Tapas and epic amounts of Cava for one: no idea but it was all worth it

Recently I took advantage of my proximity to the rest of Europe by hopping over for 5 days in Barcelona.  I’ve been to Spain before and loved it but I can say that Barcelona is definitely my favorite city there.  Its a great place to visit if you are interested in art, architecture, design and most especially eating yourself into a coma.  While I did have quite a few very nice proper sit down meals in restaurants I spent most of my time wandering from bar to bar sampling more tapas than were probably healthy and here are some of my favorites.  They are all over the city so check your maps before you try to hit all of them in one day.

Bar Celta
C/ Mercè, 16
08002 Barcelona

24€ for 3 dishes and 2 glasses of Cava

Celta is a pulperia which means it specializes in pulpo (octopus) and other seafoody items.  It’s a great place to try a whole bunch of things as everything is out on the counters and you can just point at whatever looks good.  It all looks good though so an appetite is recommended.

Pulpo a la plancha

I had the grilled pulpo of course.  So simple and so delicious – very fresh octopus grilled with a little lemon and pimiento (hot paprika).  I also had a plate of grilled razor clams which were quite a bit bigger then I usually like to eat my razor clams.  But they were fresh and sweet and delicious.

The Bar at Bar Celta

Euskal Etxea
Placeta Montcada, 1-3
08003 Barcelona

I did not note the cost – but it wasn’t much

Euskal Etxea specializes in Basque food – especially Basque tapas called pintxos.  This place is great fun as you order a drink (I recommend the cider) and grab a plate and then you graze.  This was one of my favorites and I came back several times over the 5 days I was there.  I recommend – everything.

Pintxos

Xampanyet
C/ Montcada, 22
08003 Barcelona

Again no idea what it cost me

Basically right across the street from Euskal Etxea this Catalan joint was rammed with a combo of locals and tourists.  The place is absolutely tiny and a bit hectic but the tapas and all of the canned seafood on offer were lovely.  I’ve never enjoyed fish out of a can so much.

Canned is sometimes a good thing

Tapa ç24

C/ Diputació, 269
08007 Barcelona

15€ for one tapas and a glass of Cava

Tapa C24 is definitely a bit more upscale than your average tapas bar.  This is a gourmands dream come true.  I only stopped in to have a little nibble before a dinner reservation at an actual restaurant but the single item I did have was just ridiculous.

Morels with Foie Gras

I asked the nice man behind the bar what he recommended and he literally picked up a box of fresh morels, dug his hands in and held a bunch of them out for me to inspect with a huge smile on his face.  After that level of enthusiasm how could I refuse.  Little did I know that they were going to return bathed in butter and topped of with a perfectly grilled piece of Foie.  It definitely did not appear to be traditionally Spanish, Basque or Catalan but oh my word was it delicious.

Cerveceria Catalana
C/ Mallorca, 236
08008 Barcelona

Yet again not even a remote idea of what I spent!

Cerveceria Catalana is recommend in all the guide books and by everyone I know who ever was in Barcelona and while often that does not bode well in this case it is with good reason.  Its so popular that you are actually at an advantage being on your own as there is always a single stool at one of the two bars to grab rather than having to queue up for a table.   The food here is fantastic.

On offer at Cerverceria Catalana

I also stopped by one morning for breakfast which was also very very good.

Taller de Tapas
C/ Argenteria, 51
08003 Barcelona

40€ but I really pigged out at this place

Taller de Tapas was recommended by my friend Jennie with such reverie that I knew I had to try it.  Again I got lucky being on my own as I was able to sidle up to the bar and grab the lone single stool.  The service here was absolutely fantastic and I was steered towards what was fresh that evening.  I really overdid it here with squid, grilled wild mushrooms, botiffara (Catalan sausage) and beans AND a plate of Jamon Iberico.  I was so full when I left that I had to fight the temptation to just lay down on the street and take a nap.

