Barcelona Gastro Guide
Chapter 1 of another bloody gastro guide in Barcelona!
Well, I suppose this is Hello, and welcome to the first edition of another bloody gastro guide. I didn't even bother introducing it before, did I? Well, you see, I have been thinking about this part of my newsletter, plugging it away in my hungry yet seemingly idle brain for a while. It seems all it took to get going was a friend asking me for Barcelona recommendations. And I wouldn't want to be a lousy friend now, would I? So, let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. We are in the scorcher that is Barcelona!
I will be posting editions of another bloody gastro guide fortnightly on Fridays. These guides are for people whose travel plans are provoked by their stomachs and whose adventures wouldn't be adventures without pursuing new and tasty foods.
The idea is to give you ideas of foods to TRY in these destinations and why, less about where to go to eat them. The why is important! Restaurants and cities change, but the food traditions and unique things about places remain.
Because I don't know about you, but that is my favourite thing about travelling to new places. I love to feel part of something unfamiliar to me, to go with the flow of the unknown. Sometimes, the unfamiliar becomes familiar, and that's a feeling that I live for, especially in the backdrop of our increasingly globalised world. If you are listening to that and screaming, me too! or that sounds cool! Then, I hope that you stay tuned and enjoy reading the upcoming editions of another bloody gastro guide!
So, without further or do, let's get into it, shall we? Here we go with Chapter 1 of another bloody gastro guide in Barcelona, Spain!
Lana x
Barcelona? You are the last place I would have thought my gastro guide would begin. I have never really been one to take sides, but as someone who lived for such a long time in Madrid, the compulsion to take sides on this one is strong. Is it possible to like both Madrid and Barcelona?
The first time I went to Barcelona, I didn't want to like it. I needed Barcelona to show me why I didn't live in Barcelona over Madrid. Madrid had to win; who wants a beach anyway? (me)
But look, I've had a change of heart, Barcelona. All it took was a beach swim to cool off from the blistering Spanish heatwave that I endured last August, the best patatas bravas I have eaten in the whole of Spain, a glass of Moritz beer, and a bit of a slap around the face, but I finally fell for you the way that Cupid intended.
Why didn't I like Barcelona before? On arriving in Barcelona for the first time, I noticed instantly that I wasn't the only Gurri in the village. Gurri? It is a derogatory term used by Spaniards to describe annoying, uncultured tourists, generally of German or English decent, usually blonde and sunburnt, who order pints of San Miguel without two shits about what the local beer is and are ignorant about the fact that in Spain, drinking a pint of beer is the dumbest thing a man could do, as it is hot from the sun after the first sip. A small beer makes more sense, agreed?
If you are like me and want better for yourself than to be a Gurri, read on for how I TRY my best not to be one. It's not easy in Barcelona; as I said, Gurri’s are everywhere, and therefore, Gurri places are rife; they'll spot you if you're not careful, but don't worry. I've got you covered.
All it takes is a bit of respect, curiosity, and intent to sniff out what is special and unique to a place for the right reasons. The right reasons? You'll find out what I mean.
So without further or do, let's get into it, shall we? That bloody foody's guide to try and not be a Gurri in Barcelona.
Vamos! (let's go).
Eat Buttifara and drink cava @ Can Paixano
If you ignore all of my recommendations in search of one, this is the one not to miss. It is a traditional cava bar that has been making its own and serving it with cheap sandwiches and tapas for a long time (I’m not one for details). It just felt like a true Barcelona institution. Barcelona is where cava comes from if you didn’t know, and they are so proud of theirs in Can Paixano that APART FROM WATER IT IS THE ONLY DRINK THAT THEY SELL. I love that so much. Enjoy a glass standing at the bar in the hustle and bustle of things like a true Spaniard, and order a plate of buttifara, a sausage typical to Catalonia. It is the closest you’ll get to a British sausage in the whole of Spain, and that’s something worth travelling to Barcelona for.
Eat a Bomba
A bomba is a tapa (delicious snack) supposedly ‘authentic’ to Barcelona. I have a suspicion that perhaps it's just popular here, invented by one bar and copied. I could bang on about how often ‘authentic foods’ are a construct anyway, but we’re here to have fun right? They're fun and delicious, so don't overthink; try one. It's minced beef wrapped in mashed potato, fried and topped with spicy tomato sauce and aioli. It is also fun to note that many things in Spain are called bombas (bombs). It is just any ball filled with something. Even a custard doughnut is called a bomba. Spanish is fun too (only when you know it).
