Billed as a tapas restaurant, I was intrigued as to how true to the ‘tapas-theme’ Galvez would be. Being a newish restaurant (open less than a year), I was also interested in seeing how well the Spanish venue played in a predominantly French City. Sadly, Galvez was one of those New Orleans restaurants that did not live up to the hype that surrounds it. 
For our cocktail we ordered a Pisco Sour. Now one would assume that if the name of a drink is a Pisco Sour one would want to include Pisco, yet this was not the case… and the resulting concoction was a far cry from that frothy Peruvian nectar that Chez has come to love.
For our appetizer course Sheb ordered the Bombas de Patata con Queso Manchego - Potato croquettes with Manchego cheese and scallions served with fresh roasted tomato sauce and reported that they were mushy and generally without flavor. 
Chez took the safer route and ordered Plato de Quesos Iberico – Purported to be a selection of imported Spanish cheeses, candied pistachios and seasonal fruit. For the most part it lived up to its advertisement with the following exceptions. Rather than candied pistachios they were candied walnuts, the seasonal fruits were just a few slices of apple, there was an addition of Serrano Ham (a nice touch) but I am still befuddled by the inclusion of Danish Blue Cheese. Is this there to remind us of those heady days when Spain owned Holland? Well, it left me at a loss. 
Our main course was our greatest disappointment. Paella Carne – the Classic Spanish rice dish with pork, chicken, chorizo and ham, seasoned with saffron. All the meat was present... okay; they used smoked sausage for the chorizo... but zero saffron. Who makes paella and doesn't use saffron? Heck, it's not even the right color. Where is Rick Bayless when you need him? This one score zero points with me. There was a dessert course. Chez ordered the flan… but it was grainy and not worth mentioning.
Dejected by the meal, Chez and his wife walked back to their hotel with visions of the great Chicago tapas restaurants dancing in their heads.