Calamar a la plancha

El Quim de La Boqueria
Inside the Boqueria Market

18€ for 2 tapas and wine

Saving the best for last there is El Quim which is a stall in the Boqueria Market.  I visited several other markets throughout the city which I thought were better for shopping (i.e. not aimed at the tourist trade) but Boqueria is still an incredible place and well worth wandering around in.  At lunch time it is absolutely mental with people standing menacingly behind diners at the more popular eateries in an attempt to hurry them off of their seats.  I had the worst tapas I have ever had in my entire life in the Boqueria so just note that if a tapas bar isn’t busy at lunch time – there is probably a reason.

I got lucky when I was walking past El Quim when again a magical single stool became free and I grabbed it.  I asked one of the at least 6 full sized men squeezed into the tiny kitchen behind the bar what I should have and he told me that one of their specialties was fried eggs with small squids – which sounded frankly wrong.  I am so so glad that I just decided to give it a go because it ended up being my single favorite thing that I ate in my entire trip.

Fried eggs with small squids

It was astonishingly good.  Very simple – literally two ingredients – very fresh and cooked perfectly.  The sweetness of the little squids with the egg was superb.  I insist that you go stand behind someone at this stall until you can pull a chair up to try this or any of their other interesting looking creations.

Barcelona is an excellent city for an eater and it is especially easy to eat out on your own here.  Restaurant and bar service was generally excellent.  Expect to part with quite a bit of cash here as nothing is cheap.

Dinner for 1 with drinks:  £20.90

What am I doing?  Why am I willingly traveling to a mall?  Why am I willingly traveling to a mall to eat “Mexican” food in London?  Why I am willingly planning to eat “Mexican” in London?

There are a lot of fantastic things to eat in London.  Cuisines from all over the world.  Mexican food however is so not one of them.  Most “Mexican” food I have sampled in London has, on a good day, approached the quality of Taco Bell – awful, microwaved, crap.

But Ellis stopped me in the office today to mention that – though he knows he has no frame of reference because living in London he clearly has never had good Mexican food – he thinks that the food at Wahaca was really good.  Now Ellis is no slouch so I think OK he might be on to something so I looked the restaurant up.

And this is where I begin to doubt Ellis.  I am not a fan of having things dumbed down for me.  I was a blond in my youth but that is no reason to speak slowly to me.  I hope by now you have noticed that the name of the restaurant is Wahaca a place which does not exist in reality.  Oaxaca on the other hand is a state in Mexico,  albeit one which is apparently harder to read out loud, and is in theory where the restaurant gets its name.  Even better this place is in a mall.  Right I think – perfect opportunity to go and hate this place and make fun of the name, etc. etc.- Ellis is clearly out of his mind.  All my reviews can’t be positive affairs after all.

I arrive at Westfield center and its just meh, as meh as any mall could ever be.  I expect I’ll be eating in some gloomy food court but the navigation kiosk points me out onto something promisingly labeled the terrace.  I walk out of the mall proper onto said terrace which has a line of restaurants running along one side and a very unexpected green wall running up the other.  Green wall meaning plants – not paint.  I am of course undeterred in my mission to hate this restaurant at this point as it is wedged in between a Dell’Aziz and something called the Real Greek which I am sure is anything but.

The first thing I notice upon entering is the complete lack of “Mexican” kitsch.  No sombreros or mariachi anything.  No bull fighting posters or murals of banditos on the run.   I am settled at a nice table with a view of the green wall by a friendly fellow who took care of me before the table of 6 that came in right on my heals.  My bum has not even hit my seat when I am greeted by an attentive and helpful waiter who hearing the American accent says to me quite rightly “Ah American, so you’re familiar with Mexican food and I probably don’t need to explain menu”.  Excellent – appeal to my ego – good start.

Thankfully Oaxaca is spelled correctly on the menu when referring to any regional specialties and there is no evidence of fajitas or chimichangas anywhere on the menu which is a good sign as these things are not actually Mexican at all.  There is also huitlacoche on the menu- which is referred to adorably as “corn mushroom” – but we’ll get back to that later.

