La Cerveceria Catalana in Barcelona

[Taking orders]

If you mention the name “Cerveceria Catalana” to someone who lives in Barcelona, the notion of clamoring for standing space at the bar at lunchtime amidst office workers and informed tourists comes to mind. With a name that literally means "the Catalan brewery", it's no wonder the place just exudes an air of heritage and prestige in terms of bona fide good traditional food.

Whenever someone visits me in Barcelona, this would be one of the must-do to expose them to authentic tapas and the whole chaotic and boisterous bar scene. There are three items I can’t miss ordering each time I’m there. The brocheta de langostinos (skewered grilled shrimps), montadito caliente de solomillo (the most perfect slice of sirloin on a piece of baguette), and patatas bravas (potatoes with a spicy mayo-based sauce).

[Cerveceria Catalana in Barcelona]

The best time to go is a good half hour before the official start of lunch time in Spain – 2 p.m. or right around 4 p.m. after the lunch crowd starts to disperse a little. It’s a lot more fun to find a seat at the bar than in the proper dining room as you can pick and choose the huge array of tapas and fresh ingredients displayed in front of you.

In the know:
CERVECERIA CATALANA
C/Mallorca 236, Barcelona
Tel: (+34) 93 216 03 68

Funky flavors of Cacao Sampaka

[Tasting Menu: flavored cold cocoa]

Food gifts are my favorite kinds of gifts to give. In lieu of touristy souvenirs knick-knacks I would rather get some uniquely packaged honey, chocolate, tapanade that is characteristic of the city. In Barcelona, I have found that my chocolate gifts from Cacao Sampaka are a sure winner.

I introduced T to this warmly lit shop with an array of cocoa products smacked in the middle of Rambla Catalunya, the street parallel to Passeig de Gracia – the 5th Avenue of Barcelona. We happily stuffed our baskets with hostess gifts for the next couple of trips we’re making visiting friends. What took us a hard time deciding was which series of funky flavors we should pick for the chocolate gift boxes. There were eight of them all, very innovative selections including “Truffles-coated in bitter chocolate” and “Gastronomic innovations”. It’s a very common thing for the locals to present these “bombones” when they’re invited over for Sunday dinner, so it’s a right-on business model for the owners.

[Curry-flavored chocolate, anyone?]

The “Spices from the Americas” series for example has flavors like ginger and lemon; Jamaican pepper; cinnamon, coffee and cardamom. My favorite product in the shop are the “tabletas” shaped in two thin unconventional bars and packaged in a sleek plastic wrapper that purports to best preserve the flavors of the chocolate. They come in a great selection of flavors and textures as well as cocoa content. My two favorite are the dark chocolates. One with 71% cocoa content and raspberry- flavored, the other one with 60% cocoa and bergamot-infused.

We decided to take a break from all that walking and shopping at the in-store café. What caught our attention was a tasting menu of liquid cocoa in flavors that we get to choose from. We were completely delighted to taste the teaspoonfuls of cold cocoa, in flavors like saffron and orange, honey and vanilla, and jasmine tea. It was a shame we just feasted on an impromptu tapas meal, otherwise we would have gone for the bitter chocolate fondue with seasonal fruits. Well, all the more, it gives us an excuse to pop by again the next time we visit Barcelona at the end of August.

In the know:
Cacao Sampaka
C/ Consell de Cent, 292 • 08007 Barcelona
Tel. 93 272 08 33

Water, the Catalan way

[El Vichy Catalan]

El Vichy Catalan! What more can I say? This elixir of life that fizzes with a taint of refreshing saltiness; a taste so unique it can only come from those natural minerals from Catalan resources. And yes, it’s my favorite kind of sparkling water, or water, period, for that matter. Too bad, I can only get it on a daily basis if I still live in Barcelona. Unless I don’t mind paying 5 bucks a bottle from some specialty online Spanish grocery.

Some people can have it at room temperature, some people insist on drinking them icy cold. I’ve been told that you either love it or you hate it. I think it can be true since water with bubbles (agua con gas in Spanish) let alone tasting a tad salty can be an all new experience for some.

I must say I’ve been raving about it so much that T had it already in his mental list of “must-try’s” in Barcelona. His first reaction wasn’t what I was expecting. “Why does it taste so salty?” he said grimacing. After the second sip, after a bite of food he went, “well, I think I can have this, with food.” Then he goes, approvingly, “Hmm, it’s salty but it doesn’t leave an aftertaste.” How bewildering, he must have thought.

