Barcelona: the Round-Up II

Here's the next instalment on Barcelona, only my favourite city in Spain! A town that is so vibrant and rich in culture, you can't help but notice their complete obsession with what they eat. Definitely my kind of place! Judging by all the butts on seats (wherever we went), you wouldn't even know Spain was suffering from an economic downturn. I guess a 'man's gotta eat'! Today I'm sharing with you 2 more places in my little black Barcelona book ;)

La Cuina d'en Garriga

Carrer Consell de Cent 308, 08007 Barcelona

After a heady day of seeing Gaudi's architecture (I've dubbed Barcelona "Gaudi's City") and starved for some tucker, we dropped into La Cuina d'en Garriga. This dinky place is situated very close to Casa Batlló on the gigantic avenue Passeig de Gràcia. Top tip: one of my favourite shops is also on Gràcia, Vinçon - perfect if you're looking for some quirky designer homewares/pressies (beware of an Ikea-like effect, you won't walk out empty handed!).

Mirror mirror on the wall: I like the effect of the white marker for the menu. If I could read Catalan that would be even better!!

Garriga is a Catalan municipality in Barcelona, so we would be eating local cuisine today. Inside, you are met with a wall to wall of gourmet foods, and of course the requisite leg of jamon displayed proudly on its stand. There's a nice selection for the epicurious (olive oils and the like) which would make perfect foodie souvenirs. The homewares displayed in the back are all for sale too! 

The back half of the space has been fitted out like a French styled bistro with an extra homely feel. With it's red chequered napkin squares and spacious wooden tables, you feel like you've been momentarily transported into an old fashioned country house 

Being accustomed to the international hoards (i.e. us) we were offered menus in English on little clipboards. This is just a sampler of what we ordered:

Selection of 3 tapas: sobrassada with honey, potato with black sausage and foie gras mi-cuit on toast. The tapas were decidedly meaty but super tasty. The foie gras was sooo rich (i.e. fatty), as you'd expect! The sobrassada (some sort of sausage I presume) had a great flavour in the marinade/sauce. A great way to get you started

La Hamburguesa Ibérica: with a blended patty of sirloin beef and Iberian pork. Looks can be deceiving actually. Under all those layers of fat (from the extra ham) and cheese the patty was undercooked, rare. Not a good look!

Catch of the Day: oven roasted fish with ribbons of vegetables, pesto and egg plant purée. This dish was certainly tasty although having the whopping big backbone left in the fish detracted a little from it. Read on for a much better version!

My requisite interiors shot: I love the atmosphere in this place, perfectly cosy. You can see the attention for detail, even in the Xmas decos!

Resturante DHUB

Carrer de Montcada 12, 08003 Barcelona

I don't know about you but I'm a big fan of museum/gallery cafés. The MCA in Sydney has just opened a rooftop café which has a lovely terrace lending views of Sydney Harbour in all its splendour. If you want cheap and cheerful, this is a great place to start ;) This one in Barça is part of Disseny Hub Barcelona, something of a cultural museum like the V&A in ye olde London. The restaurant/café was kind of eerily deserted when we arrived, granted it was very late in the afternoon (even by Spanish standards) and we had to wait a while before one of the 2 staff noticed us. Of course our lack of Catalan was a kicker here. Totally lost in translation but we bluffed our way through and I ended up with a delicious hot meal :D 

The plain minimalist interior is completely overshadowed by the stone walled courtyard, on which it opens out to. I can imagine enjoying a few cold ones here in the summer haha Photo: Restaurantes.com

My fabuloso grilled fish with aioli, grilled veggies (zucchini and capsicum) with a balsamic reduction. This dish was definitely a pleasant surprise. I was a bit apprehensive after ordering 'fish' I had no idea what the dish actually was. But hey we got through! The fish was delicious and succulent and the balsamic + aioli struck a perfect balance in the dish. What a win!

And there we are, one city in Spain down, many more to go! Hope you'll stay tuned :) Thanks for reading! xGourmand

Barcelona: the Round-Up I

Welcome to the City Gourmand v2! It was probably about time (it's only been a year and a half haha). With a little help I have rejigged the design of my little blog. Hope you like it! Today I thought I'd share with you just a few of the eateries I managed to try out during my fleeting time in Barcelona. I already miss it so! I have well and truly been bitten by the travel/foodie bug and there is only one cure...

