PALMA
THE tapas food fair Tapalma 2007 will this year be celebrating its third edition by changing its format and creating four different tapas routes.
There will be up to 41 bars and restaurants taking part so that citizens can try their gastronomic creations whilst strolling through the city.
For this edition, the main part of the fair will be centred around the traditional competition, as each bar or restaurant has to offer at least two tapas dishes which will compete with the rest of the restaurants and will have a price of two euros, say the organisers of the event, the Restaurateurs Association.
The fair will take place from October 10 to 14 and the routes will be in the centre of Palma, La Lonja, Santa Catalina and Plaza de España to the Conservatory and Molinar.
The place where most of the bars and restaurants will participate (18) is the old fishing district of Santa Catalina.
This is followed by La Lonja with nine bars and restaurants taking part, Plaza de España to Conservatory and El Molinar with eight, and the centre with six.
The organisers highlighted that this year the fair has as its principal objective to liven up the city centre with an event which will encourage out of season and international tourism, promoting weekend breaks.
In addition to this it will try to encourage people to go out on Wednesdays, a day of the week which is especially critical for catering establishments.
Because of this the fair this year will not take place in the Pueblo Español, where it has been held for the last two years, said the Association, which has created the webiste www.tapalma.es to inform people about the routes for this fair.
Tapas are the wide range of appetisers served in many local bars to accompany a pre-dinner aperitif.
They can be cold and simple, such as cubes of cheese or slices of ham, or cooked, such as meatballs, small fried fish or baby squid, potato omelette, etc.