Barcelona - Report
This is my first post here, but as I culled this site for info prior to my visit to Barcelona, I felt that I should share something about my trip. Hope I do ok, I've never actually written something like this.
Overall, I can't complain about the experience I had while in Barcelona. But I will complain about one experience, and I'll get that out of the way. This past saturday, a night which we hadn't planned on being back in Barcelona, my wife and I ended up at La Dama, Diagonal 423. I picked it out of Frommers as they highly recommended it and it was Michelin starred. How could we go wrong. Ok. So maybe some more experienced foodies on this site can let me know who I shouldn't be trusting, Frommers or Michelin? The service, while overly solicitous, completely failed to cater to my wife's dietary restrictions, even though the waiter and Maitre D' had said they will gladly accomodate her and make whatever changes necessary. The Maitre D' clearly understood the restrictions, so it wasn't a language issue, as he immediate saw the problems after the plates were placed on the table, they just didn't communicate effectively with the kitchen. In addition, in the end they couldn't adapt beyond giving her plain grilled fish. Clearly not an adept or creative kitchen. And the food that we did have was nothing to write home about. My Sea bass entre was over cooked and had an un-inspired sauce that I cannot even recount. Maybe the place just wasn't our style. More old world. But for what they charged, we should have gotten a lot more in terms of service and food.
The best meal was at Comerc 24, Carrer Comerc 24. We could not do a tasting due to my wife's dietary restrictions (so far only Thomas Keller at Per Se and Dan Barber at Blue Hill Stone Barns have created tasting menus just for her, Per Se has set the bar for us in that respect and many others). But starting with the fun snacks before the meal - potato chips with balsamic foam, popcorn powder, curried rice - everything was delicious. Beautiful cod simply prepared with some vegetables and accopanied with a sweat onion sauce. Tiny pressed sandwiches, my wife had the vegetarian ones with Asparagus and cheese (I forget what kind), I had the ones with Jamon, Mozzerella and Truffle, which to me is just cheating. The Kinder Egg, a simple dish similar to ones served elsewhere (The French Laundry for one) with a hollowed out egg filled with eggy, custardy, truffly goodness. And I ended with a foie gras and lentel concoction. Delicious. For dessert I had the really quite wonderul Chocolate ice cream with olive oil, sea salt and bread. Definitely have to start serving that one at home. The waiter who was also the Sommelier offered some wonderful wines by the glass for me, especially the dessert wine, a late harvest garnacha, which went perfectly with the dessert. Just the right amount of sweetness.
We also had a wonderful dinner at Cinc Sentits. I saw many raves about it around here and elsewhere. It was definitely quite good, though as we did not do the tasting, I imagine we missed out on some of the experience. My wife and I both had a delicious sweet potato veloute to start (hers without the bacon, mine with). Then I had the lamb. It was good, but a little bare on the plate all by itself. My wife raved about her salt cod. The woman who waited on us was an native english speaker. She was quite helpful and matched some delicious wines with my food.
For my wife's birthday we dined at El Principal, Provenca 286, a beautifully designed space from the Tragaluz group. The service was very good there as well. The food was good, not as good as the last two, but still quite enjoyable. Of course, right now I can't recall what we had. But we didn't leave unhappy.
Other dinners - Citrus, Passeig de Gracia 44, a less ambitious place with nice views of the Passeig de Gracia. I wasn't so happy with this one. Not so great service and middling food.
Senyor Parrellada, Carrer Argenteria 37 - The restaurant at our hotel (Banys Orientals in El Born). Quite good and pretty reasonable food. I started with a simple sounding dish, haricot verts en papillot (or however they said it in catalan). Basically green beans cooked in a tin foil tent. Cut open and out comes a wonderful smell. The green beans were cooked in a delicious creamy and truffle sauce. For an entre I had the Lamb with 12 heads of Garlic. Tender and delicious braised lamb.
Lunches:
The best - Cal Pep. Sat at the counter, let them know what my wife could and could not eat. Said yes to everything they offered, and ate very well.
Madrid-Barcelona, Carrer Arago 282: Very good and very reasonably priced restaurant. Huge local lunch crowd with a line out the door by 2/2:30.
Also on the Same block, La Rita. Simlar price range and almost as good quality of food. More tourists, but still plenty of locals and lines out the door by 2:00.
La Rosca, Julia Portet 6. Super basic place recommended by Frommers. It was empty, with just 3 other locals chatting it up and enjoying food and wine. Very inexpensive. I had the entrecot. No coplaints. My wife had a baked sole I believe, she said it was cooked just right and simply seasoned. Very friendly host. Ask for a glass of red wine, he'll just give you a carafe, eye ball what you take and under charge you anyway. I think I payed 1,10 Euro for 2 or 3 glasses.
We took a side trip to Cadaques. Had a non descript meal at our hotel, Hotel Rocamar. Had a decent dinner the next night at Cuatro, I believe it was called. Right in the middle of the harbor on the strip of restaurants. It looks pretty new and has a very contemporary and cosmopolitan feel. The menu was a mix of simple and somewhat ambitious. I started with just some hummus, which was quite good. And then I had the braised wild boar, which came with mashed potatoes. The composition was quite inconvenient, they were each in a tiny little dish with barely enough room to cut the boar. But it was already in farely small, tender pieces. Needs some work, but not bad.
I guess thats about it. Hope this is helpful to someone.
DaveS
Oct 25, 2005 04:46PM
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My husband and I are going Barcelona on Thursday so we're going to be trying the places (and food) you recommend. Thank you!!!
