caganer's Profile
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
Have fun. If you're up for it, on Monday night nearly all of Barceloneta will be one big street party for the end of the a traditional weekend festival called the Cors de la Barceloneta. The bars and restaurants have clubs that participate with music and lights and firework displays plus men dance through the street in costumes decorated with chorizos and garlic . (so not a good night to go to Cova Fumada or Can Mano, Can Majo etc. for dinner)
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
Give me a break! There is a difference between "sort of like" and "the same as."
In English, the language used in this forum, the tuber of the chufa plant is called a chufa, a chufa nut or a tigernut.
A peanut is a legume, more like a pea than a nut botanically. But in English we call it a peanut or a ground nut.
Neither are true nuts.
This tuber, the chufa nut or tigernut, develops underground, is oblong, tan and has what is commonly described as a nutty flavor - sort of like a peanut.
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
The horchatas most commonto Mexicans, and so I assume in CA, are usually based on rice or other grains (there's even a good horchata de melon made with cantaloupe seeds & pulp) whereas Spanish horchata is based on the chufa nut - sort of like a peanut - so they're different but the same general idea.
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
For what it's worth, the ice cream shop you mention on Princessa is almost certainly not called Torrons. Torrons is the Catalan plural spelling of the Spanish "turron,", the nougat.
Many turron shops do ice cream business in the summer. Planelles Donat, a famous and especially good one on Av. Portal del Angel (near the Cathedral) makes an incredible turron gelato and the best hazlenut gelato I've ever had.
Also for excellent gelato try Cremeria Toscana on Muntaner, near Santa Maria Del Mar in el Born. There's also Fratello and Voiko on P. Joan Borbo, on the way to the beach in Barceloneta.
Portugal Trip Report
Regarding the shrimp,at least compared to the US, the answer is that they don't so much have a better species of shrimp, just a much better way or catching and delivering to market.
Nearly all wild shrimp sold in the US are frozen at sea. Most "fresh" shrimp in US markets is defrosted previously frozen shrimp.
Nearly all wild shrimp in Iberian/Mediterranean markets are caught by day boats and delivered to market fresh, often still twitching. That makes all the difference.
If you go to South Carolina and find a small shrimper with fresh caught shrimp they'll be much better than you are used to as well.
Oh, and A Grade does wonders with baby goat as well.
Philly with food allergies!
The rolls at both Village Whiskey and P&K contain dairy, tough. Just about every fancy burger place uses either a brioche (includes butter and milk) or some form of rich roll that probably includes milk or butter. Even Martin's potato rolls contain dairy. Milk or dry milk powder is found in most soft white breads so that's a tough one to work around.
Challah wouldn't have dairy, would it? Does anyone use challah rolls?
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
There are plenty of tapas bars with seats - I'd say most, if not all, have seats. You can never really be sure you'll get a seat, but they exist.
The pintxo bars are more stand-up affairs with food laid out on top of the bars - you might try them in the off-hours, though, it could be fun for a kid. Other places are nearly all seats - Bar Celta and Tapas 24 come to mind as examples. Others still are probably a bad idea with a little kid because of crowds and tight spaces - e.g. El Xampanyet or El Vaso de Oro.
I think Cal Pep is good. There's no question that they use good raw ingredients and cook them well. It's not ground-breaking, innovative cuisine, it's not fine-dining and it's not cheap. I think some reviewers have come with different notions of what they were getting into and been put off by the reality. (And I'm sure perfectly well-informed people have also not enjoyed Cal Pep. Every one has bad nights.)
You can choose what you want or you can let the waiter choose . You can also let the waiter lead the way but make requests. Speaking spanish helps but isn't necessary, it's more about how confident you are (i.e. you don't have to let yourself get run over). Talk to your waiter and tell him what you're interested in, he won't just ignore you. Maybe learn some food words at least.
And, finally, spaniards generally really like kids. Don't be surprised if someone at a bar offers to give up his seat for him.
Cheap Eats in the Gayborhood needed
Neither Sampan nor Lolita really qualify as cheap for most folks arriving in town by bus (I'm guessing youngsters in this case)
Chinatown is a good idea and you'll find lots of recomendations on this board.
There's great inexpensive Mexican and Vietnamese in the blocks around the intersection of 9th St and Washington Ave - about a mile walk or they can catch the 23 bus on 12th St or the 47 on 8th.
The Reading Terminal Market has handful of excellent options a few blocks from the gayborhood.
There are several good sandwich places around town - Paesano's & Sarcones, among others, are good.
There's tons of info available on this board. Center City and the surrounding area are easy to get around (or to/from) on foot or with transit from a base in the gayborhood - geographically speaking Center City is a pretty small area, only a couple miles from end to end. Anywhere you/they pick will probably be fairly easy to get to.
Shipping Wine to Philly
It's really not as big a deal as all this (sorry). I've brought back several bottles of wines and liquor from different parts of Europe twice a year and have for several years running now. Thinking there was a better way, I've looked into shipping rates as well. I can assure you it would be cheaper to "ship" your wine as extra luggage on your flight than with a real shipper.
