As
much as we looked forward to experiencing the history and culture of
Barcelona, we also were eager to taste all of its delicious food. There was no
shortage of restaurants nearby our hotel or any other area we visited. The
options were limitless. Even though eating authentic Spanish cuisine was on the
top of our list, we also looked forward to trying out a variety of other foods
as well. Since Barcelona is such a diverse city, there was a mixture of
Spanish, American, Chinese, German, Indian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Italian
foods. I’m sure there may have been even more that we did not get to see. Despite
all these great options, we did find it a little tempting to stop by McDonald's.
In Algiers there are no fast food restaurants like we have in America. It felt
good just to see a McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King regardless of the fact that
I did not frequent any of these places while living in the U.S. It does
however make you feel a little at home when you see those golden arches.
Here's a glimpse of the many foods and drinks we got to enjoy while in Barcelona. Since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I'll start there. I have come to learn that Europeans do not view breakfast the same way Americans do. Some of my favorite breakfast foods in America are oatmeal, veggie omelet, turkey bacon, pancakes, potatoes, grits, fresh fruits, yogurt parfait, and fruit smoothies. While in Barcelona, I immediately had to open my mind up to other breakfast food options. Their idea of a morning delight was much different than mine. Here are a couple photos of the meals we had for breakfast.
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| Typical restaurants seen along the streets in Barcelona. |
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| My Spanish omelet was the only semblance of breakfast. Steak, egg, and fries look more like brunch. |
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| Freshly squeezed OJ! |
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| German restaurant for breakfast |
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| Douglas' mega burger and fries look more like lunch |
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| My grilled chicken and roasted veggies look more like dinner |
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| Nothing like a beer tap at your table for breakfast to wash down....lunch/dinner? |
The closest I got to having an American breakfast was through my Spanish omelet and freshly squeezed orange juice. No matter which restaurant we dined at, they always served freshly squeezed OJ. That was pretty cool. And I guess the closest I got to breakfast potatoes were French fries. Barcelona loves its French fries. It's just about the only way I saw potatoes served there. Here are a couple photos of the typical items Spaniards have for breakfast.
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| Pastries |
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| This was located in one of the train stations we entered |
In Spain it's all about danishes, pastries, small sandwiches, coffee and tea. Since I'm 100% gluten-free I cannot take part in these sorts of breakfast options. Those doughnuts did look tempting!
We tried to eat foods that were different from anything else we ever had. With me living a gluten-free lifestyle, I usually have many limitations at restaurants. Often, I can only choose from 10% of a menu because everything else contains some type of gluten or there is risk of cross contamination. The only time I get to truly kick back and enjoy a menu to its fullest, is when I dine at a restaurant that has a separate gluten-free menu. To our luck, we found out about an Italian restaurant that catered to gluten-free customers. I wanted to try everything on the menu! LOL
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| Certified Gluten-free restaurant |
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| I make my own pizza and had yet to taste anything better until now....it was superb! |
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| First time tasting a Calzone. The bread was the best part! YUM! |
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| First time eating Gnocchi. A cheese lover would enjoy this dish. It was too much for me though. |
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| For dessert....panna cotta covered in strawberry and chocolate sauce. Mouthwatering! |
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| First time having Tiramisu. The cocoa flavor was quite strong, but I enjoyed it very much. |
I'm proud to say all this food was not consumed in one sitting. Il Piccolo Focone was so good we ate there twice. It was such a treat for me to experience all those new foods. Being gluten-free never felt so good!
One of the popular items we constantly saw as we walked around the different areas were hot sandwiches. This is definitely a go-to food for many Spaniards. Again, I couldn't indulge in it since it was not gluten-free, but I found many alternatives.
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| An array of sandwich types to fit any preference |
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| Seafood Paella |
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| Chicken and Vegetables Paella |
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| Sangria was a "must-have" in Spain |
All I have to say is Paella is a phenomenal alternative to anything! That was some of the best I've ever tasted. And Douglas would say his sangria washed it down perfectly.
