History and origin
Melting potatoes, a loose sauce and heat chosen at the counter
Patatas bravas belong to all of Spain, but Almería keeps its own way of telling and serving them. The historic version associated with the Bonillo starts from large potatoes cut into thick pieces: they cook gently until melting, then take on a light surface colour. They chase neither the little cubic fry nor an aggressive crust.
The sauce is the other signature. Antonio Zapata describes it as rather loose, poured over slices or half-moons, with heat ordered by degrees: moderada, picante, cargada, even turbo. A white alioli sauce may exist in today's bars, but it should not be automatically blended into this historical portrait.
According to the IEA's work, Gregorio Bonillo introduced this style in his establishment on Calle Granada, opened in 1968. The date and the name tell of local popularisation, not the birth of Spain's bravas. The city council still lists patatas a la brava among the town's traditional tapas — the sign of a well-settled counter memory that deserves to be told in its own vocabulary.
