tjdnewyork

Spent about six weeks in Barcelona back in March and covered almost everywhere, I think. Now I'm back in town for a couple of weeks. I've been following the postings but haven't seen much about any really new, good places in Barcelona, opened in the last six months or so. I'm staying in a new hotel called Grand Hotel Central, which has a restaurant called Actual, from Ramon Friexa, which I wil try tonight and report back on. Other places that might be of interest are the bar/restaurant attached to the new market of Santa Katarina, will try it soon and report. Wondering if anyone can let me know about new places worth trying out. Thanks in advance.

I went for a light lunch last week. Garish and loud were my first impressions. Good wine selection, though. I drank a glass of Xerolo from Catalonia--nice and unusual offering. I ordered patatas bravas and clams. Patatas Bravas were like ore ida potatoes fresh from the package with an okay alioli and spicy sauce on top. Tia Pol's bravas blow these away. Clams were decent, but also unspectacular. My feeling is that this is a large, chain-like restaurant trying to cash in on the trend towards things Spanish by bringing food that in New York is only served in a few small restaurants to a much larger audience. They pack in a lot of people here. Admittedly I didn't sample anything close to the entire menu, so I may be wrong. But what I did sample doesn't make me want to go back. A few years ago, before Casa Mono and Tia Pol, this place might have been acceptable as the only venue to try this kind of food. Now it's just lame.

Okay I know I'm the major dissenter on this one and I do realize that I may have caught the place on a bad night, but I have to say that I didn't have such a great experience at Cinc Sentits. I went there back in March or April and if I hadn't read so many raves since then I probably would not return. Here were my gripes: the place is a bit Americanized, which make sense since I understand the owner or chef is from the US. Still, the solicitousness of the service was out of character with Barcelona, which some may consider a good thing but I considered a bit strange. Also there was an odd thing--I was there with a Spanish friend and the waiter didn't speak Spanish very well. He spoke English well, though. Sevice was very polite and friendly but operationally erratic. I guess I feel that part of why this place is making so many waves among foreigners is that it caters to them and reaches out to them in a way that many other places do not. But I'm not sure that makes for a great Barcelona place. The food was very good, that said, but for the price I thought the service kind of ruined it. I don't know...just my thoughts on one visit. I will try it again though.

There is an excellent Indian place in Muscat. Can't think of the name offhand but mumtaz mahal or something like that. It is situated high up on a hill next to a large nature reserve not far from the area of the Crowne Plaza. The food was wonderful there.

Pedro, It was good but we were there quite late in the day and we were the only people at lunch in the huge dining room so it felt a bit weird. They didn't rush us at all but the place felt like it should have had 60 people in there, not just the three of us. The food...First a canneloni which was good, but not great. Then again maybe I am just horribly sick of canneloni after eating so much of it in Catalonia. I can't remember my main dish. It was better than the canneloni, whatever it was. The place is nice and the service was highly professional. The only problem is that the room has a sweeping view of the restaurant parking lot. They had a good selection of local wines--I think we drank a Clos Nelin. I suspect we would have had an entirely different experience if we were there when the place was in full swing.

Thanks to all of you for the info. Priorat was excellent. I highly recommend the area to anyone seeking a getaway from Barcelona. We stayed in Gratallops at Hostal Elvira (30 euros for a clean, decent double room) and ate in Gratallops at Irreductibles. This place is gourgeous and I found the food very nice. Super knowledgable Swiss manager who was really really good on the wines. Food was Catalan stuff prepared by a Brasilian chef with flair and skill. Calcots Tempura, with Butifarra sauce, delicious rabo de toro in a orange sauce, a very good olive oil ice cream to end. Expensive for the location--32 euros each for the lunch menu, without wine--but I think worth it. We went to Clos de L'Obac vineyard and the person there was nice and very generous with his time. A bad restaurant is called Cassola, just outside Gratallops. Angry, embittered people who toss the wine and bottle opener on your table and present a dreary array of food. At least it's cheap. For runners or hikers there is an excellent trail through vineyards, forest, and fields from Gratallops to Torroja del Priorat. We also went to Fonda Emilio in Borges del Camp which was decent. Go to the Priorat--it's great.

