Back in 19th century Andalusia, when scorching summer months made the idea of a big hot meal unthinkable, the tradition of eating small plates—what we now call tapas—was born. From the verb tapar, to cover, a tapa was originally a free slice of cheese or jamón that topped a glass of sherry to keep the flies out. Over the years, these simple tapas evolved to include more complex but still undersized bites like skewered pickled peppers, cured meats, and the famed potato layer cake, the tortilla española.

“Tapas is an umbrella term for any small bite,” explains Anya von Bremzen, author of The New Spanish Table (Workman, $22.95). “It can be anything as long as it is eaten at a bar.” In her comprehensive new book on the cuisine of Spain, she explains everything you’ve always wanted to know about tapas but where afraid to ask. Montaditos, for instance, from the verb montar, are tapas mounted on bread; expect colorful flavorful canapés set upon on crusty slices of bread, while banderillas, named for the colorful darts used in bullfighting, are skewered bites— a cube of hard salami, a pickled pepper and an olive, for example. In the Basque region, tapas are called pintxos—little bites generally served on bread or toothpicks.

But no matter what the variety, tapas have always been as much a social occasion as nourishing one. Indeed, anywhere you go in Spain, the tapeo—or tapas crawl—is a nightly event, where friends gather together to hop from one tapas bar to another, picking out the best of what each has to offer—croquettes at one, patatas bravas at another, and beautiful aged jamón at yet another.

We asked some of New York City’s top culinary talents to share their favorite tapas and take us on a virtual tour of Spain’s best. We started with Von Bremzen, who reveals that her favorite tapas is a classic from the Basque region, a spicy, briny skewer called a Gilda. “A Gilda is a skewer of guindillas (green pickled chile peppers), anchovies, and olives,” she explains. “It is said that it was invented at a San Sebastián bar and named after Rita Hayworth’s spicy performance in the 1946 film of the same name.”

When in the Basque country, you’ll find Von Bremzen snacking on Gildas and glasses of Txakoli, the effervescent Basque white wine, at Bodega Donostiarra (Peña y Goñi, 13, Donostia, +34 943 290 228) in San Sebastián. “They pickle their own guindilla chiles and serve probably the most famous Gildas in town,” she says.

For Terrance Brennan, the chef and owner of New York City’s newly renovated Picholine restaurant, the Boqueria food market in Barcelona offers the most incredible tapas experience going. “I love the Boqueria,” he says. “Everything is just so good there. I don’t like tapas bars where they are all laid out on the bar with lots of mayonnaise on croutons. Those don’t do it for me. I like places where they cook it right in front of you.” His favorite place for hot-off-the-plancha tapas is El Quim (La Boqueria, La Rambla, 91) in the Boqueria, where he’ll happily spend an afternoon dining on their sautéed razor clams with garlic and olive oil and their sepia (cuttlefish) with fried potatoes, mushrooms and tomatoes.

While Brennan favors El Quim’s razor clams and sepia, Tía Pol’s chef Alex Raij loves Málaga’s spit-roasted Espetos de Sardinas served at El Caleno (Cenacheros, 16, +34 952 29 9148). “These sardines are eaten seaside in the Costa del Sol, where they are served on bread to catch the juices from the fish,” she explained recently, after returning from a vacation to Málaga with her husband (and Tía Pol sous-chef) Eder Montero. “The fish are eaten on the bone. It is the simplest, purest expression of the sardine, and is delicious.” But she is quick to point out that this dish is more than about just the fish. “This tapa is as much about the place as the ingredient,” she says. “That is what the best tapas do.”

Seamus Mullen, chef of New York City’s newest Spanish hot spot, Boqueria, spent five years living in Spain, and he’s had a chance to eat tapas all over the country. Some of his favorite tapas come from the Basque region. “In San Sebastián’s Bar Bergara in Gros (General Artetxe 8, San Sebastián, 20002, +34 943 27 5026), the chef is Patxi, and he has this lasagna of sweet vinegar-marinated anchovies. It’s like layered, cooked anchovies with pisto (tomatoes, onion, zucchini, red and green peppers). I love it.” When in the Basque country, he also frequents a bar called La Cuchara de San Telmo (Calle 31 de Agosto, 28, +34-943 42 0840), in the old city of San Sebastián, for a little dish called Salteado de Foie con Peras—foie gras seared a la plancha and topped with a pear marmalade. But Mullen can’t leave out his favorite montadito from Barcelona’s Quimet i Quimet (Poeta Cabanyes, 25, Barcelona, +34 93 442 3142. “One of my favorite tapas of all time is a montadito of terrine of Ibérico pig with truffle oil,” he says. “It’s really simple but it’s delicious.” And that’s the best definition of tapas I’ve ever heard.

Andrea Strong is the author of The Strong Buzz, a weekly blog (www.thestrongbuzz. com) devoted to New York City’s food scene. Her writing appears weekly in The New York Post, and has also appeared in New York Magazine, and The New York Times. She is co-author of Sparks in The Kitchen, with Katy Sparks (Knopf 2006).