List of Restaurants

So, here's a first for the blog -- a list of the restaurants we ate at during our first three weeks here.  I was going to wait for the full month, but this has gotten quite long, and I didn't want to bog folks down in the blog.  (Editor's Note: Clever, "blog bog."  Blogger's Note: Hmmm, didn't notice my own wordplay!  Editor: Smug.  Liar.)

I will probably add a post at the end with the final week's restaurants.

If meals are left off, it's because we ate them in the apartment.  We rarely eat breakfast out.  Rated on a scale of Highly recommend, Very good, Fine in a pinch, skip it.

Saturday 9/14 -- lunch at Fanny Bar, a cheap, hole in the wall tapas place right near the apartment.  It was just right for our first meal back in Barcelona.  Verdict: Fine in a pinch.

9/14 -- dinner at El Xampanyet, Carrer de Montcada -- boisterous tapas and Cava place.  We stood at the minibar and loved every minute of it.  Carol even liked the anchovies in vinegar! Verdict: Highly recommend!

9/15 -- breakfast at Brunch and Cake by the Sea.  Recommended by my high school friend Mark Ganung, it is peak millennial brunch hangout spot.  And the food is darn good.  Verdict: Highly recommend, for brunch/breakfast.

9/15 -- lunch at El Glop.  Outside by the theater whilst on our Modernisme walk.  Great shrimp for Carol, secreto pork for me.  Verdict: Very good.

9/15 -- dinner at Sagarrdi.  Fancy steak place on c' la Argentera just up from Santa Maria del Mar church.  Great service, great steak. Verdict: Very good.

9/16 -- lunch at Bar del Pla.  A hole in the wall tapas place recommended by Rick Steves.  On Carrer de Montcada, up by the oldest church in Barcelona.  Carol and I shared deconstructed pig suckling tacos and mussels in a tomato broth.  Verdict: Very good.

9/16 -- dinner at Disfrutar.  Peak gastronomy.  A two star Michelin restaurant, we had 30 courses (all small!), a great Priorat, and it took over three hours.  We got home after midnight.  From dinner. To paraphrase my dad, who used to say, "The rich eat late, and so do we," I would offer "The Spanish eat late, and so do we!" Verdict: Highly recommend.  (Expensive)

9/17 -- dinner at Bar Brutal.  A cool wine bar/restaurant in El Born.  Place has three bars, wine bottles everywhere, and the kitchen is open.  After the meal I thanked the chefs for the charcuterie plate, the tomato/watermelon/olive/cucumber/yogurt salad, the mussels in tomato sauce, and the three cheeses.  Verdict: Highly recommend.

9/18 -- lunch at Mercado de la Boqueria.  We dined at a counter of Bar Central on Padron Peppers, tasty lamb ribs, and garlic shrimp.  Pricey for a lunch, but still a very cool place to sit and watch the world go by in the market.  Great service. Verdict: Very good.

9/18 -- dinner at Enoteca Paco Perez.  Okay, eating at two Michelin 2 star restaurants in the same week might be overdoing it -- but I had made these reservations before getting the counter reservation at Disfrutar.  They had 15 courses, many of which were excellent, but a few of which were so-so.  The service started out strong, but then slowed to the point where dinner, which was supposed to be 2 1/2 to three hours took 3 1/2.  Look, it was very good, but we would not go back.  Verdict: Very good (expensive)

9/19 -- dinner at Lonja de Tapas.  Our first two choices for the evening were packed, but this tapas bar was not packed.  We had the tapas tasting menu, which was quite good. Verdict: Very good.

9/20 -- dinner at Cal Pinxo Palau de Mar.  We came here at Anna's recommendation for Paella.  While Barcelona is not famous for that dish, Carol wanted to know how her paella stacks up against the best of Barcelona.  This waterfront restaurant was quite the change from the city vibe we are used to.  The rice was fantastic, cooked in a seafood broth, and the mussels, shrimp, and scallops were good.  Neither of us liked the crayfish, though.  Carol's paella is still better, but she came up with an idea to improve it.  It was also our first bottle of Albarino on this trip.  Verdict: Very good.

9/21 -- lunch at Mercado de la Boqueria.  We cruised the market stalls with Maddy for her first real meal in Barcelona.  First she and I each gulped down two huge oysters at an oyster stand.  Then the three of us split a couple of cups of Jamon and cheese.  Finally, we ended with an empanada each, as we grazed our way through the market. Verdict: Highly recommend.

9/21 -- dinner at Bar Brutal -- took Maddy there after Carrefoc.  Food was just as great the second time.  Since dinner wasn't till 10pm, we also took Maddy at 7pm to El Xampanyet for Cava and a few small tapas.  She loved both places.

