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Business & Tech

Just a Half-Step From Bridgewater, This Restaurant Feels Worlds Away

Spain 92 is just over the border from our hometown, but its ambiance and flavors feel like a much-needed vacation.

A large adobe sits right on the border, on the edge of a much larger bustling town.

It is close enough to home, but its ambiance makes you feel like you are a thousand miles away.

Romantic and lively, yet comfortable and calming, Spain 92 in Raritan is just a stones throw from our Bridgewater backyard, but feels and tastes like you are in a different world.

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Founded in 1992, Spain 92 made its home on Thompson Street for 10 years before relocating to its new location on Route 202 South.

"We had our eye on this property for a while, and as soon as it went on sale, we had to buy it," said Sergio Seijas, co-owner.

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Owners Manny Feijoo, also the chef, and Seijas, also the Maitre D, are very involved in their restaurant. Seijas sets the mood when he greets you for lunch or dinner while Feijoo sets the perfect plate.

Archways guide you into the dimly lit dining area with walls lined in painted tile, and Spanish-style pottery is placed neatly around the room. Sound barriers on the walls are easily covered with painted plates, and the silence is broken by the Spanish guitar playing on the speakers.

I tapped my foot along to the music as I glanced over the lunch menu and the summer seasonal specials.

I drifted further away from New Jersey as my friendly waiter Santiago greeted me with an "Hola, Senorita," and brought over complimentary vegetable soup. The soup of the day is offered complimentary at lunch and dinner, with bread and water. 

The soup was light and salty, and its yellow broth was sprinkled with orange, white, green and brown vegetables. Mushrooms, carrots, zucchini and onion shavings gave the salty broth a very slight vegetable taste.

The soup was just enough to get my appetite excited for more of what Spain had to offer.

Santiago returned to my table, and filled my glass with deep red sangria, with slices of juicy and bright oranges peaking through the liquid, and a variety of other fruits soaking in its deliciousness. With a slight hint of alcohol and a fruity after taste, it was the perfect way to cool down on a hot August afternoon at $17.50 a pitcher.

For an appetizer, I ordered the garlic shrimp and the crabmeat-stuffed mushrooms. The pink mini shrimps were sautéed to perfection in olive oil and garlic.

Coming from a garlic lover, the garlic was not at all over-powering, but would not be a good choice for someone on a first date unless the other person was sharing it. Two people with garlic breath cancel each other out.

The mushrooms, stuffed with crabmeat and drizzled with delicious oil, were a great combination. The mushrooms cut clean with just a fork, and the crumbly crabmeat stayed in its place inside the mushroom cap.

The crabmeat was the perfect amount of fishy with a hint of herbs, and the mushrooms' earthly after taste left my mouth watering for another.

For a main course, I chose from the summer specials menu, which offers a variety of fresh vegetable dishes and other summer favorites.

My salad—a luscious grouping of fresh greens, manchego cheese, bright red peppers and green olives, and lightly spritzed with a balsamic dressing—was a great ending to my meal. The cheese was powerful, which I love, and the balsamic was the perfect decision for a dressing—though not a fan of olives, I easily pushed them aside to enjoy the rest of my garden-fresh lunch.

Finishing with just one more glass of sangria, so deep and sweet you cannot just have one glass, I was satisfied, yet not overly full.

Just as I was finishing my meal, Seijas came over to check on me one more time and to ensure I had had a great experience.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself," he said. "Now I have to go check on my hives."

He was referring to his beehives that he has behind the restaurant.

Thanks to the friendly owners, my adorable waiter and a few glasses of sangria, I left the restaurant—that sits just beyond the Bridgewater border—giggling and smiling.

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