Every restaurant we dined at offered bottled water. I first assumed the water was fine in Barcelona, but later found out that it's not recommended for anyone to consume the tap water there. The bottles do add a nice touch though.
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| Cute bottles |
You can't have dessert in Spain without having some type of gelato. There was a different ice cream/gelato store on each block. My favorite kind was the stracciatella (vanilla and chocolate chip). We also enjoyed a few other yummy desserts.
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| Grilled Pineapple with Vanilla Ice Cream |
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| Tiramisu and Hot Chocolate with Bourbon Ice Cream and Whipped Cream |
Our dinner experiences were overall spectacular. But it wouldn't be a truly memorable experience if we didn't have at least one bad one and another that was just different altogether. On our second night in Barcelona we decided to eat at a restaurant located on the upscale street of Passeig de Gracia. It was going to be our seafood night. Seafood is extremely expensive in Algiers. A pound of salmon is approximately $25 and that's only if you can find it. Shrimp are no better in cost either. Douglas and I were excited to sink our teeth into some scrumptious seafood. Douglas ordered a Seafood Platter which consisted of nearly every type of seafood imaginable. On the other hand, I chose to go with salmon since I'm not a lover of all seafood.
We started out with a grilled shrimp in garlic sauce as an appetizer. It came to the table sizzling hot and tasted as good as it looked. After polishing off that dish, we waited another 30 to 40 minutes for our entrees to come out. Even our drinks were late to arrive. I ordered a Virgin Pina-Colada, my favorite drink. When the waiter brought it to the table I was eager to take my first sip. Although Pina-Coladas seem like simple drinks to make, they are surely not. The consistency needs to be just right and the blend of ice and liquid need to be perfect in order to have a stellar beverage. I tasted the drink immediately, and knew right away that it wasn't the worst I've ever had, but it definitely was not the best either. I continued to sip on it, but would not purchase it again.
Soon the waiter started clearing our table to make room for the entrees. First Douglas' dish came out. It was one of the largest seafood combos I've ever seen. He was ready to go to work on his meal, but patiently waited until my dish arrived. Moments
later, my entree was brought to the table. It was by far the biggest
piece of salmon that either one of us had ever seen. I knew I was in for a treat.
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| You cannot see how thick the salmon is from this angle, but it was intense. |
Douglas began eating his dish and had nothing but smiles on his face. I gladly picked up my fork and knife to dig into mine. After just one swallow I was highly disappointed. That salmon had absolutely, positively, zero taste. They must have caught it, washed it, and threw it on the grill. Somebody skipped the seasoning step altogether. I couldn't believe this huge piece of salmon could be so bland. I then went to taste my grilled veggies and fries and they too were no better. You would have thought I ordered my dish without flavor. This had to be a mistake. Of course, Douglas then stopped eating and asked if I wanted to share his dish, but aside from the shrimp, I had no liking for any of the sea animals that were on his plate. I told him I would settle with my dish and try to make it work by asking for some garlic sauce to pour on top. Unfortunately, that did nothing to aid the dish at all. Douglas then peeled all the shrimp on his plate and gave it to me. How can you not love a man who gives you his shrimp?
After sitting there for a while I decided there was no reason I should pay for a dish that I found distasteful, to put it nicely. I signaled for the waiter to come over over to our table, explained the situation, and asked for it to be removed from my bill. Thankfully, that was not a problem. Although the manager never came to the table to apologize for such a disaster of a dish, he did agree that I shouldn't have to pay for it. All was well.
At the end of the night, the waiter brought us the bill and we were shocked by the total cost of our dinner. We had grilled shrimp for an appetizer, two drinks, one of which was virgin, and a large platter of grilled seafood. Even with my dish removed from the bill, the total cost for our dinner that night was $120. I'm pretty sure my heart skipped a beat. I wouldn't have minded paying such a price if the food was worth it. But nothing on that table tasted like it was worth that much money. I was incredibly happy that I did not settle with my dish and chose to have it taken off our bill. Can you imagine if that monstrosity was included on the tab?