Asola, Someone else just recommended La Paradeta. I'll have to try it this week. A few more suggestions for Barcelona eaters: La Cova Fumada, in Barceloneta adjacent to the temporary Mercat. Great bomba, awesome artichokes, very old school atmosphere, and ridiculously cheap prices. Three ate lunch for 13 euros. Ondoa Berri, Passatge Marimon, near Diagonal. A very good pintxos bar, clearly influenced by Taktika Berri. Bar Mandri, on Calle Mandri in Sarria neighborhood. Great bravas, a close second to El Tomas also in Sarria. Check them out.

A question for all of you Catalonia hands out there- A few friends and I would like to take a car trip out of Barcelona this week (mid-week) to somewhere in rural Catalonia with great places to eat, nice local inns, pretty towns and scenery, etc. We've been to Girona and environs, Tarragona, and Vic and the Pyrennees seem too cold, so we're trying to figure out where to go. We like everything from Michelin recognized restaurants to great local haunts, and would ideally prefer a combination of both. In terms of places to stay we'd prefer cheaper local places and not grand paradores or the like. I've been looking into the Priorat/Penedes areas, but Id love any suggestions there or eslewhere in the region. What do you think? Thanks for any leads.

One place worth knowing about for a great value menu del dia is Can Lluis in El Raval. It's on Calle Cera, behind Ramblas del Raval towards Poble Sec. The menu is 6.90 and very good. I had fideua to start and then a pork filet and a delicious crema to finish. Also had a decent recommended Rioja for about 11 euros. I really like the atmosphere of this place. It fills up completely at lunch with local people. The staff are jovial and gladly translate the Catalan only menu into Spanish, and helped by naming each dish as we saw it pass. Old fashioned Catalan standards in extremely comfortable surroundings. The fried calcots looked great too. I'll try them when I go for dinner. Another place that is sensational, but only for one dish, is El Tomas in Serria, which serves the best patatas bravas I've tried. Apparently there is another, more posh competitor in the same area which also has great bravas with a more refined atmosphere. It wouldn't be hard to get more refined than El Tomas which comes complete with dirty floors, brusque/surly waiters, and 0 ambience. But the bravas are worth all that. I also was dying for a good pizza and went to Bella Napoli on Margerit in Poble Sec. Very good brick oven pizza, as good as many places in New York. Worth a trip if you have a serious pizza craving.

I haven't been there yet but when I asked friends here the same question people recommened Shunka which is somewhere around the Cathedral if I remember right.

I´m here in Barcelona now. Thanks to all of your for the many suggestions which I am just starting to explore. We are off to a meal at Cinc Sentits tonight and I had a great lunch today at Quimet e Quimet and breakfast at Bar Pinotxo. I´ll be sure to keep you updated as the eating progresses. I tried one of the places mentioned above-Valpoia. Thought the food was great and the staff very very kind, especially the chilean waiter. Only thing that was strange was that the place was totally empty for the entire meal. I think we may have been the only customer the whole night because we went there at 9:30 and left at about 11:30. I think we would have seen any earlier groups and they were closing when we left. It´s a pity because the food is good and the value for wine is remarkable.

I think as you guys say, it's all about context. Of course, to take a bottle of this stuff home and drink it next to a good wine in order to savor the taste of the wine would be ridiculous. But with a big group of ten struggling Barcelona artists around a big table at a Gallician restaurant, with everybody talking and yelling, and having fun, wanting to enjoy each other's company, eat well, and not spend much money, this kind of wine is just about perfect. I personally think that it is futile to contemplate food and drink outside of the context you're going to be enjoying it in. I'm not a food scientist and I don't eat in a laboratory. I don't care so much about the objective reality of the stuff; I want to eat well in nice places with friends and have the food and drink complement the experience. That doesn't mean there is no bad food. Often places or foods or wines can be so bad that they compromise my experience. But I don't think that's the case with vino turbio. You say that with the conviction of a man who's just said that getting hit by a car while crossing the street is not the worst thing that could happen, while he's thinking it would be worse to get hit by a truck. I'm on your side though. I have fond memories of drinking grape flavored alcohilic ink, from a goatskin bota that imparted the additional taste of leather uphostery, in my youth before or after running the bulls in Pamplona almost half a century ago. That fond memory is not filed in the gastronomic section of my brain and there is no cross hyperlink either. That memory fades when I think "wine." ←

