Entries from The Amateur Gourmet tagged with 'Barcelona'
Barcelona / El Bulli Wrap-Up
This is my last post about Barcelona and El Bulli---thank you all for your patience as I recounted my trip in such great detail. For anyone who wants a quick all-purpose post that covers the bases, here they are: we stayed at (and loved) the Banys Orientals which was recommended by a reader, had the friendliest staff, and lovely music on its website. (They also helped us rent a car for our journey up to El Bulli.) In Roses, we stayed at the Hotel Coral Playa, which was recommended by Louisa Chu, and was a charming (and relatively inexpensive) option for those of you lucky enough to get a reservation at El Bulli. As for our dinner at El Bulli, many of you asked how much it cost. The answer is $1000 (about 700 Euros). That may seem outrageous, but I'd been saving since February so when it came time to order wine, etc, I didn't have to be a cheapskate. (Without the wine, and without a tip--which, I imagine, is optional (though I left a nice one)--the meal could've been more like $700.)...
La Boquería & Mercat de Santa Caterina
Wandering around the markets of Barcelona--which is an essential activity for any food lover who visits--you're confronted with sights and sounds and smells that'll haunt you forever. I may one day forget the spires of the Sagrada Familia, but I'll never forget my time wandering the aisles and aisles of fresh fish (so fresh, some of it's still moving!), eggs placed out on piles of hay, and cuts of meat so stark and unfamiliar, they'd probably frighten Francis Bacon. What follows are a bunch of pictures I snapped wandering around the markets, with some occasional commentary....
One Really Bad Meal
Lest you think our trip to Barcelona was nothing but lollipops and rainbows, I thought I'd take the time to tell you about our worst meal of the trip. Before I get into it, I want to assure those of you who recommended this place--and several of you did--that I hold no grudges and that you weren't alone in recommending it: we found recommendations for it in not one but two of our guidebooks. Which is why I feel the need to warn anyone headed to Barcelona to stay far, far away from this highly-touted restaurant; please, heed my warning: do not go to Le Quinze Nits....
Barcelona's Best Bites
How do you sum up a city's food in one post? It's an impossible task, and one I can't even pretend to set out to do. I considered splitting this up into multiple posts--one on tapas, one on Bistronomics (a new restaurant trend in Barcelona, where high-end restaurants serve multiple courses for reasonable prices)--but ultimately I thought it would be more useful to you, and more manageable for me, just to pick the best bites from our trip. What you're about to see represents the best food we ate in one of the world's great food cities: Barcelona, Spain. If you're planning a trip there soon, you may want to follow our lead....
Pa amb Tomàquet
If there's one dish that most fully represents our time in Barcelona, that really captures the varying cooking styles we encountered but also represents the deeply rooted food culture that exists in Catalonia, that dish has to be "Pa amb tomàquet"--Catalan for "bread with tomato."...
Barcelona, A Reflection
Before I left for Barcelona, two weeks ago, I created a three-ring binder of essential information. The first tab said "Hotels" and there I printed out the confirmations for the Hotel Banys Orientals, where we'd stay for most of the trip, and Hotel Coral Playa, where we'd stay when we went to Roses for dinner at El Bulli. (Note: both hotels were great choices, thank you all for your tips.) The second tab said "E-mails" and there I kept all the direct e-mails I received about where to go and eat in Barcelona. Tab three was "Comments" and I printed out all your comments from this post, highlighting the most commonly reoccurring restaurant suggestions, and then, in Tab Four "NYT," I printed out profiles of those highlighted restaurants from the New York Times Barcelona page. Suffice it to say, I arrived in Barcelona fully prepped and ready....
Away We Go
This is it, the big tearful goodbye. Now don't be too sad, faithful readers. As I leave you for ten days to savor the splendors of Barcelona, Spain (including the most built-up meal of my life, dinner at El Bulli!) I leave you in incredible, incredible hands. Seriously, for the next two weeks, you will be entertained by such a roster of distinguished guest posters, you won't hardly believe it. I've read all of their guest posts several times, and they're all stunning--hilarious, informative, endlessly amusing--so stunning, that when I come back you're gonna say, "Aw, we prefer the guest posters." Don't worry, I feel the same way. But as a final gesture of good will, I'd like you to look up. Hey, look at that awesome new banner Lindy designed in honor of my trip to Spain! It's a little early, but we thought you deserved it. A huge thanks to Lindy for her awesome work and Justin for putting that banner in place; also, a big big THANKS to Ben Lim, who'll be managing the blog when I'm gone. (If you encounter any technical problems, shoot him an e-mail.) Ok readers, I have all of your suggestions printed out in a binder, and I'm ready to have the trip of a lifetime. See you when I get back! Adios, Adam....
Where To Eat in Barcelona?
Eager readers, the time has come. A.G. Loyalists will remember my post from December where I announced, rather deliriously, that I'd just scored a reservation at El Bulli. And now, one week from this Saturday, Craig and I are heading across the ocean to spend ten days in Barcelona (with one night in Roses for our epic El Bulli dinner). To say I'm excited would be a profound understatement; I'm going crazy with excitement. I've been flipping through guidebooks and watching movies from the Pedro Almodovar Boxed Set, practicing my Spanish and singing "I, Don Quixote" from "Man of La Mancha" in the shower. But now I need your help. My readers have always been the best resource for where to eat and what to do when I travel. Some of the best meals I've had while traveling (in Paris, in Austin, in Seattle) have been from your suggestions. This time should be no exception: so please help me below! In the comments, let me know where I should eat--cheaper places are better, but a few splurgy places might be ok too--when we go to Barcelona in just two weeks. Also welcome: tips for what to do and what to see and worthwhile day trips, especially ones involving food. Ok, everyone, thanks for your help. Expect massive Barcelona posts to repay you upon my return....