Scratchings and Guacamole

I start with an order of pork rinds and guacamole – the pork rinds are bottomless by the way.   The waiter informs me that the pork rinds, or scratchings as they are called here, are baked rather than fried which makes them light and crunchy and not at all greasy.  They’re good but they could use a little salt or spice or something.  The guacamole is also pretty good – it has actual raw onions in it which for some reason is rare in London “Mexican” places, but its missing a hit of citrus and spice.  I opt not to have a refill on the pork rinds mostly because it would be insane for me to eat two buckets of them by myself.  Under the cover of a crowd I totally would have gone for it.

Shrimp Tacos

My second item is an order of shrimp tacos which were served cold and were quite nice.  There was actually enough spice that I started to feel a tingle around my lips – which I enjoyed very much.  These were definitely the highlight of the meal.  They were fresh and flavorful.

Served with my meal were a side of black beans and green rice which arrived for some perturbing reason 10 minutes before the rest of my food and sat there staring at me getting cold as I waited for everything else.  And when I did finally tuck into them I was not all that impressed.  The green rice was rice and it was green – I have nothing more descriptive in my notes.  The beans were beans but I think that in their attempt to have one pot of beans on which you can opt to have either a meat or veggie topping they’ve missed out.  I had mine topped with house-cured chorizo.  Beans with pork should taste porky and not just on top – no porky taste here.

Frijoles with home-cured organic chorizo

Now back to the corn mushrooms.  Once I saw the huitlacoche on the menu I knew I was having it.  I laughed out loud though when I read the description of it as “Corn Mushroom”.  That’s a mild description of what huitlacoche actually is.  It is most often referred to as corn smut which also makes me laugh and if you’re not faint of heart you can take a look at it here. Though in their defense putting “disease of corn” on the menu might not encourage people to order it.

So knowing full well what it is I ordered it and was really looking forward to getting to eat something so bizarre.

Huitlacoche quesadilla

It was kind of a let down.  I mean as a quesadilla it was fine but aside from the ash gray color of the filling there was nothing unusual about it, it just tasted like mushrooms and cheese.  Apparently corn mushroom is an apt description.

The margarita was good and freshly made – could’ve done with a little more tequila in it however.  I judge my margaritas by the amount of fuzz in my head after drinking one – none here – not enough tequila!

Also I have an issue with one of the “salsas” they served.  One was a tomatillo salsa that was good.  The other was – I swear – adobo sauce from a can.  I can recognize it instantly as I cook with it often and always have some at home.  It tastes good but don’t pretend you’ve made me a salsa when really you’ve just opened a can.

If this was a meal served to me in New York I would have said you know its fine – and would probably not make a point go back – as the options for excellent Mexican are virtually limitless here.  But as I had this meal in London I looked at it a little differently.  Any problems aside it was the most authentic Mexican food I’ve had here and if I’ve got a craving for Mexican when in London I will definitely go back.   I might even check out their Covent Garden location.  I might even drag some Londoners along to give them a little education on authentic Mexican flavors.

Clearly Ellis knows good Mexican.

Wahaca
1074 Westfield Shopping Centre,
Ariel Way, London W12 7GB

Pie for 1: £ 4.40

In the midst of  my epicurean rampage through Borough Market last Saturday I did manage to purchase some food that I did not gobble down right there on the spot.  One of the places I shopped at was the Pieminister stand.

Pieminister Stand in Borough Market

I am waiting for the day when doctors tell us that the secret to a long and healthy life is a diet that relies heavily on pie and mash.  Meat pies are not really a big thing in the States which is genuinely a shame.  I am always on the look out for a good one when in London which explains why I have been putting on weight lately.

With names like Chicken of Aragon and Mr. Porky I wasn’t quite sure about Pieminister.  I mean they looked quite nice but Chicken of Aragon?  After perusing my options I settled on a pie described as a seasonal variety – the Deerstalker.  I was a little concerned by the presence of lentils in the filling as this was edging toward healthy eating. The rest of the ingredients; Venison (hence the name), Cattechino sausage, bacon, juniper and thyme convinced me that this pie would in fact be heart disease inducing enough to be worth a try, so I overlooked the lentils.

