caga tio's Profile
BCN: How far in advance do I need reservations?
Mercat Concepcio is close by on C/Arago.
favorite barcelona tapas
Can Mano and Cova Fumada are very rustic. I love them but there's sawdust on the floor and pretty much just seafood to eat. Can Mano does more frying, Cova Fumada more cooking a la plancha. Both get crowded
Can Majo is pretty much a paella place. I've spent a lot of time looking down on it from a balcony above and have never really been tempted - lots of European tourists and businessmen eating rice. But I've never been and people say it's good. Kaiku's probably better and has more to offer, it certainly has a better reputation here. Escriba has a really interesting looking "chiriguito"-restaurant (seafood & rice) further up the beach from Barceloneta, past the olympic stuff, if you're up for a walk up the beach.
Heading back to Philadelphia, tweaking the agenda.
Kanella's menu is the same for brunch/breakfast/lunch at midday. I always go for the lunch items.
Whoops, I didn't see the last post. I just wanted to vote for the lunch items on their menu!
Barcelona Report (inc El Celler C R)
The Pansa Blanca from Alta Alella is very good as well.
Good Friday in Barcelona
I know that Allium is open tomorrow. They are on C/Call 17 close to Plaça Sant Jaume. The menu al dia is posted on their facebook page almost every day. They serve traditional Catalan food made with local and seasonal products.
Which Mexican in South Philly
You should try Los Amigos Meat Market on 9th/Montrose on Saturday or Sunday. Their barbacoa is very good, not too fatty, and very flavorful. They make an excellent consome that includes lots of rice and chickpeas.
A stop at the tortilleria down the street makes for a great meal.
Los Amigos also makes very very good tamales.
What to bring back home from SS, Madrid, Barcelona?
Casa Gispert is worth a trip, also in Born.
Raw (Green) Peanuts
Iovine's at the Reading Market has had them in the past. I have also seen them at Scott & Judy's in the Italian Market.
Are Spread bagels all that?
Capogiro no longer carries H&H bagels. They are now from South St. Bagel.
Are these places I should check out for 3 nights in Philly - Other thoughts??
Sorry I was not clear, I meant in the drink. That is one of the traditional ways to serve it.
Are these places I should check out for 3 nights in Philly - Other thoughts??
Was the vermouth served with citrus and/or olives?
Barcelona: Cheap + vegetarian = mission impossible?
If you are at the Boqueria, check out the stand called Organic. It is an all vegetarian take away stand.
Barcelona, Placa Sant Jaume recommendations?
I am fairly certain that the majority of the Asturian bars are on C/Merce.
Burns night in Philly
It looks like Kennett, in Queen Village, is doing Burns night.
http://kennettrestaurant.com/post/15672749605/robert-burns-supper
Need help planning a foodie trip to San Sebastian plus north of Barcelona
To be honest, I was going by a picture of a xuixo that I had seen from Escriba. I have not seen them in person.
I do not know where Tapas 24 gets theirs, but it did look slightly different than the one from Escriba.
Need help planning a foodie trip to San Sebastian plus north of Barcelona
Unfortunately, I have not had one there! I did enjoy the one at Tapas 24.
Need help planning a foodie trip to San Sebastian plus north of Barcelona
Escriba and Tapas24 have similar xuixos.
Need help planning a foodie trip to San Sebastian plus north of Barcelona
You can take a direct train between San Sebastian and Barcelona. The train leaves from Sants in Barcelona and takes about 5 1/2 hours.
Sports Bar or Tapas bar to watch Barfelona football match?
It's further up Las Ramblas than the Boqueria. The center of the celebration will be the last big fountain, Font de Caneletes, in the Rambla before Plaça Catalunya. I did mention that in my first post here ("when Barça wins people will gather to celebrate at the top of Las Ramblas, just before Plaça Catalunya in case you want to join in.")
Speaking from personal experience, it can get a little hairy (though not really dangerous) as these celebrations end and break up. When Barça clinched the Liga tiltle two years ago, El Corte Ingles paid the price with a few broken windows and the Mossos were out in full gear. This game is much more loaded with emotion than that game.
The point is, speaking as someone of a similar age as the OP and has a fair amount of personal experience with this subject - I've watched big matches and celebrated with the young kids in Placa Catalunya and last May for the Champions League final at the Arc de Truimf and I've watched in bars and at Camp Nou. My wife and I plan trips around matches. I think it would probably be more fun for a group of 4 Americans to be in more low-key bar. Drunken and emotional 20 year old Culès can make a 35 year old feel really old fast. Old guys in quieter bars are more fun and have better stories.
Tourist and locals have different interests and needs, I think especially so in this case. I'd avoid sports bars. Go to Caneletes though, it's always fun to see the flares and flags and general craziness.
(whoops, I used my wife's computer for this and didn't see she was logged in instead of me. Sorry. Caganer)
Good cities for gluten-free vegans?
It will probably be tough but it's doable. I have a Spanish ex-sister-in-law who's a vegetarian and always had problems eating at "normal" restaurants and seemed to rely on Asian restaurants. She especially liked an "asian tapas" place called Mosquito in El Born. If you find yourself at a regular restaurant you'll have to make special requests and you might be bored but you won't starve- it will help if you can understand and speak a little spanish (or catalan).
