GeordieSteve

Dan, When we went to San Sebastian a couple of years ago I couldn't afford a trip to Arzak (or any starred place) but I still had one of the most enjoyable gastronomic trips of my life. The pintxos tour of the old town left me almost in tears: of happiness because of the food and hospitality we'd enjoyed, and of frustration at what I was unable to eat. We went to the places that are always recommended and they didn't let us down: Bar Gambara for the mushrooms and Bar Astelana for the fishcakes. Pretty much everything in those 2 places was superb, and the mushrooms (in autumn) were sensational. Knowing you, you'll prefer La Cuchara de San Telmo which served up less traditional pintxos. It was also hard to fault but I was over-full by the time we got there and could only try a couple of plates. For breakfast, there's an old churreria that does unbeatable chocolate and churros, but I can't remember what it's called...

After a wonderful meal this weekend I thought I'd try to resuscitate this thread. We were out for a ride through the Alt Penedes region on the moptorbike and wanted to stop somewhere for lunch. Fortunately I'd though ahead and we decided to try Cal Xim (www.calxim.com) in Sant Pau D'ordal, near Vilafranca. It is a very unspectacular restaurant in a very ordinary town square. I wondered at first if we'd found the right place, but my expectations changes when we got inside. The main dining room is dominated by a huge open range where they were roasting and grilling some delicious-looking pieces of meat. The menu reflected everything you could want in a country restaurant: solid, seasonal, local dishes, simply and expertly cooked. The prices were very reasonable, with main courses ranging from about 12-17 euros. I had duck breast with mushrooms, which was mouth-watering and my wife had the equally good lamb. We were entertained to watch, on the table next to us, a young girl of no more than 5 years old eat a huge, VERY rare fillet steak with a glee usually reserved by children for ice cream and the like, almost ignoring her fried potatoes! Get them started young! The wine list is probably the reason most people visit Cal Xim. I am not expert enough to appreciate much of what was on offer but the list was hugely, even intimidatingly comprehensive. As I was riding the motorcycle, I was limited to a couple of glasses and I was grateful for the help of the excellent staff who recommended some very agreeable Albet i Noya. Overall we were very impressed and, since the restaurant is less than an hour from Barcelona, we will definitely be back. Hopefully next time I won't be driving!

It would surprise me as well. I thought it was the one "untouchable" on the menu. I can't wait to find out what his new omakase will be, however.

Silly, thanks very much for the offer; sounds like a good idea and I'm sure I can manage one extra early morning. Carnes Colom was closed this evening but I decided to make the most of my visit to Poble Sec by popping into Quimet i Quimet I will PM you tomorrow. Hasta mañana.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. First port of call will be Productos Cárnicos Colom and I'll let you know how we progress from there. Does anyone know how to say "hung" (in the context of meat) in Spanish? Silly, to my shame, I'm still don't know most of the stallholders in the Boqueria. I'm stuck in an office all day and by the time I get there just before closing, the place is half-closed, the remaining stallholders are busy and I'm in a hurry. Not ideal for striking up conversations. I'm prepared to get there extremely early once a week if I know who to speak to but I still won't have time to visit more than one or two stalls. On Saturdays, when I've been in the past, the place is usually a scrum of tourists. Edit: I seem to remember seeing a carniceria for game in Gracia when I drove through one time but I have no idea which street it was on. Am I imagining things or does this place exist?

After spending Christmas in the UK and being reminded how good real, hung, organic beef can be and after reading Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "River Cottage Meat Book" I'm determined to seek out the best carniceria in town. I know that first-rate, free-range chicken is widely available so that's not a problem. I have also seen exorbitantly-priced organic pork, chicken and beef in El Corte Ingles. What I am looking for, however (if such a thing exists) is a carniceria where they know the origins or their meat and can provide: properly-hung, mature beef from bred-for-meat not dairy herds; non-intensively-reared pork and also a good shop for caza (game). I have seen that some organic farms offer meat by mail-order but I'd rather shop locally if possible. Does anyone here know where I should be shopping? I'd rather not have to interview every stallholder in the boqueria

I drove from Barcelona to Pamplona and stayed the afternoon and night there before heading to San Sebastian the following morning. On the third day we drove to Bilbao and came directly back to Barcelona on the fourth. It was a wonderful trip but if I were to do it again I'd omit Bilbao and spend more time in San Sebastian. Of course, everyone should see the Guggenheim at least once. I simply can't recommend San Sebastian highly enough. The food, the town and the surrounding countryside were all outstanding. Regarding Andorra: don't bother. It's been ruined by extreme overdevelopment. Great for going skiing or tax-free shopping but the food is atrocious and the scenery consists of little more than billboards and building sites.

I ate at Cinc Sentits a couple of weeks ago and it was almost flawless. Our omakase included the cheeks instead of the lamb and were my fiancee's favourite dish. Jordi told me that as well as the seasonal rotation of the menu he is also slowly introducing new dishes. The wine pairings were excellent, Amelia's service impeccable. There were one or two really minor things that I felt didn't really work as well as others (the lemon/asparagus/monkfish being one of them) and the bread was average at best but the value for money was beyond compare. It seems churlish to pick faults when the meal overall was of such a high standard but I suppose that's part of the dining experience. I'm lucky enough to live here so I'm certainly going to be returning in a few weeks to see what changes Jordi makes and to try his winter menu. By the way, if you enjoy the cheese course, try to visit La Seu Formatgeria who supply Cinc Sentits. Do an eGullet search for the details and you'll be rewarded with a great food shopping experience.

