observations on barcelona

[jonnyhunter]

I have learned while i'm here. I am staying in born so most of my experiences are from there but have made my way out of the area quite a bit as well.

Cal Pep is extremely overrated, the food is decent but easy enough to find elsewhere and you pay three times as much as you would elsewhere. I don't get why they have people waiting in line every night, i should have just heeded that recomendations of others and skipped it. Finding good tapas in this city is about as easy as tying my shoes so why wait in line and pay more.

I don't if people know this place but i think the name is Cafe La Palma it is Born around the corn from Bubo. It is a whiskey bar with two older gentelman who run it, one is very skinny the other kind of overweight but my favorite bar in the city, the whiskey selection is amazing even if very expensive and the food is great, it is all served room temperture but i had some very good tapas there, a pastry dish with a tomato sauce underneath white aspergus with a fish pate and marinated zucchinni, as well as some kind of bird. The wine selection is good and the house choices are fantastic at good prices too. The cheese plate looked brilliant as well.

market santa caterina cafe Cuines: I would normally hate a place like this but you know what it is actually consistently good with a friendly staff, i normally sit at the bar and enjoy the tapas (the fried fish here is easily the equal of cal pep) and the prices are not too bad. I have eaten in the main room as well and it is a pretty good meal for not too much either even though the wait on sundays is a bit of a hassle.

Mid Day menus: As much as i love the idea the food disapoints almost entirely, the wine is always bad (I don't know how they find such bad wine in a city where even the cheap wine is good) and the portions are way too much. The one exception has been Bibliotheca where i had a great meal.

Markets: Santa Caterina is overpriced and the selection is smaller except for the meats which i think are equal to any other market in town, but a fun market none the less, La Boqueria hands down a great experience (avoid on saturdays) prices are decent on most items (avoid the stalls in the front) and has the best selections of vegetables i have ever seen and this is in Febuary we are talking about. Market San Antoni is not a popular tourist destination but a great market, meats and cheeses you would never have to leave raval if that is what you are interested in, some of the vegetables stands are great too, i love this market and if it was closer would make the trip to shop there consistently. I hear they are going to renovate this market as well which is a good thing as the outside facade is beautiful.

lastly my bodega is the most wonderful place in the world, again i can't remember the name but it is right near st. pere plaza and has tons of great wines and the people there as nice as they come. Plus one of the guys who works there matches his sweaters with his t-shirts every day.

okay those are a few of my perceptions and would love to hear others from people

[docsconz]

Jonny,

Thanks for your excellent post! Most of the places that you mentioned are unfamiliar to me, but all the more interesting because of that. The Boqueria may or may not be the best market for daily shopping, but it is one of my very favorite places in the world. It's energy, beauty and tradition are simply wonderful. I look forward to more of your impressions of this incredible city and elsewhere.

[luizhorta]

Your bodega sounds a lot like being Vila Viniteca in Carrer Agullers, that is my favourite wine shop in the world, for the wines but also for the nice place, deep into the Gothic Quarter.

Edited February 9, 2007 by luizhorta (log)

[Saborosa]

Cafe La Palma it is Born around the corn from Bubo. It is a whiskey bar with two older gentelman who run it, one is very skinny the other kind of overweight

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I think the latter guy looks just like Obelix! It's like he just walked off the page!

It is a great bar. I love their cheese plates.

[Silly Disciple]

Cafe La Palma it is Born around the corn from Bubo. It is a whiskey bar with two older gentelman who run it, one is very skinny the other kind of overweight

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I think the latter guy looks just like Obelix! It's like he just walked off the page!

It is a great bar. I love their cheese plates.

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I love their scotch . They have all sorts of delectable rarities.

[jonnyhunter]

okay I went to comerç24 and wrote up a bit of a review on my website, here is a link nonny.unlcokedmedia.net.

Also i went to Mundia the other night in Born and the food was really good, the monkfish was especially good. Also I keep forgetting to mention that the mistral bread place on san antoni is probably the best bakery in the whole city absolutely fabulous. Okay more observations as they come.

jonny

[doc slaughter]

I think your a shill.

[Mar Calpena]

Also I keep forgetting to mention that the mistral bread place on san antoni is probably the best bakery in the whole city absolutely fabulous.

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No words to describe the stuff they sell... I can't possibly walk past them and not buy their ensaimades. I'd love to just move in there and spend my life eating their bread. Amazing.