I am not much of a fan of tapas restaurants--in particular, I have always felt that Dali in Somerville is not worth the rather steep price--but in recent years I think I have become a bit less adamant about this point of view. I tried Taverna de Haro (on Beacon Street, near St. Mary's) last year a few times, and quite liked it (though again I didn't feel that I was getting a wonderful value for my money). At the strong urging of a friend, I tried Tasca, on Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton, the other evening. The prices on the tapas struck me as lower than at the other places mentioned above, the wine list was not extravagantly over-priced, and there were at least three dishes were very good. One was a timbale of vegetables, consisting of layers of eggplant, zucchini, tomato, and mushroom, with a basil sauce on top. A main dish of chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms was beautifully arranged on my place, with slices of chicken, a dark brown sherry sauce, slices of zucchini, a carrot puree, and potatoes. And a chocolate-banana dessert was a real bargain for around five dollars. With a couple of glasses of wine and a few more tapas, the bill for two of us came to just over fifty dollars. Still not a bargain, but this seemed to be a better value. For those who drive, Tasca offers free valet parking (the first time I've encountered that in Boston), and there is plenty of on-street parking within a five block walk anyway.--Rob
Boston, MA