In case you hadn't noticed, Spanish food is big right now -- or at least that's what the vernacular magazines would have us believe. This, of course, is not the first time it's been touted as the next big thing. But somehow a critical mass of popularity was never achieved, and Spain's culinary profile here has never matched that of Italy or France.

Ahead of the Barcelona Olympics, tapas and paella were seen as the natural successors to antipasti and pasta. This time round, the buzzwords are Bulli, the Michelin-starred "nueva-cozina" in Catalonia run by Fernando Adria; and pinchos, those tasty bar snacks that are (along with jai alai) the Basque country's best-known contribution to the international culinary community.

Much of the recent media attention has been centered on some new, flashy establishments in the center of town. For us, though, a far better gauge of the culinary climate is the steady growth in popularity of the smaller places. Here are three newcomers worth knowing about.