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Dining Out and About (Barcelona): Tapas! Tapas! Tapas!
By Ann | February 12, 2009
Hola, amigos! Sorry for brief pause — I was on deadline for a story — but am back now to follow up with my eating adventures in Barcelona. Which can be summed up in three words: Many. Delicious. Tapas.
Let’s see… when we left off, it was snowing in Madrid and we were trying to keep warm by drinking thick hot chocolate. We hopped an AVE train to Barcelona hoping for some of that famous Mediterranean sunshine, but alas gray skies greeted us upon our arrival.
After a bone-chilling visit to Gaudi’s still-unfinished Sagrada Familia — it was as cold as it looks in the photo above (and even colder inside!), spirits were admittedly low. But nothing can cheer a girl up more than the prospect of a good, hot lunch. So we marched briskly over to Restaurant Sant Joan, a simple, Catalanian establishment recommended by uber-helpful poster Barcelonian, from Chowhound. This is a barebones joint, lunch only, cheap, family-owned, lots of locals — in other words, right up my alley. The menu was on a chalkboard in both Catalan and Spanish. Of course, we here at Cooking the Books are somewhat linguistically limited to English, French, Chinese (spoken only), and sometimes Russian (when CK is around). Luckily, the waiter (owner? Joan?) spoke some English. Also years in China have made us skilled in the technique of point-and-order, aka I’ll-have-what-he’s-having.
That’s how we found out about the lentil soup or lentejas (photo above), laced with slices of chorizo sausage, which gave the potage a smoky perfume. The other sopa de caldo, described as “chicken,” was pleasant but not outstanding — the noodles were too soggy and that slice of meat, which was kind of like pâté de campagne, was frankly a little bit gristly-scary.
CK tucked into escalopa solomillo de cerdo, essentially chicken-fried pork, with a side of fries. The pork was lean, tender and juicy within, the crust crisp, the fries cut from fresh potatoes, everything piping hot. It was good — not the most adventurous choice — but, hampered by language, we didn’t know what it was when we ordered it.
I also ended up with pork — loin of, that is — very simply browned, but expertly done, the meat still tender and juicy. I enjoyed the accompanying roasted red peppers with a drizzle of excellent olive oil.
For dessert, we shared a flan. It was pleasantly creamy, but flan is pretty much flan, n’est-ce pas? I really enjoyed this restaurant because it felt simple, genuine, authentic. But we were seriously hampered by language barriers here. The food was good, but nothing out of the ordinary — and that’s totally my fault — I had no idea what to order. Other tables were eating bits of fried fish, or piles of cauliflower and potatoes doused with olive oil. Looked delicious, but what are they called? Next time I’m going with a dictionary.
By the way, Saint Joan is a genuine cheap eat. Care to guess the price of all the food above, plus a half bottle wine? 20.80€, mes amis.
Okay, on to tapas. When we were in Madrid, a friend asked me, in his enchanting Spanish-accented English: Do you like fish in little boxes?Fish in little boxes? I racked my brains until I realized he meant canned fish, or anchovies. Now, actually I don’t really like anchovies, but I was so absolutely charmed by this idea of “fish in little boxes,” that I knew I had to go to the place he recommended, El Xampanyet (photo above), which is famous for their canned fish products.
This is a stand-up tapas joint — meaning, no real tables, though there are a few — and while it’s pretty touristy (it’s on the same street as the Picasso Museum), it is very charming. Though I didn’t sample the xampanyet (a type of sparkling wine — it looked sweet), I can report that the beer was nicely chilled. As for the tapas… well, as the saying goes — when at El Xampanyet, eat little fish! We ordered up some anchovies (photo above), which our waitress plucked from a giant pile, rinsed under cold tap water, and arranged on a plate, with a light drizzle of vinegar. We enjoyed them on some tomato bread, or pa amb tomaquet, which is toasted bread rubbed with tomatoes and drizzled with olive oil. Eaten straight the anchovies were strong, too salty and fishy. Combining them with the tomato bread softened the flavors. The vinegar added a nice tang.
Speaking of tomato bread, my favorite was at Paco Meralgo, an elegant sit-down (there are counters and stools) tapas restaurant in Eixample (photo above). The tomato bread here had a thick, crunchy crust and chewy crumb and was drizzled with a buttery olive oil.
At Paco Meralgo, we also ate clams, briefly cooked, small and sweet, tasting just like the sea air, prepared very plainly with only a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon. Heavenly!
Also, chicken croquettes, or croquetes de pollo – crunchy, yet slightly creamy, salty, savory — are croquettes not the perfect food?
Grilled vegetables, or variat de verdures, had a haunting, charred flavor and were drizzled with lashes of that delicious Spanish olive oil.
These breaded baby lamb chops, or costelletes cabrit, were by far the weakest link. The breading was too thick, heavy and overwhelming, while the meat was tender, yes, but also too gristly. Also, the waiter upsold us on the lamb, suggesting we order two plates, when one would have sufficed. Perhaps we seemed extra hungry? Anyway, the lamb was a blip on an otherwise lovely meal.