I had the same problem last night. A number of high end places were open but I felt like something simpler but good. I ended up at a tapas place around the corner from where I'm staying that was excelent and is open until one every night but Tuesday. (but I think last order is 12:30) It's called Mam i Teca. Address is c/lluna 4, in El Raval. 93 44 13335 Excellent langostinos a la plancha--delicious salty broth in the heads. Very well-prepared and simply flavored dish. They have very good and somewhat unusual wines by the glass, especially a nice white from a region I didn't know of as a region for wine that I can't now remember. I also had the fresh pasta with blue cheese which would have been great except the pasta was overdone for my taste. Next time I'll ask for it al dente. The Dutch waiter/ maybe part-owner speaks perfect Engish and is really into the food and wine they serve. I'll go back again soon.

Bux, I'm planning to hit a range of places. I'd love to hear suggestions in any price range. I just didn't want to bother people with a question they'd answered many times. If you or anyone else has places to share in whatever price range please tell me about them Thanks.

I've stayed with a friend in El Raval every time I've visited Barcelona for the past four years. That place is just a few blocks from Casa Camper. That part of El Raval is very safe. I've walked around there alone in the middle of the night and never even been asked for money. There are some prostitutes around, but that's about it. I don't think there is any danger whatsoever there. The lower part of El Raval down by the Ramblas del Raval which is the old Barrio Chino is a little less safe but I would say it's still not bad. I think the location of this hotel is great and I wouldn't worry about the neighborhood at all. You're very close to the Boqueria and to lots of good bars and restaurants in the area.

BCN experts, I’m heading over to Barcelona for work and fun for about six weeks. Thought I’d ask for some suggestions and share some of my favorite places with you. Many of the places I love have already been written about in this forum so I’ll stick to ones I haven’t seen here. Tactica Berri: Eixample. Valencia 169. 93 453 47 59. Hands down the best pintxos in the city. Get there right before they open at 8:30pm and wait on a small line with a few others vying for the best spot near the kitchen. That way you can pluck off the hot pintxos first. El Vaso de Oro: Barceloneta. Balboa, 6. 93 319 30 98. Old-school tapas and beer place. Drink a cana and eat an awesome but pricey chunk of good meat or foie in this narrow old place. Can Mao. Barceloneta. C/Baluard 12. 93 319 30 82. Not to be confused with the pricier Can Majo. This has to be one of the cheapest good meals anywhere. Drink vino turbio, slightly effervescent Gallician table wine, down huge plates of fried seafood, and finish off with an orujo. Love all the places in the Boqueria. Kiosko Universal has a great menu del dia for about 8-10 euros. Get the vegetables to start and then a piece of grilled fish. One great thing for jet-lagged travelers is to go to Bar Pintoxo in the Boqueria very early in the morning and drink a cava or beer and eat a plate of hearty non-breakfast food along with others doing the same. Finish off the meal with one of the best cortados in the city. La Vinya Del Senyor in Born, opposite Santa Maria del Mar, has to be one of the best wine bars in the world. Great selection and appropriate small plates to go with the wine. I like a morning suizo at Granja M Viadjer in Raval. C/Xucla 4-6. 93 318 34 86. Now, what I’m looking for. The top end of Barcelona has been well covered on this board and I think I have a great deal of information about that kind of place. What I’m looking for are the kinds of places like Foxos that Asola posted about a while ago. By the way I tried Foxos on my last trip and liked it a lot, especially the crowd and the feel of the place. I’m interested in finding places that specialize in regional cuisines of Spain, including Catalan cuisine, for ordinary people who are discriminating eaters and don’t want to spend a fortune. Any of your further suggestions in this vein would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, I'm on a trip in Osaka and wondering about a kind of restaurant called kappo (or kappou?) . The skybar in my hotel (Righa Royal) has a kappo place that got me interested in this kind of restaurant, even though the quality of the hotel place is not great. I found two places that look interesting: Masuda http://travel2.nytimes.com/mem/travel/arti...757C0A9679C8B63 Asai http://itc.uci.edu/~rgarfias/japan-2003/kansai-info.html Anyone been to these places? Furthermore can anybody help to explain a little more about this type of restaurant and possibly make a recommendation for a kappo place in Osaka? I'm with a Japanese speaker so it's okay if the place only has a Japanese menu, etc. Thanks.