As we progressed through the trip, I came to the (rather awful) realisation that I could only manage 2 'largish' meals a day instead of my usual 3 (or 5 if you count grazing). Even with all the walking we were doing I could only do 2 servings of shaved Iberíco ham per day. Shock horror (but still so good)! Ready? Here goes...

Cuines Santa Caterina

Mercado Santa Caterina, Avda. Francesc Cambó 16 08003 Barcelona

If you ask me, this is a most ingenious idea. The premise (during day trade) is that you buy whatever fresh produce you like from the market; meats, seafood, veg (whatever floats your boat really), bring it over to the Cuines and they will cook it for you right there and then! It's just like having a personal chef except you have the pleasure of doing your own food shop ;) I have no idea why more places don't do this! At night, the Cuines turns into a more civilized à la carte affair (with an expansive menu) with attached bar displaying the most fabulous looking tapas to drool over whilst you sip your cava. Tough life!

Cuines Santa Caterina has a somewhat 'designer mess hall' feel to it. Large communal tables dot the large space. The Christmas decorations lent it a special vibe, including a model train that does laps of the restaurant.

Taking refuge from the chill after visiting Fira de Santa Llúcia (Christmas markets), Cuines Santa Caterina is a hop, skip and a jump away. The menu placemat has a huge array of dishes, laid out in tabular form. Feel like a dish from the charcoal oven? Check. Or maybe 'Mediterranean' is more to your taste? The health freak in me was thrilled to see that they offer freshly squeezed juices. I chose a papaya, grapefruit, raspberries and lime juice for myself, though they were a bit on the pricey side (6,30). Eep! 

Assorted seasonal tomatoes and loin of tuna (left) and Artichokes with ham and clams (right). The ingredients were treated very simply as to massive their flavour. I can't fault them for that. The heirloom tomatoes were beautiful and fresh, smeared with some black olive tapenade. The clam and artichoke hot pot was nicely flavoured. A very generous helping to share with your fellow diners (or not)!

The KISS principle: Catalan sausage with baby beans and foie. You really don't have to mess about, it speaks for itself.

Golden oldies: tira misù and tarte tatin. The tira misu looks beautiful and pretty much hit the (sweet) spot. Though I could always do with a more intense coffee hit in there. The apples on the tarte tatin had great caramelization but I found the pastry a bit dense (by this point I was also bursting).

The Cuines is a great little spot, especially with such a big menu and friendly staff. I felt very welcome here, I think Christmas was in the air! The food here was simple, tasty and no-nonsense. You might even have time to pay more than one visit!

Matamala

Rambla Catalunya 13, 08007 Barcelona

The problem with eating out on Xmas eve is that you're hard pressed to find anywhere that's open! I have bad memories wandering the streets of Roma trying to find a place to eat (tourist trap central)! Luckily, our helpful concierge at Hotal Praktik Rambla (a great hotel btw) recommended Matamala to us, to sample 'cuina catalana'. So, onward! ;)

How con-weenient: the restaurant happened to be on the same street our hotel was. Perfect! The super high wattage of the light display was very pretty but probably unnecessary!

Surprisingly, the restaurant was rather busy! We were lucky to get a table as walk-ins. Local Barcelonians sat with several generations of family to share a meal together. In Spanish custom, Christmas Eve is when families gather to exchange presents, decorate the tree and eat (read: feast) together. My ears pricked to other twangs of English (American, maybe?) emanating from nearby tables  which made me smile. The restaurant has a modern bistro design with lots of white leather booths and bar seating. It may not look it, but the Matamala family has been proudly promoting Catalan cuisine for 3 generations. They have a commitment to serve seasonal produce, sourced locally whenever possible. Their philosophy also translates to the foodstuffs they have available for sale on their walls.

Rabbit from Baldomar, vermouth, olives from Aragón. Am I massive nerd to be reminded of the LOTR character? Anyway! Rabbit legs nestled on a bed of boiled potatoes and the biggest olives I've ever seen. The dish was very tasty, the rabbit nice and tender without a hint of gameyness. Rabbit done right. It's all I ask for ;)

Continuing on the 'unusual' we have the boneless pig's trotters with dried fruit and apple from Girona. The trotters, cooked for hours were gelatinous and delicious. The apple and pork like ying and yang. On the side (right) we had the  spinach salad, crunchy bacon, toasted almonds and mustard vinaigrette. The perfect accompaniment to out meaty mains and dressed well

Dolce (but of course)!

