“Our octopus only has seven legs,” commented our nephew Matt. He had already cut one leg from the eight-legged monster, I mean delicacy, that had been brought to our table.
Matt and Lindy returned to Fuengirola last week for one final day with us before continuing on their travels. We went out to dinner at El Tapeo Andaluz, a nearby restaurant that our friend Elena has been recommending to us for months. It had been closed for the winter and just re-opened. We were all really glad we listened to Elena (especially since she’s warned me that we must always do as she says). The restaurant, the service, the food… all exceptional. San Geraldo and I can’t wait to go back.
As a result of Matt’s seven-legged comment, San Geraldo had a revelation. He said, “You know, it never dawned on me that it was called octopus because it had eight legs.”
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| PULPO A LA GALLEGA (GALICIAN OCTOPUS) AT EL TAPEO ANDALUZ. (CLICK TO INCREASE THE SUCTION.) |
Okay, it wasn’t much of a revelation. And as soon as the words were out of his mouth San Geraldo added, “Oh, wait. I had to have known that.” But it was too late. Matt and I were off.
“Well, now it’s a septopus. Or is it a heptopus?” said Matt. He cut off a leg for Lindy and I said, “Is that a sexopus?” (Actually, I think it would be a hexopus.)
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| “OOPS.” |
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| “OK. YOU’VE ALL HAD YOUR FUN! JUST FOR THAT, I’M HAVING DESSERT TONIGHT!” |
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| HAPPY AGAIN. |
Matt and I didn’t bother with pentopus, rectopus (which is too disgusting to contemplate), or bipus. All eight legs were delicious. In fact, it was the most delicious pulpo (Spanish for octopus) I’ve ever tasted. And the texture was as good as it gets. But octopus, no matter how good, is wasted on me. I just can’t get past the suction cups.
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| DEEP-FRIED GOAT CHEESE WITH MOLASSES. SAN GERALDO DOESN’T LIKE STRONG CHEESES. LINDY, MATT, AND I LOVED IT. IT HAD LEGS! |
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| INSIDE TAPEO ANDALUZ. |
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| OUTSIDE AS WE HEADED HOME… ON OUR EIGHT LEGS. |
Since that dinner, I’ve read a bit about octopus. Some people say it has only two legs. They call the other six “arms.”
