While tapas are Spanish in origin, in American restaurants the word has come to describe portions, not ingredients. And though few tapas menus omit olives and seafood, the rest is up to the tastes -- or whims -- of the kitchen. The concept of tapas has come to include just about anything served on a small plate. Sometimes the dishes are familiar; other times, tapas is an invitation to invention.

Tapas ( IPA: [ tapas]) is the name for a wide variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold, such as mixed olives and cheese, or warm, such as puntillitas, Andalusian battered, fried baby squid. In Spain (mainly in the southern half of the country), tapas are usually given for free to accompany a drink before lunch or dinner. In the United States and the United Kingdom, tapas have evolved into an entire cuisine; at Spanish restaurants, patrons may order many different small tapas, and combine them for a full meal.

The original tapas were the slices of bread that sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips. This was a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry. But soon, enterprising bartenders were putting small snacks on the bread, and the lowly tapa (derived from the word tapar, "to cover") became as important as the sherry.