Chef Jorge Fernandez brings the tastes, sights, and sounds of the Iberian Peninsula to South Florida with the debut of his new restaurant, the Spaniard Tapas Bar and Café. The restaurant, located in Boca Raton, adjacent to Royal Palm Place, serves traditional  tapas items like cured meats and cheeses as well as a variety of specialty paellas, like the Paella del Monte -- rabbit, land snails, and chicken with peppers and artichokes with a saffron broth.

Familiar items like gazpacho or goat-cheese-stuffed peppers in Romesco

sauce are lightened with the help of a few unexpected, secret

ingredients (and a good immersion blender).

Menu items can also be customized for those who require gluten-free,

vegetarian, or kosher options.

In

addition to serving traditional Spanish fare, the Spaniard houses

an impressive selection of Spanish wine and a variety of sherries that

can be sampled during the restaurant's wine and sherry tastings.

If

you're looking for a more hands-on dining experience, Fernandez

offers cooking classes where guests can prepare their own meals while

learning about Spanish cuisine.

Those who are in need of a good workout

after inhaling mounds of paella can get their cardio on at the

restaurant's weekend Flamenco classes for beginner and intermediate

students. Classes are provided by the Sevillanas Club, "a non-profit organization that promotes the arts from Spain in support of local and Spanish arts of all sorts."

Dining, drinking, and dancing; not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

The Spaniard Tapas Bar and Cafe, 561-347-7000, 99 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton.

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