Barcelona, Spain – Writing With My Mouth Full

Where to eat in Barcelona, Spain: Cal Pep

Our best dining experience in Barcelona? Hands-down, it was at Cal Pep. I read about Chef Pep and how he still cooks at the bar and entertains guests with his cigarette-smoke voice as if he’s known them for years, but no one seemed to know where Plaza de les Olles was until a local overheard us ask a boqueria waiter for directions. The waiter didn’t know either so the local took a napkin and sketched out a street map for us. He was curious as to how we heard about Cal Pep because he told us it’s one of Barcelona’s foodie secrets. (Maybe that’s why no one wanted to tell us where it was!) This got us even more excited and a 40-minute waiting time spent standing behind the bar stools (with champagne, natch) didn’t seem to be an inconvenience.

When we were finally seated, we noticed that the printed placemats matched the art hanging on the walls. They are sketches from different artists and they randomly give a different one to each customer. The more you make a mess, the more you get it replaced. So we sat at the bar elbow-to-elbow with everyone else–there is a dining room in the back but the action happens at the counter–and let one of the bartenders serve whatever he wanted us to eat (omakase, Catalan style!) while we started with the traditional toast rubbed with grilled tomato and garlic. The next three hours were pretty much heavenly. Everything was made with passion and you could watch the chefs toss, sautÃ©, grill and fry different ingredients with gusto.

Almejas, or clams, were quickly fried in olive oil and parsley. They were so fresh, you really didn’t need much with them. The purple taint inside was so nice to look at, too. The chipirones, or baby squid, were the size of my thumb and cooked with garbanzos. This dish changed my distaste for chickpeas. The langoustines came next and we spent so much time peeling, eating the meat and sucking the juice out of their heads. They were a lot of work but every minute was worth it because the Dr. was so pleased. A German father and son next to us saw how well we ate, the father put some of his roasted pimento peppers on our plates to try. We ended up swapping stories throughout our meal.

We could have ended our night there but we really wanted to taste the way Cal Pep cooks fish. It was almost 1am and they’ve ran out of monkfish so they served us seabass instead. The bartender showed us a fresh piece of fish and asked for our approval before cooking it. Before serving it to us, he filleted it for us.

And it was at Cal Pep where we ended our vacation in Barcelona. We were full, drunk and happy as we stumbled back to our room in Hostal Goya room. After seven days of rigorous hiking, Barcelona meant to be our reward. It was just that.

Where to eat in Barcelona, Spain: Tapelia and Xador

During our hike in the Pyrenees, we met a French family who has lived in Barcelona for the last ten years. They recommended Tapelia for their more-adventurous tapas and paellas. We tried the pig’s ears which were crunchy and addictively chewy. We had wine with it but it would have been more perfect with a nice pint of beer. The octopus with mushrooms and potatoes was tender and delicious. The squid was as good, if not better. And I could have eaten the anchovies with aubergines the entire night.

We went on a Saturday night at 10:30pm which is prime dinner time in Barcelona, but Tapelia was still under-staffed. It took a while to get the menu, have our orders taken and get our final check, but it also made for a quiet first night in Barcelona.

We also couldn’t skip the paellas while in Spain. There were several fast-food type of places serving them around the city but we ended up at Xador in the El Born neighborhood. While also hiking the Pyrenees, we met a young German couple we ended up following during one of the routes to avoid getting lost. Funnily enough, we crossed paths again on the bus back to Barcelona so we got together one night to hang out and have dinner. Between the four of us, we ordered the langoustine and the squid-ink paella. They were just okay because to me, paella is like risotto–it’s harder and harder to find people who can make it from scratch without it being soupy and mushy.

Where to eat in Barcelona, Spain: Santa Caterina Market + Costa Gallega

The Santa Caterina Market is the new boqueria. There’s more space in between the stalls. It’s more airy and better lit. The stores take credit cards and can deliver your orders. There’s even wireless Internet connection. Of course, it’s known for its Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue (EMBT)-designed flying carpet roof than anything else, but its location is so central it’s hard not to do your shopping in there, too. One day before we started our walk, we had breakfast at one of the food stalls and ordered the stewed tripe. Someday, I’ll be making tripe like this, too.

We didn’t always go to the boqueria for lunch. After a long day of sight-seeing, we stopped by Costa Gallega on Passeig de GrÃ cia. They have several branches in the city and is definitely a tourist magnet, but we had some nice tapas there which kept us going until dinnertime. Under the hanging hams, we sat at the bar and pointed to several things in front of us: anchovies with peppers and olives, ham-wrapped mozzarella balls and croquettas, a truly European treat.

Where to eat in Barcelona, Spain: Boqueria

More tapas places are opening up in New York City, but Barcelona just has the culture down. Where else but in Spain can you eat a decent bowl of stewed tripe for breakfast? Where else will you be spared a quizzical look when you order razor clams for a snack? And toasted bread rubbed with a grilled tomato and garlic? Thank goodness for those Galicians. Red wine with every meal whether it’s 9am or 4pm? Bless their hearts.

At the buzzing boqueria, or the central market, produce sellers co-exist with hungry shoppers and camera-happy tourists. Walk around and you can buy the freshest fruits and vegetables. Fish, clams and lobsters are around the corner. The store across the way has all kinds of meat and dried sausages. Stand behind those eating to make sure you get the next empty seat because we ate some of our best meals there.

When we first arrived in Barcelona, we had a few hours to kill before we had to catch the 6-hour bus ride to Vielha, the nearest town to where we were supposed to begin our hike up the Pyrenees. Our first meal of the day was at El Quim.

Everything they have to offer was written on the chalkboards. Specials are updated daily and we learned to ask for the price before ordering because a plate of mushrooms drizzled with balsamic vinegar cost us â‚¬16. We later saw the fresh mushrooms being sold in one of the vegetable stalls and they were really going for at least â‚¬8 for half a pound. The sausage was fried and when I took a bite, its crunchy skin snapped and I was rewarded with that kind of heavenly taste only sausages and bacon can give a human being.

We returned to the boqueria two more times. While still in New York City, we ended up talking to a bartender who is also an expat. He recommended Pinotxo, or Pinocchio, so we couldn’t fly back without trying. It’s always packed because it’s the first eatery you will see when you walk in the market and for several other reasons: white anchovies in good olive oil sprinkled with paprika, stewed garbanzos in fatty goodness, beef with white beans and flan for dessert. The service is brisk but they’re so used to tourists that they’re very accommodating towards those who have no qualms about eating whatever they have to offer and to those who make a face when they suggest something.

At Kiosk Universal, we were finally able to get our fill of razor clams. I’ve never been a big fan because no matter how much you clean the diggers, they will always be sandy. They were still good, though, and any excuse to have more good olive oil and bread is acceptable to me.