9/22 -- dinner at El Vasa de Oro.  After the month long vacation, the owner was back and the bar was open.  It had rained hard, and Carol was tired, so we almost didn't go in to the jam-packed place.  There's a reason it was full of locals -- great tapas of octopus, Andalusian style, patatas bravas, and sirloin steak cooked perfectly with sides of Padron peppers.  BOTH Carol and Maddy got the spicy hot peppers.  Verdict: Highly recommend.

9/23 -- lunch at Sagardi.  Last great meal with Maddy in town.  This time, we sat at the tapas bar instead of going in the restaurant.  Awesome.  This is our first toothpick place -- where you save up your toothpicks from each tapas and they charge you by the tapas.  I joked with the waiter that I only had two tapas, but the six toothpicks were easy for him to see.  He hesitated a moment, and then broke out laughing when he realized the point, and pointlessness, of my joke.  Waiters love my humor.  Verdict: Highly recommend (for a toothpick tapas place)

9/23 -- dinner at Meneghina.  We went to this well-recommended Italian restaurant near Park Ciutadella.  We wanted to change it up from tapas (Editor: SMH -- hard to believe!).  A cozy little place, we felt right at home.  We shared a tomato salad, and each got the rack of lamb.  It was fabulous, and we didn't even try the homemade pasta.  The best part, however, is when I ordered a bottle of L'Infernal Priorat, and the woman who runs the front gushed over my great selection.  She was quite surprised to learn that I had bought it in the States.  She gave me the name of a wine store where I can buy it, so I'm paying Cuvee 3000 a visit soon.  Verdict: Very good.

9/24 -- lunch at Golfo de Bizkaia.  The other places we looked at were jammed, so we popped in here, our second toothpick tapas place.  Again, all good stuff, with beer.  It's a shame we can't enjoy life in the US with toothpick tapas.  Verdict: Fine in a pinch.

9/24 -- dinner at El Vasa de Oro.  This place was absolutely fabulous, so we brought Don and Jennifer here for their first tapas.  They loved it, despite their jet lag.  Carol got two hot Padron peppers, and I got one.  It's really not as hot as they say.  Our bartender/waiter was a real character!

9/25 -- lunch at a Santa Caterina market restaurant.  Managed to get an outside table.  Had a wide variety of tapas, including shrimps/garlic, Padron peppers, and more.  Fine in a pinch.

9/25 -- dinner at El Quattro Gats (The Four Cats).  It took me a while to decide if we would go here -- it's quite touristy, and yet it would be a nice homage to our 2009 trip here.  This restaurant is famous for two reasons -- it is the first place Picasso ever exhibited his work, and because it is the first place the Bolger family ever ate in Barcelona.

Yes, it is touristy, but. . .it is in a very cool location and is a very cool building.  Despite the musician dropping his mic onto Jennifer, it was a wonderful evening.  My steak was awesome, the wine was great (and not too overpriced).  Our waiter was funny and insisted on speaking only with Carol, and only in Spanish.  Overall the food was better than expected, and the ambiance is legendary. Verdict: Highly recommend

9/26 -- Lunch at Yves Nicolier Sandrock's house.  That's worthy of a blog post.

9/26 -- for the third time we had dinner at Sagardi, as we wanted Don and Jennifer to experience toothpick tapas.  They loved it, we had counter seats by the famed meat window, and we did not have far to go home afterwards.  We had come from a long evening of drinks at the fabulous rooftop bar at the Hotel Majestic, where we had stayed as a family ten years ago.  The views are amazing.  You pay for it with the bar prices, but we saved money on dinner later.

9/27 -- lunch at Escriba.  Suggested by our boat skipper, Captain Noah, this waterfront restaurant was perfect after the boat ride on the Minerva.  Carol and I split the Mountain and Sea Paella, which included chicken, ribs, scallops, mushrooms, Norwegian lobster (isn't it good?), and green beans. Verdict: Very good.

9/27 -- dinner at El Xampanyet. . .yet again.  This was our third time to this beloved cava bar, and the waitress recognized Carol and I.  Don and Jennifer had been, and were quite taken with the frenetic buzz of the place.  While we were standing in line before 7 pm for it to open, I (channeling Gene Laporta) struck up a conversation with a young Canadian couple.  Actually, I butted in -- they were talking with each other, the guy was asking if it was worth waiting for.  So I leaned over and helpfully said, "Oh, it's definitely worth it."

Being Canadian, they were nice and did not just tell me to leave them alone.  So we all chatted for a while.  They were seated toward the front, and us toward the back where we couldn't see them.  After a while, I went to check on them -- they both gave me thumbs up.  We high-fived, and I went back to our table without a saying another word!

9/28 -- lunch at La Boqueria Boket, outside La Boqueria.  There were no open seats at any of the bars in the market, so we went next door to one of the many restaurants.  It was good tapas, and a place to sit.  Verdict: Fine in a pinch.