Catalan custard 'traditional and renewed'. Two little rammekins with a twist on the traditional crème Catalan. The custard (left) was quite tart, I'm actually not sure if it was supposed to be like that and a bit too thick. The new styley (right) was a foam, I preferred this version much more. The biscotti were a nice dipping implement but slightly superfluous

Matamala has expanded my 'Catalan' food vocabulary no end (from non-existent anyway). Here in Barcelona, amongst hundreds of really top notch tapas bars, they've figured out a winning formula. Good food served in casual modern surrounds = full house! 

Thanks for reading! xGourmand

B'FST, Barcelona styley

Right, so it's fairly obvious that 3 days in Barcelona was never going to be enough. It was our first destination in Spain and already a favourite. So, harking back to one of my first entries on Melbourne back in 2011 (I'm getting on!) I've decided to continue the "B'FST styley" tradition. Here I'm sharing with you some of the cafés in fair Barça that I've pencilled into my address book (& you should too):

Cornelia and Co.

Calle Valencia 225, 08007 Barcelona

Okay, so I got a little help (from my friends), with a stellar recommendation from the Wallpaper* City Guide Barcelona (highly recommended). This café-food store is very reminiscent of Jones the Grocer in Sydney and Dean & DeLuca in the States (on which Cornelia and Co. is apparently modelled on). Inside the double shop front is a bona fide foodie heaven: spacious shared tables, a deli, cake cabinet and fromagerie - all to ogle whilst you sip your coffee, waiting for your pastry.

Show and tell: one of the window displays, they call themselves the "Daily Picnic Store" with good reason.

You only need step through the doors to feel an instant 'calm' settle over you. Barcelona has nothing on the bustle of New York and London but I'm always looking for a place that suits my 'lady of leisure' sensibilities. Cornelia gets a big tick!

The ham display. Basically a pre-requisite if you want any cred at all around here. Even better if you have an employee stationed here, carving it all day. There are plenty of nibblies you can pick up before heading off on a day trip (but why would you want to leave?!) or picnic lunch at Parc Güell. Right next to  this display is a unit full of homewares including some copper pots...*drool*

Looks can be deceiving. As you probably know, I am notorious for my high standards in coffee and I have to be honest, this coffee fell way short. I think the concept of coffee in Spain is entirely different to their Italian neighbours. Mostly hot water, the milk ratio was all wrong. The coffee had an unpleasant bitterness and there was too much foam. Oh you fusspot. 

Again we met some linguistic obstacles - however we managed to get our hands on english menus. I ordered a 'set menu' for breakfast consisting of a coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and a lovely sandwich. Check this out:

Definitely a picnic lunch sort of an affair, but it would be rude not to give it a go. Here was my sandwich with Iberian ham, tomato & brie (surprising they took a French cheese here!). It was a bit of a shock to the system, but this kind of calorie munching puts you in good stead for a full day of sight-seeing/taste-testing your way around Barcelona. Totally.

In search of some kind of dietary balance, we added a plate of fruit to the order which was delicious and fresh. I can't imagine where they'd be sourcing papaya and pineapple from (I was thinking S. America?) but it was yum nonetheless.

Cacao Sampaka

Carrer del Consell de Cent 292, 08007 Barcelona

This is a little kept secret, across the world in fact with Cacao Sampaka's sprouting clones in Saudi Arabia, Lisbon and Tokyo. Founded and co-owned by Albert Adría, Ferran's younger brother (boy are these guys running amuck!) this is a Temple for Chocolate; to which I have come to worship. Damn.

Just for kicks, he wanted a cacao tree in the café - and so there was. The interior feels lovely and modern and the cafe is tucked in the back, nice & cosy.

The smell of chocolate wafting through the shop as you walk through is simple divine, even at 9:30 in the morning (mind you, the rest of the country is fast asleep). In the shop you'll find every possible variety/flavoured chocolate you could think of. It is Mecca (I am possibly the least religious person I know, and yet I call on it when I think of this place!).

