Spanish food for 21

It's 21 years to the day that V and I first met.

Unlike normal anniversary celebrations (ie wedding and date we began dating - the latter much disputed!) we normally make it a point to have a meal on or around this day just to reminisce about our own little story of 'jab we met'. Of course it's only really me that wants the walk down memory lane. V would just like that glass of wine and a discussion about something sports or kid related. I win the battle and like the well trained spouse he is he hears me out patiently and tweaks the story back into reality when I get carried away.

Today we both ate Spanish food. The difference is that I had it at La Tasca and he at Iberica. I was with three lovelies - Broom, Uttara from Likhati and the visiting Rohini from mamasaysso. He is with his office colleagues.

We picked the date for various reasons and he was meant to come home and babysit our sleeping child. But as luck would have it visiting colleagues have meant that he needed to attend drinks and dinner. So our babysitter stepped in while we both went to our seperate dinners. I wore the seed pearl necklace, his first ever gift of jewelry to me.

Dinner at La Tasca is always an enjoyable experience. I don't profess to know much about Spanish cuisine beside the fact that I like chorizo very very much. But the tapas at La Tasca is varied and quite delicious. It rarely disappoints. From the white fish to the patata bravas, from the calamari to the chorizo, it was a well orchestrated meal of small dishes, satisfying with the high notes of laughter and chatter that really only groups of women friends get. The chocolate fondant and vanilla ice cream at the end only served to make it finer, if that were possible.

I'm home now. Reading my book, waiting for sleep to overcome me. V will be late back from his own tapas meal at Iberica.

We may not have eaten this meal together, although by chance we both chose Spanish. V may think he has escaped my retelling of how we met. He is very wrong. I fully intend to recount my version when I can. And even though I might be a tad dramatic I have no doubt that 21 years later we are still on the same page.