Soul Barcelona
The same thing always happens there are two cities . It happens with Madrid, it happens with Valencia and it happens a lot with Seville, Venice, Paris or Bilbao. Two cities, two personalities: one is the one that stretches and decks itself out for the tourist —another the city camouflaged from prying eyes. That other city is the one enjoyed by the neighbors, the "people here" . That is the city we are looking for. That is the city where we will better understand the city, where (perhaps) we will fall in love with its true rhythm, its tempo and its details.
DOLE COFFEE, IN SARRIÀ
Yes, we love Federal. We are also crazy about Tarannà or Granja Petitbo (samples of the most cosmopolitan Barcelona, more attached to trends and design); but if we talk about authenticity and barri, we have to talk about the dole coffee , the mythical cafeteria in Sarrià that has been standing since 1974. More than forty sticks carries the Leandre Mateu serving coffees and "Popeyes" in this cafeteria of the "lifelong". I hope they last forever.
FRACAS
Something has Gresca that does it inaccessible to mediocrity . To the show business See that we have recommended it (I like many other colleagues, they with much more and better criteria than the signer above) for active and passive, in bold and underlined. You have to go. Kitchen is a must Rafael Pena , but nothing, has never crossed the border of popularity this small local of the provenca street . It does not exist for the pilgrim. And you know what? Almost better.
** CALDERS BOOKSHOP **
Sant Antoni It's the trendy neighborhood but that's not why Calders is here. It is not a second-hand bookstore either —it is barely two years old, but it does store all the wickerwork for the “veïnat” bookstore. To begin with, the project Isabel Sucunza and Abel Cutillas couldn't be more honest: “A bookstore specialized in books”, its name refers (in addition to the street) to a neighborhood writer and in addition to shelves full of books, it also gives us workshops, talks and exhibitions.
ALCHEMY OF JORDI VILÀ
The opening of the year in Barcelona could not have been more discreet. Perhaps it is the fault of the "out of the loop" in which it has always moved Jordi Vila : out of the limelight, (well) away from social networks and from the run run of the photo camera and the hashtag. And yet, you see, we are facing one of the most talented chefs on the planet (I don't think I'm exaggerating). This year he has moved his gastronomic restaurant to the Moritz Factory —Where he also advises the brewery, the bar à vins and the Louis 1856 haute brasserie. But this Alkimia is the jewel in the crown. From now on, one of the best tables in Barcelona.
From now on, one of the best tables in Barcelona
ALMA BARCELONA
I am one of those who thinks that —every time, you have to treat yourself to a hotel in your own city. The perspective of the streets you already know (which you think you know) becomes absolutely different; the smells and colors of that first walk in the morning, the shops in a neighborhood that is not yours, the sounds of coffee shops and other people's voices… wasn't that traveling?
That's exactly what it's about AlmaBarcelona (I have no idea what is going on, this is just my reading), an ode to the true meaning of travel. To the peace and mystery of a train station, to the intangible contract —of experiences— that you sign with yourself when you close a suitcase. Alma is full Eixample and yet a different Eixample . Alma (for me) is its beautiful interior garden patio, so alien to that immensity where “no one hears your voice”.
AlmaBarcelona