This ain't no joke, this hot chocolate or 'Chocolate' as they simply call it is flippin' amazing. I'm excited just writing about it, I mean seriously. This is the Azteca chocolate, about 80% cacao & delicately spiced.

The hot chocolate was such a win, it was essentially 'just' melted chocolate (who needs milk when it's this good?) and super high quality. My crispy croissant was made for dippin'. Here was one happy camper!

Dulcinea

Carrer Petritxol 2, 08002 Barcelona

One thing that you come to understand in Spain is the heritage of some their eating/drinking establishments. It is quite common for the year that they opened to be proudly shown right under the restaurant's name. I think that makes it even more special, often they have been passed down from generation to generation, sharing precious recipes to be shared with their loyal customers. I came from halfway across the globe to sample ;)

Okay their website might be a bit old school, but hey they are over 80 years old!! Since 1930, the Mach family have been serving chocolate y churros here. They certainly deserve praise for that achievement alone, in an age of constant openings/closures at a pace that I even struggle with. Taking their name from a female character from Don Quixote and meaning 'sweet' the house specialty is...well, you know.

The chocolate was hyped and though it looks the part, it wasn't exactly what I'd expected. It was rather thick, almost gloomy and not as chocolatey as I would have liked. I'm not painting a pretty picture here am I but that's what I reckon. I find the Sampaka version much more to my taste.

Inside, you can feel the history emanating from the walls. We were whisked up the creaking stairs to our table overlooking the ground floor. It is actually quite spacious, allowing for the organized chaos to take place. Waiters bustle with trays full of orders and there was a lot of chatter from the full house (I can only imagine this is normal, perhaps even quiet for them). Then churros and chocolate hit the table like rapid fire!

The churros on the other hand were quite nice, I say this - not being a 'churros expert' or anything. They were crispy as a.k.a. FRIED, but not oily. The light dusting of sugar was perfect and the dipping factor a bonus! Chocolate y churros was like is a national past time. Whenever, wherever chocolate & churros is always on the cards. Amongst us were families of 6 or 7, couples looking for a sugar hit and us - the (token) tourists!

There is one other place that has been recommended by the Barcelona guide by the Tourism Bureau called La Pallaresa. Conveniently, it is located on the same street as Dulcinea (C/ Petritxol 11). Be warned, there were queues down the street for this one (all Spaniards too which is a good sign). So if you are so inclined you can do a 'Chocolate y Churros' crawl all the way into a food coma. Hello diabetes!

Thanks for reading gang!
x Gourmand

TICKETS: La Vida Tapa

When Ferran Adrià announced the closure of El Bulli two years ago, I don't think I was alone in feeling I was missing out. No doubt I was! Tickets, his venture in Barcelona along with brother Albert would go some way to fill the culinary void. Yes, it is totally geared for tourists, especially dining so early in the evening (amateurs) but I just couldn't refuse.

Dining at such an early hour (7:30) by Spanish standards, was perfect for me to sneak a pic in. I thought the bright orbs hanging around the place were rather neat

Tickets is the tapas bar and adjoins bar 41° where you can have a pre-dinner tipple. The first things that you'll notice about the place are the vibrant interiors. Everything about it lends itself to a festive, circus-going atmosphere which you have been invited to attend (by booking online precisely 2 months prior!). You are even welcomed by the 'Ringmaster' (read: maître d') wearing a gold embroidered, red coat. The heavy presence of coloured tiles, a tribute to more traditional Spanish stylings (they really do love a good tile here). 

Excuse the blur, but I couldn't leave this one out - dodgy as it may be! The Iberico ham, displayed on its stand right next to our table. I LOVED when the chefs would come out and carve it right in front of us. The ham is left there all the time, uncovered. Imagine the fat content! WaH!

Sat at a banquet table by the window, we were able to admire the place and of course had a view of the kitchen (so me). At each place setting was a share plate, but also a set of tweezers which I thought was quirky. Not knowing when or how to use them when feeding oneself I often resorted to using my fingers, but I'm okay with that. Faced with the lengthiest tapas menu I had ever seen, in Catalan we were somewhat at a loss. And surrendered ourselves to the whim of our waiter, the affectionately known "Special suggestion". In doing so we traversed the menu several times over and before we knew had chowed down on 19 (!) different tapas, in the quickest succession. We were trying our darndest to keep up in order to comprehend the next dish (spoken in lispy Catalan). It was like a tornado. What just happened?! 