Thanks. I managed to miss that thread somehow when I searched...

There seem to be quite a few magazines in the gastronomy section of my local news kiosco. Do any of our eGulleteers read or even write for any of these? Which are worth spending money on? Our own Saborosa writes (very well) for Metropolitan magazine in English but what else should I be reading?

I hope that this hasn't been covered before but I couldn't find anything when I searched the site. Which are your favourite Spanish cookbooks? I'm particularly interested in the input of our Spanish posters; there are a plethora of books in Castillian available but, as in any language, the majority seem to be little more than shelf-fillers. Which do you consider essential? Some details would be useful as well as titles. For example, is the book a food encyclopaedia, a haute cuisine recipe book, a guide to home cooking, a guide to the cuisine of a specific region or just good old photo-filled gastro-porn! Of course, books in English would be great to know about as well. My own selection is extremely limited. My first book, and one which I still use, is Floyd on Spain by Keith Floyd. There are some less than authentic versions of many classics and it is sometimes little more than a random selection of the food that the author has enjoyed but for all that his enthusiam makes it a worthwhile read. Just as importantly, all of the recipies work. Floyd's anecdotes will amuse and his love for the ingredients and the country will inspire. A second book is Cooking in Spain by Janet Mendel. This is a useful, if dry, guide to the regions, ingredients and classic recipies of Spain. There are no illustrations or photos and some of the recipies would have benefitted from testing but this is a reasonable all-in-one guide to Spanish home cooking for those who can't read Spanish books. Firmly in the coffee-table/gastro-porn section is a book called Culinaria Spain, edited by Marion Trutter. This is a beautiful wander through the regions of Spain, with each area's specialities shown in some glorious photographs. I believe it was originally published in German. I picked this book up cheaply in the UK as I believe it was going out of print. It is a cut above most books of its kind and I have been pleasantly surprised with it. Over to you... Edit: I meant to ask about magazines as well (hence the thread title) but I felt it might be better in another thread. Sorry, I'm still getting used to posting on here!

Well, I feel lucky as well! I've just phoned Cinc Sentits to see if they had any cancellations because of the weather and I've managed to get a table for tomorrow night. It will be my first visit but the reports and photos here have really got me looking forward to it.

No, lucky you. The weather is horrendous; some Metro stations are completely flooded and it's still raining. I hope it's better by November!

I've just remembered another restaurant worth visiting if anyone's in the Sagrada Familia area. La Yaya Amelia (C/ Sardenya 364, tel. 934564573) is an old favourite. The restaurant is old fashioned and so is the food - bacalau, chuletones and the like take centre stage - but it's a pleasure to eat there and the wine list is excellent. They were awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand award a few years ago but lost it, I suspect, because they started to raise their prices. It's not expensive but the popularity of the area as a tourist destination has certainly affected things. The owners have opened a second restaurant and delicatessen just around the corner on C/ Corsega. I prefer the original for the (lack of!) decor and the family atmosphere (you can expect the waiters to have one eye on the TV if there's a big football game on and you might get a free drink if the result goes their way!) but the food is the same in both. I suspect that this splitting of attention between the two locations is partly to blame for the slight drop in standards I've noticed in recent years - but that's not to say that it isn't still worth a visit.

I've ben in Barcelona for 7 years and I'm still learning. When I think of the money I've wasted on mediocre menu del dias that I could have saved and spent on great food it depresses me. Anyway, I went to Quimet i Quimet tonight for the first time on the recommendation of many on here. Wow. We placed ourselves entirely in the hands of Joanna Quimet, who chose some simple wonderful food for us. A platter of smoked fish, then foie gras, then pate with setas and truffle oil, some croquetas, some cheese montaditos, each matched with an appropriate wine.... 15 euros per person. HOW have I missed this place? Phenomenal value. I'll be back - thank you, everyone who's mentioned this place.

The best turron I've tasted came from Planelles Donat in Portal del Angel, just off Placa Catalunya. Nice ice creams as well.

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I don't know if there's a separate forum for introductions so I'll skip my autobiography until I know Raisab, A very typical place to eat is La Esquinica on Avenida Fabra i Puig. It's a few metro stops out of the centre (Virrei Amat on the blue line) but all the taxi drivers know it. It's a cheap, loud, crowded, fun tapas bar that has been family run and owned for years. My fiancee's family are from nearby and all the locals seem to go there regularly. It's certainly not high cuisine but if you get there early (before 9pm, 8.30 even better) you'll avoid the truly horrendous queues that develop. Most people don't read the menu, if there even is one. Just point at what others are having or ask the manic waiters what they suggest. The food is good and fresh, but I think that the ever-increasing popularity of the place has taken the edge off the quality slightly. The focus is on quality ingredients rather than preparation which helps. Some things, like the croquettes, are bought in but the waiters will always tell you this when you order. It's still worth a visit for the atmosphere alone. Enjoy your visit!