9/28 -- dinner at La Taverna de Clinic.  Suggested by Yves, we were a tad underwhelmed.  Carol and Jennifer both got the lamb, which was excellent.  My suckling pig was more suck than suckling.  Don liked his fish, but we found the waiter to be surly.  This isn't France, where you expect surly.  This isn't Italy, where you expect indifference.  At most places, the food service has been impressive.  Not so much here.  Verdict: Skip it.

9/29 -- lunch was a picnic at the Park, with sandwiches from Cafe del Born.  Written about in a blog post.  Verdict: Highly recommend (for the fun of a picnic in the best park in Barcelona.  That's not a shot at Park Guell, it's the difference between a place to hang out and a place to be wowed.)

9/29 -- dinner at Paz19 by Sensi.  At the suggestion of Mark Ganung, I tried to book us to Sensi Bistro.  They were full, so they offered Paz19.  After drinks at a nearby bar in Barri Gotic, we went to Paz19.  This was tricked-up tapas, and it was delicious.  It has come the closest to Jose Andres's Jaleo of any place we've been here. 

We were by far the oldest people in the restaurant.  Everyone else was young and hip.  I noted to our group that everyone else is saying, "see those old people over there, when we are their age, we hope we are as cool as them to go to a place this hip!"  Verdict: Highly recommend.

9/30 -- lunch at La Catalana.  We had hoped Cal Pep was open for lunch on a Monday, but it wasn't, so we went nearby instead.  Eating outside under the umbrella was enjoyable, especially as there was a cross-breeze.  Carol and I shared their Tapas sampler, which proved to be way too much food.  Don and Jennifer each had a regular plate of food.  Verdict: Fine in a pinch.

9/30 -- dinner at Hoffman.  A one-star Michelin (Carol and I have one left), the food was memorable, although not as memorable as the taxi rides there and back.

 Our first cabbie nearly hit a bicyclist, zooming close, clearly annoyed the biker was in the taxi/bus lane where he does not belong.  Just to show that wasn't a fluke, he accelerated nearly into a slower going car.  He was a nice mix of Iranian and Afghan, very chatty, but a tad aggressive.  He speaks seven different languages, and his English was quite good.

Our second cabbie had a penchant for running red lights, but at least it was at a high rate of speed.  He also covered the side of his face with his hand, as though it upset him to have to drive four Americans.  I don't know, we didn't talk, as English was not his speed, and he did not seem interested in talking to a woman (Carol) who is solid in Spanish.  He just wanted us out of his cab.  And we just wanted to be out of his cab!  Verdict: Very good.

10/1 -- lunch at Zero Patatero.  Not far from our apartment, this was recommended by the Washington Post writer Meg Bernhard for its traditional menu del dia.  The three courses were each quite good -- all locally sourced and part of the slow food approach.  We really enjoyed it.
Verdict: Highly recommend (if you are in the area).

10/1 -- dinner at Bar Savannah.  We were looking for something simple.  The cava and burgers hit the spot.   Verdict: Skip it.

10/2 -- lunch at Bar Boqueria.  We were able to get counter space at this bar, which, as you can probably tell from the name, is in La Boqueria market.  Each course was plenty big -- we had incredibly fresh calamari, generous portions of jamon, and avocado salad with prawns.  Very tasty!
Verdict: Highly recommend.

10/2 -- dinner at Cinc Sentits.  Recommended to us by our Denver-based friend and traveler extraordinaire Holly Bryan, I booked it solely on her recommendation.  We loved it.  We also didn't realize it was a Michelin 1 star, but of the four Michelins we've been to, it ranked second to Disfrutar, which is saying something.  We went with the short tasting menu, and it was delicious.  Verdict: Highly recommend.

10/3 -- lunch at Car Carlets.  In the center of the small mountain town of Porrera, it does have the most unusual signs for the men's and women's room I've ever seen.  The signs are even on the internet.  The food itself was fine.  Verdict: Fine in a pinch.

10/3 -- dinner at Sagarda.  Wiped out after the wine tour (we're not day drinkers!), we first thought about pizza at a local dive, but changed our minds and went with toothpick tapas.  Great as always, and of course, fast.

10/4 -- I was sick to my stomach and had toast for lunch.  And dinner.  Even after going out to the Magic Fountain, and having our pick pocket adventure, it was best to just eat toast.  But I savored it, because my stomach was no longer in pain.

10/5 -- For lunch, we grazed again at La Boqueria.  Our Spanish Civil War Walking Tour did not end until 3:30, and we were near the market.  I foolishly assumed that by 3:45 pm, we would be able to get two stools at one of the numerous bars there, but we struck out.  Saturday is not the day to try and sit and eat at the market.  So instead we bought jamon and manchego cups, empanadas, and oysters (for me).  Is it a bad idea to eat three huge oysters a day after stomach problems?  We'll find out!

10/5 -- for dinner, it is Carol's turn to be sick, so we ate jamon, cheese, and empanadas in the apartment.  The good news is, Carol has something different than I had, so I did not give it to her!