizer-sized portions of food, so their guests could eat and drink.

Now, tapas have become an entire style of cuisine. Wikipedia says tapas are served to encourage conversation, as eating them allows diners to focus less on the meal and more on their company. We're not sure if that is largely the intention, but we will say, our tapas-style meal was chock full of lovely conversation. Holly, Bonnie, and Shiloh accompanied us, and we had a grand time.

We loved each bite, too. And we did what many tapas restaurants intend: ordered a few tapas each to create an entire meal. Plus, we went to Martine the last week of the Spring Dine o' Round, so we were able to take advantage of their less expensive, dine o' round menu. A plus plus.

What we loved most about Martine:

Sitting down to a charming table with a view, and nibbling on Greek olives while we perused the menu.
Dipping our warm, fresh rustic bread into that chipper balsamic vinegar and rich olive oil. Best olive oil we've ever tasted. Hands down. Lots and lots of hands down.
Can you say, "I want the Fried Shepherds Goat Cheese with Caramelized Onions tapa?" We can. And we did. Twice.
Debating (and giggling at ourselves for being a little unclear about) whether the Provencal Salmon Creek Pork Tenderloin entree was salmon or pork.
The robust flavor of that Salmon Creek Pork Tenderloin. Tasty, tasty!
The Pomegranate Barbeque Morgan Valley Lamb Ribs tapa. Tender, juicy, and falling off the bone with flavor.
The surprises on our plates: the beet that was yellow, for example, and the mushrooms that were bursting with an oyster-marsala reduction, like an explosion of yumminess in your mouth.
The Grilled Gingerbread dessert. It came with caramel and the house gelato. The perfect ending to a meal we hope to repeat over and over and over.

So quaint and inviting. And the roses were real. Jaimey touched them.

We sat and ate with a view out this window.

The Fried Shepherds Goat Cheese with Caramelized Sweet Onions and Lillet-Orange Blossom Honey Glaze tapa. It looks like a lot of cheese, and it was. But trust us, you'll eat it all up without a problem. You just will.