It's true about the customs duty above one liter but I've never had it enforced and I declare everything. No one has every said "you've got 5 liters over your duty free allowance, pay up."
I've never seen a state liquor enforcement person at the airport checking bags (and I'm not sure Customs and TSA would allow it either).
It's conceivable that you could get "busted" and have to pay a small duty or but it's never happened to me at either EWR or PHL (or ATL, CLT & JFK)
Customs don't care much about most foods in general except for cured and fresh meat and fresh fruits/vegetables. It's amazing what the words "aged cheese" will do for you on the back of your customs form. No one has ever inspected my "aged cheese,' though that's all it's ever been so no harm done. Canned meats (from all the EU countries at least) are fine too, in case you're hoping to get some canned foie gras.
favorite barcelona tapas
If you like foie gras, El Vaso de Oro in Barceloneta is definitely a good stop. It's a great place for better than average beer and good simple food that's sometimes a litlle fancy - plates of foie and beef tenderloin are a big thing there.
favorite barcelona tapas
They do good things with small fish there - I've had great baby red mullet-type fish, baby merluza, tiny little fish called chanquetes. It's a good place quality fish/seafood in general. Also great charcuterie in general (their morcilla con arroz is really good).
And they have two signature fun dishes - a cheese-truffle sandwhich and a foie burger.
Reading Terminal Breakfast
right, didn't scroll down past sandwiches. I take it back.
Reading Terminal Breakfast
Having been born and raised in the South I'm pretty confident in saying Down Home Diner isn't especially "southern" Looking at their menu, I wonder where the biscuits are. No ham biscuit? No biscuits & gravy? Not even a simple plate of grits & eggs. Not so southern. (I also don't think it's very good but I've only been once, years ago, so I'm not the most qualified judge...)
I would kill for a real biscuit place - even a truck.
where can i find EFES beer? its from turkey.
They even had little Efes glasses by the counter the last time I was there.
favorite barcelona tapas
No offense, but it really seems like you just didn't know what to expect. It's fine that you didn't like it but Tapas 24 is pretty much exactly what it claims to be - a fairly straightforward, upscale tapas bar with some quirky/modern touches. It's not really supposed to be a cheaper Comerc 24 and isn't.
You ordered patatas bravas and it sounds like you got them. You ordered ensaladilla rusa and got it. You ordered black rice and got a correct version of it - the rice isn't supposed to be mushy. Plenty of people like to lighten up heavy meals with light, simple vegetable courses like your tomatoes. 16 euros for a liter of sangria (?) in a ritzy neighborhood sounds fair, if pricey - but ritzy neighborhoods and trendy-ish bars aren't synonymous with cheap drinks.
VERY Annoyed by Flash Targeted Ads -- PLEASE GET RID OF THEM
you really just need to read up on web browsers and the various ad-blocking software (mostly freeware) and make a few changes to your setup.
But, as someone who has worked in the media/web field, good web developers/designers/managers do think about how annoying the end product will be and make prudent choices, sometimes even ones that cost a little (and I mean little) bit of money in favor of having a nice site.
Southern Food Historians/CHs? Why Baking Powder Trumps Yeast in the South's Most Common Breads?
It is almost certainly not due to climate in any way beyond the fact that climate has a role in the crops that can be grown in the region in question.
There have been yeast breads in the Nile delta and across India for millennia. Portugal, as hot and humid as it gets in Europe, is an important center of European bread culture. Then there's Greece, Turkey, Spain and Italy as well. All have warm climates and yeasted wheat breads and have for as long as history has been written.
There is a long tradition of yeast breads in the South, they just never became staples as in the North. Sally Lunn bread was widely known in the antebellum South. The Moravians who settled central NC have been known as expert bakers since their arrival in second half of the 18th century. Their breads, sugar cake ( a yeasted wheat dough topped with sugar and butter) and love feast buns are a way of life in that part of the South.
As for biscuits, there were and are yeast raised biscuits in the South - called angel or brides' biscuits,I've only ever had them at weddings but they still exist. Often Angel Biscuits include both yeast and chemical leveners. (And with beaten biscuits it's not the beating but the folding between beatings that creates lightness - it's essentially a laminated pastry, like puff pastry, without the fat between layers.)
The biggest factors are probably practical ones: everyone had corn, wheat was hard to come by, no one had home ovens, few lived near towns where the market could support a commercial bakery (but those towns did, indeed, have bread bakeries).
As a side note, the Scots-Irish who played a part in settling the South were not two groups, Scots and Irishmen, but rather the descendants of the Scottish protestants sent to Ireland by the English to subdue "the natives."
Byo wedding reception ideas?
Maybe the Fleisher Art Memorial on Catharine St. in Bella Vista (between 7th & 8th)? They've got a neat space and seem flexible.
Where can I find walnuts in the shell?
Sometimes the Fair Food stand in the Reading Market has black walnuts in the shell.
In case you're not familiar with them, black walnuts have a stronger flavor and more tannins in the skin than english/"regular" walnuts so they might not be ideal, depending on what you're doing, though.
Tipping at Restaurants in Spain
"the customer service from shops, telecom companies, public organisms, utilities and a long etc is much worse than what I experienced in the US."
