Sevilla, Long Beach

Today we met with a couple who is getting married on a golf course next September. Pretty nice people, and seemed easy going. We had to drive to Huntington Beach to meet with them, so we decided to go somewhere farther for dinner. Julia thought it was a great opportunity to try Sevilla, in Long Beach. She has been wanting to try their tapas for a while now, and since it was on the way home, we stopped by.

The picture you see below is the one that caused the most opposite reaction for us. It's Dates Stuffed with Cabrales Bleu Cheese, wrapped with bacon and covered with apple cider vinegar glaze. Eddie hated this dish more than any other dish we had this night. He doesn't usually like sweetness in dishes that he thinks should be savory, and this one was just too sweet for him. Julia, on the other hand, loved it, and thought it was a great explosion of flavors, despite the fact that she hates blue cheese. If we ever go back, she will definitely order another one of these and happily eat them all herself!
Below is a photo of Chicken Ajillo, Shrimp Azafran, Spicy Marinated Octopus, and Aioli with Fresh Baked Bread.
Ever the carb lover, Eddie loved the bread with Aioli. So much so that he ordered another loaf. Julia didn't mind, though, since she thought it was good too. The octopus was spicy and marinated with red wine vinegar. It had a nice flavor, but Eddie thought it was way too tough and chewy. Even Julia, who doesn't mind chewing tougher meats, had to agree it was on the tough side...

The shrimp was sauteed with cooked with hazelnut brandy and saffron cream sauce. Eddie thought it could have used a little bit stronger spices, but still liked it. Julia, easy to please as always, thought it was good, and was impressed with how perfectly they were cooked: crisp, and not overly cooked.

The chicken was simply sauteed with white wine and garlic. Eddie thought the flavors were right on. Julia, well... You can guess that she liked it too, like almost everything else she eats! :) She was happy just chomping on the olives while we waited for the food to arrive.

So tonight's favorite for Eddie was fresh bread with Aioli, while Julia's was the dates. Overall, Eddie rates the food 3.5 out of 5 stars. Not that impressed, but okay. Julia rates it 4 stars.

If you do decide to give this a try, here is their website:

www.cafesevilla.com

They have their menu posted online, so you can go take a look. Eddie doesn't necessarily recommend this place, but Julia does, just for the sake of trying different flavors. This is definitely a good place if you love to drink. We just stuck to lemonade and iced tea this time.