Pictured above is the famed Cal Pep, another sit-down (stools/counters) tapas restaurant, beloved by foodies. Alas, I didn’t take any pictures of the food mainly because the hawk-eyed waiters seemed overly interested in my every single move and I didn’t feel like getting into a discussion about the reasons behind my food photography.
Cal Pep doesn’t have a menu, which I found intensely aggravating, particularly as a non-Hispanophone. Instead, they want you to do a “chef’s tasting,” where they bring you food until you say stop — a one-way ticket to A) overeating, and B) over-charging, in my opinion. (Also, how come none of the locals do this “chef’s tasting”? It’s all very fishy.) Thank goodness for Chowhound, which tipped me off to this scheme, and then helpfully suggested specific dishes to order. (Is it too ridiculous to say that I owe my entire culinary happiness to Chowhound?)
Anyway, quicker than you can say don’t-even-think-about-ripping-me-off, I had rattled off a few dishes: tallarines, or teeny-tiny baby clams, sauteed quickly in butter and a salt-pepper-sugar mixture (I think) that my dad also uses on shrimp. The tortilla, cooked to order, almost rivaled Susana’s mother’s — it was soft and slightly runny, “like a pudding,” said the waiter, studded with potato, perfumed with bits of chorizo, and quite simply decadent. And ternera, or steak, lightly grilled until rare, was tender, juicy with an intense beefiness. The steak was also 19.85€, and if I had known the price I probably wouldn’t have ordered it (especially since it was lunchtime), but since there are no menus at Cal Pep, I had nary a clue.
My final verdict on Cal Pep? Very good, worth a visit. The tasting menu would even be fun if you’re very, very hungry. Though I did see several tourists looking quite simply overwhelmed by the parade of dishes that kept landing in front of them…
Before I end this interminable post, I wanted to mention our marvelous hotel (photo above), the AC Diplomatic, with its ideal location, in Eixample but at the top of Las Ramblas, within walking distance of nearly everything. Rooms were small, but quiet, modern and well-designed, and, like all AC hotels, they feature a free mini bar. What an amazingly, genius idea — we enjoyed Diet Coke, juice, bubbly water, there’s even beer tucked in there!
And, oh, one last restaurant tip — Restaurante Cherif, a seafood eatery in Barceloneta, near the port. Here we tucked into paella, or rather soupy paella, arroz caldoso: rice and unshelled lobster swimming in a rich, seafoody, saffron-y, stock. The broth had a deep, warm flavor, the rice was tender, the lobster sweet, the soupiness soothing — another unexpected yet delightful taste of Spain.
Sant Joan Restaurant
Passeig Sant Joan, 65
Tel: 93 265 7189
Lunch for two, including 1/2 bottle of house wine (which itself was only 1.85€): 20.80€
El Xampanyet
Carrer Montcada, 22
Tel: 93 319 7003
Drinks and tapas for two: ca 15€ (no receipt)
Paco Meralgo
Carrer Mutaner, 171 (xamfra Corsega)
Tel: 93 430 90 27
Dinner for two, including three glasses of wine: 57.80€
Cal Pep
Placa de les Olles, 88
Tel: 93 310 7961
Lunch for two, including 2 glasses of wine and 1 small bottle of water: 53.87€
Restaurante Cherif
Carrer Ginebra, 15
Tel: 93 319 6984
Soupy lobster paella for two: 40€
Topics: Dining Out and About | 6 Comments »
6 Responses to “Dining Out and About (Barcelona): Tapas! Tapas! Tapas!”
Comments
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February 12th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Ann,
Oh, if only I were small enough to fit into your suitcase! Looks like a fabulous trip…Someday soon, I hope to make it across the pond again to eat, eat, eat my way around Europe!
Alison
February 13th, 2009 at 12:17 am
What luscious photos! Makes me want to go directly to Barcelona and sink my teeth into some tapas. The grilled veggies looked gorgeous. Did you have any of the famous Spanish ham from black-footed porcines?
February 13th, 2009 at 9:31 am
My mouth is watering! My favorite single tapas was the tiny red peppers stuffed with cream cheese at Xampanyet. The ice cold beer was so refreshing! Also, much as I loved the AC Diplomatic, travelers should be aware that it is a boxy new building, not a belle epoque confection.
February 26th, 2009 at 11:03 am
You took so many of my recommendations from Chowhound and I’m thrilled you enjoyed them. Looking at your pictures is making me incredibly nostalgic. There’s nothing like great Catalan food. I love that city!
February 27th, 2009 at 5:45 am
Barcelonian,
I am so grateful for all your wonderful suggestions — we ate so well thanks to you! Not sure how I ever travelled before Chowhound…
December 21st, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Hi Ann I am also going to Barcelona tomorrow in similar weather ( this is december and snowing in madrid and raining and cold cold in Barcelona)
And with similar objective: good food, mainly Tapas Tapas Tapas
Spent about an hour on chowhound today to figure out the suggestions and your CH posts brought me here. Wonderful blog, will surely check out the rest of it later. Meanwhile I can’t wait to try the suggestions on your blog and on CH. Hola !