Never move to Philadelphia.
Understood about the rest, and "nasty" was too strong a word.
I'd also add that in some cases, shops in Europe do a much better job. Think of the wrapping jobs done by many of the best bakeries and food shops (and boutiques of other types) There just aren't many places in the US that go to the trouble of ribbons and wrapping paper for a few bars of chocolate or soap. That's service as well. Maybe I'm not slumming it as much as I think I am, but I don't think the places I'm thinking of are particularly high-end, just good traditional places.
Other than that, I'd settle on concluding that with we all bring along our own unique sets of qualities and characteristics, opinions will differ and definitive statements one way or another will never suit everyone.
Tipping at Restaurants in Spain
I think some of us do prefer what we know best but I also think the opposite can be just as true.
I've always been drawn to travel precisely because so much is new and unusual for me. I like the pace of life in Spain. I think being forced to slow down and be patient has been good for me. I get plenty of hurrying and salesmanship in my everyday life.
I'm fairly used to "good" American service, I grew up with it. I just hate it. It aggravates the lefty-yuppie conflict that is my internal struggle. The service issue is an especially complicated one, really.
Bialys in Philly suburbs?
The Northern suburbs were stop #1 when Philly's Jews moved to the burbs, not the west. There are lots of delis in Jenkintown/Elkins Park that might be a source (though I know more about the demographics than the places themselves - I'm sure someone can direct to to a good place but the Northern suburbs would be a better bet than the western suburbs and are closer than NYC)
South St. Bagels at 3rd/South makes them. I guess they're ok, but I'm a southerner so I don't really know what the ideal bialy would be - I'd rather have a ham biscuit.
Tipping at Restaurants in Spain
No need to be nasty. This is a discussion board where many people express opinions. I said nothing about you directly - you'll note I said "in these situations" ("these" not "this," which would apply to yours specifically).
And I'm not sure, from your comments, that you are approaching the service issue from a truly culturally sensitive position. If you know that in Spain it's not the norm for service to be quick and fawning, as in the states, why on earth would you go to Spain expecting such service? And to complain about not getting what you know not to expect...
As to the question of which style of service is better, I think any reasonable person would agree that we all have different expectations. Not everyone wants his/her interactions with shopkeepers, waiters or anyone else to be tainted with the sort of disingenuous kindness and servility we Americans think of as good service. (I know that the kindness of servers isn't always disingenuous but often is)
We don't all have to agree on this. It's purely subjective. Some of us dislike the sort of service others demand. That's fine. Our opinions of which is better will depend a great deal on or personal outlook on life and our place in the world.
Dessert scene in Philly?
Termini seems to use higher-quality ingredients, also.
Isgro's rum cake and rum baba are the two most disappointing things I've eaten from any bakery in town - tastes of nothing but cheap, cheap rum extract and sugar.
Tipping at Restaurants in Spain
In so many of these situations I'm left wondering whether the person complaining about service is making enough of an effort to respect and understand the culture and etiquette of the country in question.
I've found that when entering any business a nice greeting to the "staff" (in the right language) and simple friendly courtesy beget the same. With that and a healthy dose of patience, I never seem to run into problems with service in Europe.
I guess it's hard for some to comprehend the gap between the standard European expectation of courtesy and respect between people and the American expectation of servile service.
Dessert scene in Philly?
In my opinion, there's not much point in a discussion of Philly deserts that doesn't include Termini Bros. You should go to the 8th street location. Their cannoli are the best I've had, they make tons of interesting old-school Italian pastries and have great cakes, most of which are available as nice-looking little single serving cakes.
As for the 4th Street cake, it's nothing special. The only thing remarkable about it is the size of a slice but that just means you have a lot of mediocre cake.
Please critique my itinerary
Cochon does a pretty great brunch as well. There's a dish with slow-cooked pork and egg with mornay sauce over biscuits (no one in Philly cooks pork better), a crazy monte cristo and lots of good looking sweet stuff that I've never tried becuase I can't get past the pork.
Soft shell crabs in Philly
The season starts earlier as you move south down to the Carolinas.
You're sort of right - Maryland/NJ season probably either hasn't started yet or they're just beginning to appear. The soft shells in restaurants now are probably from well south of here.
Barcelona April 17th through 22nd
But when you suggest that one should not expect "high quality seafood" when visiting the places mentioned it does indeed seem as if you are knocking them. Serving simple, high-quality seafood is their raison d'être and why they are well known.
But I'd not interested in defending them, I'm interested in debunking this notion that in Barcelona one must eat in expensive restaurants to enjoy high quality seafood or that there is some correlation between the market price of a good and it's inherent quality. Scarcity and demand don't make things better, just more expensive.
Barcelona April 17th through 22nd
And a different definition of top notch. I think anything of high quality, cooked well can be top notch. I don't need sauces and garnishes or someone to fold my napkin for me to consider a meal top notch. I can get that at home. I go to Barcelona because nowhere in the US has seafood that can match the quality. When the raw ingredients are that good, I don't see the need for chef-y embellishment.
Feran Adria could not do a better job frying a salmonette than the ladies at Can Maño.