Here's the pictorial checklist of some of the highlights:

The charity Tickets' olives. An Adrià classic appropriated from the kitchens of El Bulli. Only seven (!) Andalucían olives are used to make each sphere. You can't even imagine how intense that olive flavour was, incredible. A must to start. For each jar of olives sold, a donation is made to El Casal dels Infants, an initiative helping young people in need.

Seasonal seaweed tempura with its vinaigrette jus. With local produce they have made a Japanese inspired snack that is utterly addictive. The tempura batter is so light.

Mini airbags stuffed with manchego cheese. Warning: if you are lactose intolerant, you better say so! These unassuming fried parcels were filled with molten manchego cheese. Pungent but delicious in that serving size.

Slightly spicy tuna belly cone with lime zest. This one was unbelievably pretty, delicious, everything. The freshness of the tuna here was paramount and the flying fish roe tops it all off. Massive tick.

Being such a fan-girl of artichokes (crazy person), I knew they couldn't go wrong with this dish. Slightly heavy on the cheese, giving it an extra richness the artichoke hearts were cooked so well. I probably ate most of this one. Teehee!

Avocado cannelloni with crab and cream sauce. Ah! This was so divine, we had to divide it to the millimetre when the waiter told us there was crab involved. Perfectly rolled, the avocado was the perfect accompaniment to the creaminess of the crab. Sesame seeds in the mix are a perfectly suited aromat.

So good they should be illegal, oysters with sherry vinegar, tarragon and olive oil caviar (nice molecular touch). Props to the chef these were the best oysters ever. So fresh they really need nothing done to them except to be shucked. That vinegar gives you a little kick and left us smiling even wider.

On a custom designed plate sit the gorgeous razor clams in escabeche, saffron pearls and soy sauce shards. Scarcely seen in Australia, they are adorable to see sold in the markets, in cute little netted baggies. These were really yummy with the saltiness from the soy. The texture is much firmer than most other shellfish but still tender. 

It was a big ask but we couldn't help compare this to the oysters we had just eaten. Oysters with its pearl and sea lettuce water. Up to his usual tricks, the pearl was edible and bursts in the mouth with sea-saltiness. Though it looks a treat, I found this one rather salty. It needed lemon or some other tang, but I'll just shut up now.

Staring at that bloody Iberico ham all night, I was busting to try some of it! We finally had our chance: confit potatoes with pork rib jus and boiled iberian ham. Delicately shaved slices of ham on a bed of soft potato, topped with pimentón. This ham was exquisite - literally melt in the mouth. A ham to remember, let me tell you (can't believe I just wrote that).

Pretty much the greatest taco ever, the new stylings of the 'mollette with double chin'. The suckling pig filling was so lush.  You know what I mean.
In case you hadn't already, you should probably be renouncing vegetarianism about now. 

Cheesecake with lemongrass sorbet. It took us the longest time to figure out what the sorbet flavour was, but it was so good! The cheesecake, disguised as a fruit had a lovely delicate cheese flavour. It's all about the cake's density or lack thereof. The amount of crumb was just enough.

Et finalement chocolate cake (tribute to Antoni Escribà). A nod to schmancy Michelin starred plating, the chocolate twigs are a familiar and welcome sight. The cake was more a light mousse disguised in cake form. Light in texture and of   DARK chocolate it was an obvious winner. The young strawberries provided a nice contrast. On the table next to us, a couple had ordered the cotton candy tree, literally fairy floss adorning a branch (let's hope it's a clean one). So adorable, like something from Alice in Wonderland.

By the end of the evening we were royally stuffed. We eventually had to pull the plug as we were eating our fill. No, OUR FILL. After demolishing 19 tapas plates we needed a good hour of rest and to process the delicacies we had just eaten. Though on the pricier side, Tickets is definitely an experience that I will treasure for the rest of my days. The seafood tapas here are a triumph and is a testament to Adrià and his team. I wouldn't expect any less from such a world class chef and master of Catalan cuisine. The execution of each dish, 'tiny' as they may be is so perfect it leaves you wanting more. And boy did we indulge! Roll up!

Signed, sealed, delivered! I so wanted to take a pair home with me!

Thanks for reading!

Love, Gourmand.