By the second day of the trip, we have been ordering Vichy at every restaurant! This coming from someone who normally prefers still water? Well, I’ve sorta successfully converted my boyfriend into a Vichy lover, or so I reckoned.

A few eating finds in el Barrio Gotico

[ Food, I need food! ]

Forgive me. This entry was drafted in May 2006 but I never got around publishing it. I thought this would be a great interim post as I work this weekend to get my pictures and writings ready from my four-day trip last weekend to good old Barcelona and the Costa Brava. So here you go a few delightful eating finds I discovered during my occasional strays from the different routes in the Barrio Gotico.

Just right off the street near Metro Jaume I, you will find a quaint cheese shop that offers an interesting variety of artisan Catalan cheeses. They have a little sampling menu that you could do when you need a little break from all the walking and browsing.

For a mere 2.40€, you can sample a selection of three cheeses and a taste of some wine, from noon till 8 p.m. daily. On Saturdays, from 12-3 p.m., you can get your hands on a more extensive sampler of three cheeses, bread, olives, with a beverage (wine, beer or water) for just 5.85€. Not a bad deal, eh?

One of the places I go if I crave for decent japanese food is this almost hidden restaurant near La Catedral. Considered one of the best Japanese restaurants with patrons like Ferran Adria himself, you can savor a Menu del Dia for about 16€. For that you get an appetizer like seared tuna salad, an entree - you can choose one of the maki selections - and a drink. The best seats are the ones up at the bar, where all the action of the sushi chefs can be taken into view.

IN THE KNOW:
Formatgeria La Seu

Plaza Sant Just

Metro Jaume I

Shunka
C/ Sagristans, 5
93 4124991
Metro Jaume I
Metro Urquinaona

Mapping Food Incubators

[Participants learning how to make salsa de tomate]

Cities around the world are helping immigrants integrate into the economic fabric of their adopted homelands. The New York Times’ Laura Novak had an article last week about a nonprofit food incubator in San Francisco.

La Cocina (which means “the kitchen” in Spanish) allows immigrant women to get out of poverty by equipping them to start their own food businesses. The shared-space concept boasts a commercial kitchen space filling the need and affordability of adequate equipment for these entrepreneurs who otherwise would be cooking illegally out of their homes.

Largely funded by foundation and government grants, La Cocina works on a sustainable model in that they charge a fee to instill the concept of responsible business ownership. The incubator also provides training from high-profile mentors and participants are supported in the creation of business plans and marketing strategies.

Participants churn out weekly orders of healthy fare like vegetarian tofu egg rolls and traditional Mexican foods like huaraches and salsa roja for catering offers, coffee shops and farmer’s markets. Some of these are even picked up by mainstream grocers like Whole Food Markets.

Across the continents in Barcelona, a Catalan neighborhood nonprofit in the Parallel area has an annual program that takes in immigrants interested in learning the ropes of cooking for a commercial kitchen. Through a four-month program, participants learn all the basics of Spanish and Catalan cooking to prepare themselves for a career in the restaurant business.

Participants even get to display their newly-honed culinary skills as the entire class would have to create a menu for thousands of people at a fund-raiser food fair in Montjuic in the summer. Some of the traditional recipes covered include arroz negro (rice made with squid ink), fumet blanco (broth), salsa de tomate (tomato sauce), and the paella.

Of bagels and Internet

[Chocolate chaude]

Someone significant was recently quoted saying that “it’s easier to live without a TV these days then it is to live without Internet.” Indeed! I am currently living in this kind of ordeal until work recently got me 3G broadband access on my work laptop (on the premises, of course, that it be work-related usage). Well, just over the weekend, while walking pass a bagel place, a saw those magic words beckoning at me: free internet access.

So on Sunday morning, with a laptop and power supply loaded up in a backpack, we headed to Bagels and Beans just around the corner (they’ve several outlets in the city) for a homey lox bagel and a good dose of free internet. Now what has this picture got to do with all these? Well, it’s not all irrelevant. You see, this bagel place does serve the best presented hot chocolate I’ve ever come across – a glass of hot frothy milk with a cube of pure dark chocolate on a stick.

So if you’re in Amsterdam, you’ll know where to get online for free and guaranteed comfort food. Or you can of course just pop in for these eye-candy-worthy hot chocolate… eet smakelijk!

Dutch 101
Eet Smakelijk: Bon appetite; translates to eat well and with taste