Comida in Barcelona

Recently it has dawned on me that food is truly the gateway to everything.  It provides sustenance for life and when coupled with good company, for the soul.  I deem this to be true and site evidence as the abundance of cooking shows and focal points in many novels/movies.  Here in Spain I can assure you that there is not a lack of places to eat.  This makes me wonder – are there enough people to eat at all of these places and do they have “local spots” or do they just try a new place everyday (much like NYC where you can eat out 3 meals a day for an entire year and never eat at the same place twice)?

Much like my visits to NYC, I try to avoid frequenting the same place more than once; though there have been a few exceptions; Starbucks for WIFI and El Moli Vell, which has really good café con leche.  On the other hand the cold quiche with ingredients I still can’t identify was lacking.  I try new things because, well you just never know, but in this case I recommend sticking to what ya know (and I know I don’t like quiche, cold or otherwise)

As I mentioned previously, food here is so fresh and flavorful that adding anything (salt & pepper) is completely unnecessary.  I’m not saying though that there aren’t a few culinary misses, which in hindsight seem obvious.  For example, in my heat induced delirium and desire to finally eat paella, I decided to find a place on Las Ramblas where others were enjoying paella and do likewise.  There are tons of eateries serving paella on this ave but I, however kept walking until I was somewhat near the metro stop.  I grabbed a table, got situated and finally looked around.  I had just sat at Restaurante Oriente.    Ok this is obviously not the place to find “authentic” paella but they know rice dishes (yes, stereotyping) and they’re located on one of the busiest ave in Old Town so really, how bad could this be?  To be fair it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten, but it did not achieve the miracle of my first paella back in Spain that I anticipated.  Note to self – no paella at Chinese Restaurants.   The Sangria was just a rookie move… no way they were going to get that right!

Despite this – food has been a really enjoyable experience and since I have to eat at least twice a day, I’m getting really strong with words pertaining to food.  Side note – thank goodness I walk everywhere because the amount of carbs this country insists you consume in a meal makes me believe we should all be training for marathons.  I’m not complaining by any means…. I did mention that the bread is addictive, didn’t I?

So one of my first “authentic” meals here was in a little restaurant near the Arc de Triomf.  A bocadillo con tortialla español and vino tinto has a special place in my heart.  While even years later I find this dish funny, it is a sandwich the woman I lived with during my study abroad made for me often, despite my lack of eating eggs really at all.  This dish for those who’ve never had it is a torte of egg and potatoes and truly is better the next day at room temperature.  Add bread (um, yea, you know my opinion on this) and wahlah!  You have a meal.  And of course, how can you go wrong adding a glass of red wine to it?

It was really an enjoyable meal of which I ate all of it.  Finally, we were getting somewhere. 

Knowing the difference between bocadillo tortilla español and bocadillo patato is something I encourage everyone to know.  In an effort to branch out I decided to grab lunch at a place right around the corner from me.  The menu was expansive (there were actually 3 menus) that I finally decided to give the bocadillo patato a try, believing that it was actually tortilla español.  How important the “español” is in the title.  What I actually received was a sandwich with boiled and then, I believe, slightly fried potatoes on it.   I have no idea what the hell kind of idea that is, but it’s a bad one.  The beer, Moritz from Barcelona wasn’t too shabby though.

Another meal is one I have to say is also something my Señora made for me and is one I try in vain to replicate (unsuccessfully) over and over again in the US.  Arroz de Cubano.  This is rice with tomato frio (no idea what this really is but it’s amazing) and a fried egg.  No idea what it is with eggs here but they’re in or on everything.   Anyway, I honestly had to pause and catch my breath on this one because it is by far the best meal I’ve had yet.  Accompanied by – you guessed it – vino tinto and a roll to sop up all the salsa.  I mean rice and bread is like wrapping a pork chop in bacon (an actual meal I did have in London once) – it’s a bit redundant but oh is it ever so good.

And then there’s a dish I make at home (in the US).  It’s a mixture of potatoes, tomatoes, onion, garbanzos and rice (of course!); a recipe from one of my favorite Spanish cookbooks.  I have to say I make this occasionally at home because I’m never really satisfied with the taste and find myself adding too much salt.  Not here.  This dish worked out really well and I enjoyed all of it without even the thought of salt.  Yes – I really did cook this.   It may not be appealing to everyone but trust me; it has a lot of flavor and was nice to enjoy a meal in.  Unfortunately no vino tinto with this one….. I forgot to pick up a bottle at the store.  Ah, next time. 

 

While I didn’t actually eat here or try the Soup de jour, it sure did sound delicious and I wish I had a cup. 

And finally, I wonder what crowd they’re trying to cater to in this situation?  Seems like an odd combination to me, but then I guess you’d have to be a gin tonic type of person to understand.

Updated to include more great food finds in Barcelona!

If you're looking to escape continuous meals of meat and starches, I highly recommend Teresa Carles down near Las Ramblas.  It's a vegetarian restaurant with tasty options for everyone AND if you need them to, they speak English (menus are in English, Spanish and Catalan).    

Also, for anyone who's ever in search of a Vegetarian or Vegan restaurant (or if you have specialty dietary needs - i.e. food allergies like my cutie pie niece does) the following link is a great resource!

www.happycow.net

Roasted Tomato pasta with fresh, seasonal vegetables and parmesan cheese.

Perfect on a hot day - gazpacho which had a hint of cucumber and a mint leaf.  I could have had two bowls of this.   

Vegetable paella with seasonal veggies and balsamic vinaigrette.   

Another great find was a restaurant, Mundo Europa on Av Numencia right around the corner from my apartment.   While ordering sushi in Spanish is harder than I thought, I ended up with a great meal (despite it not being exactly what I thought I had ordered).  

Above - house salad with salmon

Above - tuna and shrimp sushi.


And below is what 2.45 euros in Spain will get ya... Fresh fruits and veggies!