Cheap Eats: Tara’s tapas are tasty

Tara Steak and Lobster House at the Esplanade is known for sizzling steaks and succulent seafood, not discount dinners. But take a look at the offerings on the tapas side of the menu, and you just might be surprised.

Even with its four-star Zagat rating and its Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine, Tara has “lite bites” available with prices to match. And even though the prices are down-sized, the quality is not.

One of the lowest-priced items on the tapas menu, the classic sliders, quickly reminds you that White Castle was never like this. For your seven bucks, you get three juicy little burgers — and not so little at that — grilled to perfection, and served on fresh crusty rolls. You can even order them pink in the middle, which so many restaurants do not offer these days. It’s no surprise owner Tara Trevethan reports the sliders are the most popular of all the tapas offered. The sliders are also available in a crab cake version, topped with Tara’s homemade mustard sauce, or a meatball sandwich with “mom’s tomato sauce.”

Another seven dollar offering is Jersey fries, Tara’s take on the classic New Jersey dish known in-state as “disco fries.” Not designed for the calorie-counter, these thick fried potatoes are smothered in brown gravy and mozzarella cheese — the perfect antidote, said Trevethan, after a night of heavy partying.

You don’t have to wait until the end of the evening to enjoy Tara’s tapas, though. While the rest of the menu is not available until 5 p.m., the restaurant starts serving tapas an hour earlier at 4 p.m., which coincides with the nightly happy hour.

The ahi tuna is beautifully presented, seared on the outside, crusted with black and white sesame seeds, and red in the center. Served on a bed of baby greens, it comes with a mild Wasabi sauce.

Or if, since you’re in a steakhouse, you’d like to go with a steak, order the flat iron steak, grilled, sliced and served with garlic toast and tangy horseradish sauce. Nine bucks.

Fourteen choices are available on the tapas menu, all made in Tara’s first-rate kitchen and from quality ingredients.

“We’ve been doing tapas for a year, ever since we moved to our new location in the Esplanade in September of last year,” said Trevethan. “We were excited to have a bar that could be a destination, and we decided to develop a bar menu. It was such a hit, we expanded it to the whole restaurant.”

Next time you’re looking to break bread but not break the bank, drop by for some “lite bites,” and see if Tara’s tapas fit the bill.

If you go

Tara’s Steak and Lobster House

760 North Collier Blvd., suite 105, in the Esplanade

394-0212

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