At the time of the manduca... customs!
SEA AND MOUNTAIN
Prawns with chicken. Meatloaf with cuttlefish . Everything on the same plate to the surprise of unaccustomed palates and with a harmonic and exquisite result that shows us that the rules of taste vary radically from one place to another. The “sea and mountain” preparation (in paella, for example) is the representation of Barcelona turned into a recipe , because that is what the city contains and encourages: the Mediterranean and the Collserola together with hardly any break in continuity.
THE TAPA
Tapas are a constant in a city that receives such a barrage of tourists eager to try the more variety of things the better. In addition to new additions of superior quality such as the ** Tapas 24 ** by Carles Abellán or the stupendous ** Cañota ** by the Iglesias brothers, it is a must for tapas old and populous bar pull : ** Quimet & Quimet ** in Poble Sec is already on the route of all those who visit the city; the Corner in Nou Barris it is a bit off the beaten track but is equally popular (with long queues to get to the bar); the Clinic Tavern they prepare excellent and very elaborate tapas, and for a proper tapas route we turn to the neighborhood that never fails us, Barceloneta.
The bars of always and the new ones do not forget the cover
In the ** Golden Glass ** they shoot (some of) the best cane in the city and they have a sirloin with foie that you die of taste ; on the Smoked Cove they are supposed to have been invented the bombs (stuffed and battered potatoes) ; the Electricity and the Bomb they are unappealable classics; in the Jai-ca serving some tiger mussels that create addiction and in the Binnacle, in front of the Golden Glass, they meet some bravas potatoes with a delicious sauce.
Attached to the neighborhood, in the mythical ** Can Paixano ** only cava and sandwiches are served by the piece, and curiously it is one of the favorites of the Italians of the city. Although it does not stand out for its food, if we talk about Barceloneta we cannot fail to name the mitiquérrimo Santa Marta , with cocktails and a terrace for all audiences that have a million followers .
The bravas of Bitácora
THE EXOTIC:
Jaime Rubio already said it here, “You love Barcelona cuisine. We're talking about sushi, right? . Sushi is already something so accepted and imbricated in the culinary DNA of Barcelonans that many eat it more often than spinach Catalan style or a cod with samfaina . The Ceviche It's long since ceased to be a novelty (Tanta, Ceviche 103 or The Market); the chinese of ali bei would be the answer to the famous Chinese of Plaza de España in Madrid Although we still prefer Sichuan pot ; Asian fusion is represented in classics such as Mosquito, Dos Palillos or the recent Casa Xica; Mexico has level emissaries such as Tlaxcal, Cantina Machito, Bésame mucho, Oaxaca or Hoja Santa and Niño Viejo. As for Italian, has it ever been considered exotic? With proposals as different as Le cucine Mandarosso, Xemei, Da Greco or La Bella Napoli, all Italian needs are covered.
Barcelona gastronomy... that is to say: sushi
MONTALBAN:
Talking about gastronomy in Barcelona necessarily goes through the writer who knew how to see that the black novel could be the best portrait of his time . detective's route Pepe Carvalho tour some establishments in the Raval that miraculously remain open and full of health. Of everything else, what appeared in his novels of the 70s and 80s, little remains. Or maybe it's still essentially the same, but has changed its face. Can Lluís, Casa Leopoldo or the Boadas cocktail bar are obligatory gastronomic and literary stops.
THE BREAD WITH TOMATOES:
Disquisitions apart on the denomination origin of bread with tomato (Seriously, who cares?) This entree and base of the Barcelona food pyramid is ubiquitous. The normal thing is that the sandwiches have rubbed tomato (you have to ask for it without it if you don't want it), it works as a waiting dish in tablecloth restaurants and it is a wild card that you always have to ask for when you go for tapas. It even has an establishment that pays homage to it, the Nou bar, a newcomer already fully consolidated.
Mmm... Pa amb tomàquet
THE 'LUNCH' :
Although the word indicates also breakfast first thing in the morning, its most curious meaning for outsiders is that of mid-morning lunch that Catalan workers religiously comply with when they temporarily leave their jobs to have a coffee, a sandwich, a bikini or something sweet.
THE CENTENARIES:
The concept of an emblematic restaurant steeped in history has some more than worthy representatives in Barcelona. ** Can Culleretes ** happens to be the oldest active restaurant in Spain, and continues to serve traditional dishes and menus at a good price from its Gothic alley. ** Los Caracoles on Carrer Escudellers** is unmistakable for its showcase with revolving roasted chickens (once a novelty) which, as Xavier Therós says in his book Barcelona to cau d'orella , "congregated all the Carpantas of the city" who drooled at the obscene spectacle in times of famine. Naturally, they also serve the snails that gave them their name. The 7 ports is a paragon of anecdotes and characters celebrities from history who have been parading through its beautiful rooms to taste its famous rice dishes.
