europe

Let’s be real. As I’m sure you’ve clued in by now, I live to eat. Delicious and high-quality food is one of our priorities in life, and a cornerstone of vacation planning. I do serious research (family, friends, tripadvisor, metafilter, blogs) to find the yummiest noms, then we map it out and hit as many of those places as we can.

Can Paixano, the most amazing little xampanyeria and eatery was our neighborhood favorite, and will likely be my first stop on our next trip to Barcelona. I was and remain obsessed.  It’s a narrow little place, standing room only at the counter to eat yummy charcuterie, grilled sausages, and entrepans, the most scrumptious toasted sandwiches, all washed down with coupes and bottles of their house-made cavas. 

We went nearly every day in Barcelona, if not to grab a bite, to purchase bottles of my absolute favorite, cava rosat. (I taste-tested all of their varietals to be sure ?). I even went so far as to price out shipping a case back to the States, and settled for taking several bottles with us. Amazingly delicious, and so inexpensive you want to double check the conversion rate. 

We were totally spoiled going daily and at off hours, though- and totally astonished by the sardine-packed bar and the long queue when the weekend rolled around. In that case, it was cava to go, and cocktail hour back at our loft. 

We went out of our way to check out Horchateria Sirvent. I’m a big fan of (rice-based) Mexican horchata, so I really needed to compare the Valencian version, which is made with tigernuts. This third generation family owned shop is legendary, so off we went.

It was absolutely incredible- so flavorful and creamy! It honestly reminded me more of my mom’s Trinidadian punche de creme than any horchata I’ve had. I think it may have ruined David for Mexican horchata forever, and I can’t really blame the man.

This horchateria is out near Sant Antoni, in a residential area away from the tourist madness. We try to spend time living local on our trips- I love heading away from the crowds. I’ll note that this was one of the only places we visited where no employees spoke any English. I took Spanish through school and college, and made a point to review before our trip, so I’m decent (though far from fluent.) But I got tangled up with some bits of Catalán, and David, I, and the darling shopgirls all had a good laugh.

The most delicious treat was the granizado de café. It was frozen black coffee (like a slushie), with their rich horchata as creamer, and it blew my damn tastebuds. Seriously, I demolished it so fast that I forgot to share with David (and gave myself brainfreeze). Of course, that meant another round to go, much to my delight. Proof that asking your server their menu favorite can really pay off.

Can Majo was the perfect spot for dinner down by the water. We walked around Barceloneta, then along the boat docks before settling in for an intimate and scrumptious meal. It was touted as the best paella in Barcelona and was easily the tastiest I’ve ever had- mouthwateringly savory, impeccably cooked, with astonishingly fresh seafood.

We also had some tasty olives (which is major, if you know me) and fried baby smelt. David had been craving fried tiny fish since we had shared some with a new friend at La Boqueria, but we’d only come across them premade and under heat lamps, which isn’t our style. These little fishes were freshly flashfried- juicy and tender inside of a shatteringly crisp exterior, piping hot, and we scarfed them.

We also loved El Xampanyet, despite the lack of pictures- we tended to go late at night, and neither the packed bar nor dim lighting was conducive. The menu is tapas and conservas, which are canned Spanish delicacies. It may seem strange to go out to eat tinned food, but this was nothing like the canned food we see in the US- trust. The presentations were elegant, the flavors diverse and vibrant and not the least bit tinny tasting. We devoured several kinds of jamón iberico, stuffed octopus and calamari, anchovies and artichokes, pimientos stuffed with queso and patatas bravas, and an obscene amount of tender white asparagus.

I swear, I’d move to Spain just for the cuisine, and be fat and happy all my days. We literally did not have a single bad meal. And y’all: we, hands down, had the most incredible meal of our lifetimes on this trip, and I don’t say that lightly. Sharing that soon…
loveRavayna

As I mentioned, La Boqueria was kindof killing it as far as deliciousness. I swear we only got to eat and see one quarter of the offerings.  I obviously loved the market vendors, but one of the things I thought was coolest about the Boqueria were the restaurants. Just a dozen seats around the grill and counter, which is laden with the freshest of that day’s catch.

The cooks have access to the city’s best raw foods in the produce, seafood, cheese, and meat vendors around them, and that is clearly reflected in the uncomplicated but delicious local food presented. Once you’ve scored a seat and a drink, you place your order. Often, we heard the provenance of our meal- who caught it when and so on. I love eating so utterly local.

Bar Central, all the way at the back of the market, was our favorite. Despite the perpetually waiting throng, the service was speedy and positively charming. And the food: scrumptious. 

You know I went to town on one of those lobsters, along with clams and chorizo, tiny seared pulpitos (baby octopus),  and sizzling garlic shrimp.

Razor clams, grilled with lemon, garlic, parsley, fruity olive oil and flaky salt? So succulent, so fresh and tasty- you could have knocked me over with a spoon. I ate multiple orders.

 We also had great meals at Bar Pinoxto, which is cash only, FYI. I love spicy food, so played the roulette of grilled local peppers every chance I got. They were generally both sweeter and spicier than the shishitos we get here in the states.

We ate ginormous red prawns, perfectly flaky trout, and the most incredible harissa chickpeas. The langoustines, white beans, and garlic shrimp were also yummy here- so basically every single thing we tried.

  For what it’s worth, we ate at lots of delish places outside La Boqueria too- I just haven’t gotten a chance to tell y’all about them yet! More amazing Barcelona food, coming up soon.

loveRavayna