Pipa Pipa is one of the four eateries in ABC Carpet and Home on Broadway. I've eaten there several times in the past and have found it a consistently enjoyable experience of Spanish fare.

The decor includes heavy wood tables and chairs on the floor and many antiquated-looking, gaudy chandeliers (with price tags) on the ceiling. Oddly, with so many lights, the large room is always very dark, so much so that Loren and I struggled to read the menu with the flicker of our little table votive. We also struggled with what to order, since everything on the menu sounded delicious (it changes regularly, and the online version is not up-to-date)!

We started with the Spanish Olives, a huge plate of Manzanilla, Arbequina, and Nicoise Olives. Then arrived our dish of perfectly sliced, slightly warm Chorizo. The slight heat allowed the smokey aroma of the paprika-spiced, cured sausage to rise to our noses. They tasted wonderful. Another minute or two later the waiter delivered a plate of Crispy Calamari -- the clear winner of the night! Most fried calamari is simple, battered, thickly-cut rings, that are often over-cooked. These were very thin rings, flash fried and covered in a rich, paprika and garlic aioli. The squid was some of the best I've had.

After another minute the "Baby Back Dates" (as I believe they were titled) arrived. Each piece was a bite size date, wrapped in thick bacon, sitting in a mustardy sauce on an endive leaf. I ate them all! About the same time our Crab & Shrimp Croquettes showed up. Three golf-ball sized morsels filled with incredibly fresh crab. I didn't taste the shrimp, so I assume it was ground fairly fine and made the filling of the ball. They sat in a smooth, horseradish aioli, that lacked the "bite" that one would expect.

For the last and largest tapa, we selected the Bisteca Coca, a delicious, lean tenderloin with tomato and a light sauce on Catalan flat bread. The bread was not strongly flavored, but the steak was; it tasted good and was only a bit difficult to eat (as the coca mostly fell apart).

I give Pipa a thumbs up for decent, consistent food. I can't stand how noisy it gets in there, or how dark it is, but the food is very enjoyable, and rarely do you need to wait on a line. Check it out some time.