THE TRADITIONAL DISHES:
The esqueixada, the escalivada, the Catalan-style faves, the cannelloni, the escudella, the fricandó, mel i Mató, the musician's dessert with the glass of muscatel … All these things that have become traditional almost in an exotic they can be enjoyed in some of the most emblematic traditional restaurants in the city, such as those three centenarians that we have just mentioned or in other good and beautiful classics such as Casa Agustí , Ca L'Isidre , Chicoa , Taverna El Glop or Pa i Trago .
Escalivada or the art of grilling
THE CHOCOLATES:
Barcelona is sweetness in its purest form and love for those recipes (coca de Sant Joan, panellets) like from a grandmother's house that triggered glucose. One of the most widely accepted is the taste for chocolate and its urban epicenter: Petritxol street . The farm (the word "granxa" is another defining element of the culinary part of the city) The pallaresa, the Dulcinea and the Xocoa they keep their chocolate tradition alive. Another favorite of ours is Granja Viader (we repeat, heirs to those who invented cacaolat, that already places them in a privileged place on any gastronomic map).
Dipping the churro in Dulcinea
THE TENDENCY:
The brunch? The hamburger? The craft beer? Although they enjoy excellent health, they are a thing of the past. What is worn now (recited to the tune of “I have a yellow tractor”) is to break the border between domesticity and business and between the public and the private . I mean: eat at people's house which you do not have to meet instead of in a restaurant and eat in the street in an ephemeral stall . Eat Street , Van Van market and the food trucks In general, they are the clues that must be followed. Warning: it may be that they have turned the tables and this is already demodé, as much as the word demodé itself.
THE BUTIFARRA:
One of the most popular and recurring Catalan sausages is experiencing golden moments (although in reality they have never disappeared from the tables) with establishments such as Butifarring or Butipà, a trend that we have already given a good account of here and here.
Skye coffee and co.: look for it at Espai 88 (carrer Pamplona 88)
THE NEW VERMOUTH AND THE OLD VERMOUTH
Though the vermouth fashion is just beginning to land in other cities , in Barcelona –of course- has already been established for some time. You can choose to drink the vermouth in one of those old cellars that remain unscathed over time, such as The Quimet i Quimet or the ** Quimet de Gràcia** (which, together with the ** Quimet de Horta ,** specializing in sandwiches, make up the magic triangle of Quimets of the city of Barcelona), the Saltó winery, Lo Pinyol or discover the favorite for oneself wandering around. The other option is to go for the new ones who claimed vermouth when the trend was starting to run run, like the fantastic ** Morro Fi ** with its already four locations or mario house he.
Barcelona: one of vermouths and tapas
THE WINE:
Essential wine shops and bars to try, learn and enjoy: ** Vila Vinateca , the temple that is the Monvínic ** (with the Fastvinic and its incredible sandwiches next to it), ** Cata 1.81 ** or Disset graus .
THE BRAVE POTATOES
And what are we talking about when we talk about bravas? from the bar Thomas of Sarria , Sure. There are countless bravas to try in Barcelona of the most unequal qualities and in various states of freezing; so many that sometimes you find one that is really good It costs its own, but this bar has not earned its legend in vain. Irregularly cut potatoes and a sauce made up of an alioli that is mixed with that spicy red olive oil that makes them addictive. One of those places that are, more than bars, cultural institutions.
passion for broth
THE SCENE:
Sometimes it is a mystery to know why the stars combine so that a specific area of Barcelona becomes the place to be. If the Flash Flash increases its history as the scene of the Gauche Divine uptown (although Ca l’Estevet in the Raval would be as emblematic as that one), one day we will remember these years as those in which we did not leave Sant Antoni in general and Parlamet street in particular (extending towards Poble Sec).
They will also be the years in which, under the auspices of Tickets, Albert Adrià and the Iglesias brothers (together or separately) they kept shaking up the city's food scene , in which, at the same time as grand openings, small premises that did not even have a door (like the first Morro Fi) became successes and in which reconversion and reinvention were the order of the day.
Years of make yourself your craft beer, your sourdough bread, smoke your fish in a barrel on your roof, quit your job in advertising and buy a caravan. A few years in which we paid more attention than ever to what we ate and how we ate it, and there was room for wacky proposals alongside large business projects. The map is extended. You are marking the points.
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*** You may also be interested in...**
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- Is the food truck trend starting in Spain?
Do it yourself!