Deerstalker

My flat in London has a proper oven so luckily I was not reduced to nuking the poor thing – something I would not really recommend.

Let’s start with the filling.  I was right about the lentils – they were a distraction really.  Its a meat pie – the filling should consist of meat! I suspect that the lentils were just there as filler so that they could get away with putting less venison in as they did not add anything to the experience. The venison itself was nice and tasty.  I think minus the lentils and with a little more meat it would have been very good.

The pastry however was just fabulous.  Flakey and buttery and just exquisite.  I would definitely try another Pieminister pie – one without lentils or greens or any kind of pretense at genuine nutrition however.

Pieminister Stall
Borough Market
8 Southark St
London, SE1 1TL

Feast for 1: No idea but it was surely all less than £ 20.00

If for any reason I ever find myself living in London full-time I am pretty sure that it would be in Southark, preferably in a stall in Borough Market.  I woke up Saturday to bright sun and the brilliant realization that breakfast in my flat would be a serious waste of an opportunity and rather than face my weetabix I should see what I could forage there.

Borough Market

Now before yesterday if you had said to me – I fancy a raw oyster as my first meal of the day – I would have checked you for fever or other signs of what was causing your obvious delirium.  But then I saw them…a group of women standing around a barrel slurping freshly shucked oysters and having an apparent religious experience.  So I thought – sod it – an Oyster is as good a breakfast food as any.

One opened native oyster £1.50

Oh my was it lovely.  It was so fresh and wonderful and it did in fact taste like the sea.  As I tipped the shell into my mouth I noticed over the edge of it in the distance that Roast – a restaurant I have wanted to eat at for some time – has a stand.  Roast has a stand!

After knocking over a group of small children in my haste to get there I found myself in line at Roast to Go.  I am sure there were all sorts of other things on offer but my eyes zeroed in on the pork belly and appleasauce sandwich and since I was still recovering from my disapointing pork belly experience at Cha Cha Moon I felt a little redemption was in order.

Roast pork belly with applesauce sandwich

Once served I greedily stole off to the Southwark Cathedral grounds to sit in the sun and taste what looked and smelled like heaven on earth.  Mere words cannot describe how good this was.  I must have been making a bit of a scene because a fella sitting next to me said “I’m Jealous”.  The pork was the perfect balance of crunch and melting fatty goodness.  The saltiness perfectly offset by the applesauce.  This is the best breakfast ever, ever, ever.

And now of course you think – what a lovely meal she had – but at this point I was on a roll.  I took a small rest and dove right back into the fray.  Heading straight for Temptings Ltd.  A stand that sells mostly jams and jellies but that also has a little side table going with Coriander Crepes stuffed with either potato or chicken which I had noted on my way into the market and suddenly remembered now that my pork belly feast was finished.  I went for the potato crepe – to keep things light.

Coriander Crepe

It too was lovely. The crepe was light and spongy the filling well spiced. All of which lead me to think another Oyster or two would really end this perfectly. For comparison purposes only and not because I was on some kind of gourmet bender I decided to try the oysters sold by Richard Hayward.

Wild oyster on the left, cultivated on the right

On the recommendation of the man shucking the oysters I had one native wild and one cultivated oyster. Both from Mersea Island which you can apparently drive to unless the one road to the island is underwater – which according to the Mersea tourist website is often. Aside from the navigation problems the oysters the island produces are lovely. The wild one being the single largest oyster I have ever eaten. It was quite a bit more flavor full than the cultivated but it wasn’t tough as I thought it might have been.

By the time I was done stuffing myself with all of these delights it was just about 1pm – perfect time for a glass of wine. I waddled into Bedales a wine shop in the market where you can order by the glass and sit in a quiet space to escape the general hubbub of the market. I had a nice dry rose prosecco. All in all a lovely breakfast.