Bites Nearby: Solea Restaurant & Tapas Bar

Who knows what the next popular international cuisine will be? In cosmopolitan places like the Boston area, the answer seems to be: anything that's done well.

Certainly, Waltham has experienced that reality. , in the heart of Moody Street since 2002, has benefited from the cultured local eating scene, with its focus on tapas, or small Spanish dishes. Today, it's a place for a "special" meal: a romantic dinner for two, graduation party or 50th-something birthday celebration.

What to eat: There are several dozen of choices of tapas – it's sort of like ordering dim sum in a Chinese restaurant. For vegetarians and the more cost-conscious, there are plates like Basque fries ($5) and broccoli and cauliflower fritters t($6), while there are many seafood dishes, such as seared salmon with dijon cream and spinach ($9) and lobster crab raviolis in a langostino sauce ($9.50).

For meat-eaters, there's sautéed chicken livers with bacon and red onion, braised quail with lentils, or beef or chicken empanadas. There are also entrees, but you might go the other way and try some pintxos, which are Spanish snacks eaten in bars in Basque country. A few possibilities: artichoke, goat cheese and mushroom crostini and croquette of the day.

There's a dessert menu with lots of chocolate and other creamy things on it, and an extensive wine list, including four sangrias.

The vibe: The décor and design have the airy and convivial feel of a more elegant restaurant in South America or southern Spain.

Cool factor no. 1: On warm summer evenings, Solea opens its large front windows, offering an even richer experience of dining somewhere in southern Europe.

Cool factor no. 2: There's a song on the album Sketches of Spain by great trumpeter Miles Davis titled "Solea." The word means a type of flamenco music.