The night of our anniversary we dined at a highly recommended Spanish restaurant near our hotel, Paco Meralgo. This restaurant was so busy, you had to make a reservation to avoid a wait of one to two hours. The way the menu was arranged, nothing was served as a combined meal. Each dish was listed by itself and the portions were very small. I noticed that Barcelona is not big on dishes with chicken or turkey. Since those are the main types of meat I eat, it wasn't hard for me to recognize the lack of options in that department. I went with grilled shrimp and grilled scallops, along with grilled veggies. Each item was simply mouthwatering delicious. But they were not kidding when it came to the tiny portion size. I literally had one big scallop as a dish.
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| It may have received a "C" for portion size, but it got an "A" for presentation and taste. |
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| Some of the best shrimp in garlic sauce that exists! |
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| This was snack size...I thought I was eating dinner. I love grilled asparagus! |
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| The grilled veggies were so good, we had to order two. |
Douglas, being the southern man that he is, chose to order razor clams and fried rabbit. Yes, my husband felt a strong desire to have rabbit for dinner. When his food came to the table he first asked if I wanted to try it. After saying "No" several times, he then began to consistently encourage me to have some. Before moving forward I must rewind and take you back to earlier that day. We visited a very popular area in Barcelona, the Gothic Quarter. Inside this area is one of its busiest streets, La Rambla. The street is for pedestrians only and stretches a few miles long.
There are many street vendors selling a variety of things along the way. Almost anything you can think of is sold on that street, including animals. We passed buy a vendor that sold the cutest little bunny rabbits. I stopped to take a picture of them because they were that adorable. I told Douglas it would be nice to have one as a pet someday. But he did not find them to be as cute as I did, at least not cute enough to own.
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| How could you not want one of these cute little bunnies? |
We didn't spend much time looking at the rabbits since someone was ready to move on. We continued to walk along the street when we saw a large Farmer's Market. This market was stocked with more than any other Farmer's Market I've ever frequented. Isn't it a surprise that one of the things we saw there were a selection of different meats that went beyond chickens, turkeys, and cows. We saw skinned rabbits!
So you can imagine the images going through my head when Douglas' dish of fried rabbit came to the table. My first thought was, "Uh, no thank you!"
But after his good persuasion, I was convinced that, "When in Barcelona..." and I proceeded to eat my first piece of rabbit. I'll go ahead and admit in writing, that rabbit was pretty darn good. Oddly enough it tasted a lot like chicken, just a little tougher. It was well seasoned and well cooked. I only ate one piece and that was enough for me. I already felt bad for the poor bunnies I saw earlier. Now how will I ever be able to have a rabbit as a pet one day after taking a bite out of one? You simply cannot eat your pet!
Below are some pictures from the awesome Farmer's Market we stumbled upon. They had some of everything. Much of it I would drool over to eat, and other items I wouldn't think twice about buying. Quite a memorable experience!
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| Freshly made fruit smoothies |
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| Pomegranates packaged so that it is even easier to eat |
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| Assortment of fresh fruit |
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| Unique pieces of fruit. I forget the name of the one above |
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| A spicy lover's dream |
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| Nuts and chocolates |
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| Even an egg stand |
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| Cow stomachs...if you could have only seen my face when I first saw this....UGH! |
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| Obviously there is no discrimination against any part of an animal's body being eaten |
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| Huge prawns....with head and legs attached. |
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| This looks more like a squishy toy |
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| Razor clams |
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| Douglas' razor clams from Paco Meralgo |
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| Don't remember the name of this animal...but whatever it is, it doesn't look like anything I would eat. |
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| The market wouldn't be complete without several candy vendors |
Although we ate a hefty amount of food during our trip, we got in plenty hours of exercise to work it off. To conclude our Barcelona experience, I will be doing something different for its final blog entry. As Douglas would say, "Variety is the spice of life."