Try the patatas bravas with a Moritz beer @ Bodega La Palma
Look, I’ve eaten a lot of Patatas bravas, and the chances are that you have to. I don’t even know where they technically come from in Spain, and to be quite frank, I think it is probably quite silly to care because, in Spain, they are found in every nook and cranny. I’ve never really loved them until one glorious day when I tried them in Bodega La Palma in Barcelona. Not only is it a charming winery, but the patatas bravas were so on point that they made me think of ballet dancers.
Eat a crema catalana
Eat it anywhere for god sake, just get the job done.
Experience small plate tapas-like dishes at La Plata
La Plata is a super cute spot for daily special small plates where you can feel like a true Spaniard by sharing in style. On the far right that strange breaded thing oozing with black stuff is a squid ink croqueta, and I can confirm, it was rather great, you should try it if it’s on the menu. Maybe you’ve never had a croqueta? well, I’ll explain. They are traditionally made with bechamel sauce and Spanish jamon, breaded and fried. They are pretty delightful, but this squid ink creation reminded me why Barcelona is great; it doesn’t follow the rules.
Drink water ;)
Vichy Catalan sparkling water is pretty elite anyway, but this moment spoke ‘when in Rome’ to me like no other. Drinking that water in the heat of that day I was living in was probably the highlight of that trip. Fancy.
Eat an oyster at La Mercado de La Boqueria
La Mercado de La Boqueria is a super lively market in the city centre. It is worth visiting it to stroll around alone. But the highlight for me was unearthing the ability to eat hand-shucked oysters fresh from the market to my heart’s content. Oysters are probably my favourite food. Yes, I just went there. Yes, I think they are an aphrodisiac. Yes, I’ll tell you all about why in private if ya like…
Up for something a little special? Gresca bar is the only way to go
Gresca is seasonal nose-to-tail fine dining without the extortionate price tag of Michelin star. I ate brain here, which I documented here. But you’ll find all sorts of different inventions depending on when you go. You don’t need to be as brave as I was and try the brain, but hey, why not? They have quite an extensive wine list, but I’d recommend sticking with the cava! It was cheap (6.00 euros a glass when I went) and you’re in cava land, so cava it is baby.
Have a supermarket gazpacho picnic pitstop
My favourite thing about supermarkets in Spain is that they sell cartons of gazpacho and ready-made tortillas. They are always a good decision, cheap and very cheerful.
Try Calçots! If you see them on the menu…….
Look, I didn’t eat calçots in Barcelona, I tried them in a traditional Catalonian restaurant in Madrid. But if you see them on a menu don’t hesitate to try them. Calçots come into season around November and are available until April or so, so they are a winter dish (hence why I wouldn’t have found them in August). Spain is great like that, you know, eating with that little thing called the seasons….
What the hell are they Lana?
Calçots are like spring onions and leeks but they’re not, they’re calçots. They are cooked on the barbeque and served with a smoky Romanesco sauce. Romanesco sauce? It's delightful: a rich piquant sauce made of a base of roasted tomatoes and embellished with any mixture of almonds, pine nuts, maybe hazelnuts, olive oil, garlic, and usually some red wine vinegar.
In traditional restaurants, you are usually given a bib (yes like for a baby) to eat calçots as they are so long, you are supposed to dangle them in your mouth whole. I have some footage of myself wearing a bib and eating a calçot somewhere, but that picture is far too attractive (embarrassing) to show you.
If you’re a wino (and brave come to think of it), drink a porrón of wine
Google it. You will see people gushing wine into their mouths from a glass vessel, this is a porrón. It is a traditional Catalonian wine vessel, designed to allow everyone to drink wine from the same thing without it touching their lips. Would have been useful in covid I guess. You’ll have fun asking for it in the bars too. ‘Pon me un porrón porfa’ is probably the easiest way to do that if you don’t speak Spanish. But hey, that’s not Catalonian either, it’s Castellano (from Madrid). But if you, like me, have fun causing a bit of a stir, just stick with it ;)If not, you’re maybe in the wrong place.
Hasta La Vista, Baby!
Do some Barcelona bouncing
Thank you for reading gang! I hope you’re inspired to go and bounce and eat Buttifara in Barcelona.
Lots and lots of love from that bloody foody, that is, Lana.
x
Now I'm bloody hungry...
I wish I'd had this for my day alone in Barcelona. Maybe then I wouldn't have made do with eating at the Hard Rock. (Shudder)