Damm brewery, of Estrella Damm fame, makes a gluten free beer that is pretty widely available.
There are plenty of artichokes, padron peppers and roasted vegetables around (escalivada is a common Catalan dish of roasted eggplant and peppers, just make sure they don't throw any anchovies in or on top)
It's not true that all beans have meat in them. Most beans dishes do but it's very common for places to have plain beans that are cooked without meat, they're just usually accompanied by sausage. I'm sure restaurants would be willing to leave the sausage off (you'll still want to make sure there's no meat involved). You can buy pre-cooked beans in every market if you're cooking for yourself.
Since I don't follow the same diet I can't offer much more besides that and the big generalization that there are lots of young "lefty"/anarchist/straight-edge types in Barcelona and I'm sure many of them follow a similar diet, there might be online sources from those communities that can help too (sorry for the stereotyping, no offence intended)
Reservations needed in Barcelona?
I wouldn't waste my time worrying about that chinese food poster.
If you appreciate quality and simplicity you won't have any trouble finding good things to eat at non-destination places. If you don't, there's always chinese I guess.
The truth is that one simply can't get reservations for many places, especially "non-destination restaurants" - and there is much more to Barcelona's food scene than the well known places everyone tells their other foodie friends about when they get home. It's easy to find very good, if not spectacular food (and that is a judgment call - sometimes a few sardines and an artichoke are truly spectacular, that depends on you too ) and you should be able to find some options by searching this board.
With five in your party you should be prepared to wait and be ready to stand around a bar from time rather than sitting for a full meal to time but if you are easy going and patient you should be fine. Remember, you are in a place that's blessed with great things from the sea and the land. For god's sake don't sell yourself short by only eating at places where you can reserve a table unless you are going "destination" for every single meal.
BACON!
For what it's worth, nearly all bacon contains nitrates, even the ones that say they don't. Celery, beet and certain other vegetables contain lots of nitrates and are almost always part of "nitrate free" cures.
See Michal Ruhlman's blog here for a fuller explanation:
http://ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/
Feedback on restaurant selections in BCN
If a self-service seafood place is something you really had your heart set on, there is at least one other option:
There's a place called El Peix D'or that opens at 1:00 daily. It's the same basic idea as La Paradeta but smaller, at least than the one in El Born. I haven't been in but it looks promising - a simple, bright and clean interior with a nice array of good looking seafoods.
It's in a nice residential area just outside or on the edge of Eixample (dreta) a few blocks from the Arc de Triomf, on the corner of Napols and Ausias March. Metro lines 1 & 2 stop nearby.
Are Spread bagels all that?
I think the bagels are definitely better since they reopened.
I also think they're about as big as I'd want a bagel to be - they are pretty dense and filling after all.
What to bring back from Spain? [moved from Home Cooking board]
Many of the things that I have purchased in Barcelona have been cheaper than what can be found on Tienda.com.
What to bring back from Spain? [moved from Home Cooking board]
Not sure about Canada but for the US breads, beans, nuts, aged cheeses, canned vegetables, fish and meat (pates, canned foie gras, etc.) are allowed. I declare everything on the customs forms.
San Sebastian/Madrid/Seville - What food to buy and WHERE?
If you're in Barcelona, you should go to Casa Gispert (C/ Sombrerers, 23) in El Born. They roast nuts in their original 1850's wood roaster, which gives the nuts a slight smokey flavor. They're amazing. They'll have great saffron (in the back of the store), oils and vinegars as well - well, everything there is good.
San Sebastian/Madrid/Seville - What food to buy and WHERE?
Probably the best and most unique foods that you can bring home to the US are canned seafoods and San Sebastian and the northern coast of Spain is one of the centers of that industry,. You'll have plenty of chances to try things and figure out which ones you like - try some berberechos/cockles. Spain makes the best anchovies, oil packed tuna and sardines in the word (by far, no matter what the Italians say). Cured meats, even vacuum sealed, are illegal to bring back - I've never been caught but I stopped doing it after a close call a few years ago.
Serious cooks should appreciate Spain's beans as well - they're the best you can buy anywhere in the world. For a special gift the alubias negras, black beans, from Tolosa are the most expensive beans in the world (about 20 euros a kilo).
Bomba/calaspara rice also makes a good Spanish food gift.
For pimenton (aka paprika), just look for "pimenton de la vera" and you'll know you're getting the real stuff.
Piquillo peppers are another special Spanish food (make sure you're getting Spanish ones though, most regular grocery stores sell mainly Peruvian piquillos)
Also nyoras (or ñoras), the dried chili that's essential for true romesco, are unique and hard to find outside of Spain and make a good gift for a cook.
Basque cider (sidra natural) is a personal favorite but it's really a casual, homey thing and not to everyone's tastes. It's flat ans a little musty tasting (and it needs to be poured properly, which is special skill in itself). Txakoli, on the other hand, is hard to find in the US and is delicious - I'd get that instead.
Spain has some great chocolate makers as well.