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Just out of curiosity - what ARE your wife's dietary restrictions? Sorry if that's too personal, but it would put the restaurant's response into more context.
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Well the sticking point was the no meat. The Maitre D' had said he would prepare a Sea Bass with Garlic minus the bacon that was part of it. The dish came, with the bacon. We said she was supposed to have it without the bacon. The waiter returned after just wiping off the bacon. We grabbed the Maitre D', he apologized and said he'd make a grilled fish. So they had already said they could make a dish for her, then basically gave up and just grilled a fish. Still charging the full price for the dish.
Are food allergies and restrictions not an issue over there? Our luggage was missing for 2 days and I was pissed cause I'm lactose intolerant and most of my pills were in that luggage. And there was no way I was avoiding dairy the whole trip. I went into a pharmacy and the pharmacist never heard of any form of lactaid/lactase enzyme pills, and suggested I don't eat dairy. Thanks a lot. Our luggage turned up though, and I was saved.
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Yeah, that sounds annoying. But the interesting question is, ARE food allergies less prevalent in Europe? Superficially it seems so. In Europe (where I lived until my 26th year of age)I have never met anyone with the kind of serious food allergies/intolerances you hear about all the time in the US. Which is not to say they don't exist, but it's probably a mixture of lower incidence and less public info, and maybe fewer diagnoses? Who knows, but it sure looks like there's less of that there than here.
Might have something to do with the fact that people in Europe have had centuries to evolve alongside their national diets, so they might get along better with their food than the mixed US population with its eclectic palates. This is really for NAF though...
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Yes, food allergies seem to be much less common here--at least this is true among children. There is considerably less processed food here--I think this is the reason.
About Lactaid... you can get this readily in Spain, but you might need to go to an "herbolario" (herb shop/natural medicine store) or a combo herbolario/farmacia. Herbolarios are also good sources for spices, teas and unusual dried plants.
The funny thing is that I was (and still am when I visit) horribly lactose intolerant in the US, but the milk and cheese in Spain doesn't have the same effect on me.
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I didn't know what heartburn was until I came to the US... but when I go back, it miraculously disappears. And I eat MORE when I'm over there, not less.
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Food allergies do seem to be much less common in Europe and as a result are often seen as an example of American faddishness or demandingness. Usually, when I tell my Italian friends that I'm allergic to something, they think that I don't eat it because I've never had a good example of it (since they don't believe that you can eat well off Italian shores), and press me all the harder to try THEIR shellfish stew.
But the funny thing is is that my most lactose intolerant friend moved to Ireland, and after a few years of living on cheese and cream there is no longer lactose intolerant. It may all be a state of mind.
Pork products are not considered to be meat in much of Southern Europe, you'll have the same problem in Portugal and much of Italy as well. If you can't speak the local language and ask all the questions you want to ask, I recommend searching out a vegetarian friendly restaurant.
In Barcelona, Origen 99.9 marks vegetarian dishes on its menu, and is interesting, inexpensive and friendly to boot. (Can't say that everything is delicious but there are more hits than misses). I
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I feel for your wife... It's a cultural thing. A few little pieces of ham or bacon are often considered seasoning or the spice of life here--not a deal breaker. I think it would take a great deal of knowledge of Spanish cooking and diligence and explaining to ensure that a given dish didn't contain any animal-derived elements.
And, in general, there isn't the same "customer is alway's right" mentality here that you will find in US restaurants. Maybe this is more of a "take it or leave it" kind of country.
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"in general, there isn't the same "customer is alway's right" mentality here that you will find in US restaurants. Maybe this is more of a "take it or leave it" kind of country "
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It's because the waiters aren't working for tips, and they're careerist/company men, often holding on to a Franco-era mentality about institutions. Even the Guardia Civil has purged a lot of that culture. The only place it conspicuously lingers is with the notorious short bald officious waiters in sweater vests.
I've had many (younger) Spaniards complain about them, so it's not just a matter of clashes with American consumer entitlement.
ciao
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I understand your frustration, but if you told the waiter no meat, he could have understood you to mean no beef, since beef is known as carne which translates as meat. If you say you're a vegetarian but you order fish(?), saying that you don't eat meat, apart from being confused, he probably thought there was no trouble serving a sauce with bacon, which is not called meat. As a rule, special dietary requests are not looked kindly upon outside the U.S. There is an attitude that like in a private home, you are a guest who is expected to eat something the restaurant serves or go elsewhere. Vegetarianism is poorly understood in Spain, although there are excellent stews and beanpots that are delicious but do include pieces of sausage for flavor. If you ask if they contain meat, the answer will be no, they contain sausage. I find it easiest to tell the waiter I want mostly beans or rice or whatever, and to just not eat the parts I don't like. Next time try a place that serves tapas, that way you can see what's on offer before you order it.
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From what I gather (and I was once many, many years ago a vegetarian living in Spain) I think the feeling of many here is that vegetarians should either pick around what they don't want to eat or go to a vegetarian restaurant (of which there are quite a few in Madrid).
But, even so, I would expect a Michelin-star place to be more accommodating than that.
Also, the cause of dogmatic visiting vegetarians aren't helped by Spanish "vegetarians" many of which eat a little jamón/fuet/what-have-you--because it's so damn delicious they can't help themselves...
But in the future, if you want to just eat seafood without other meat thrown in, I'd recommend checking out marisquerías--these are places that just do fish, seafood, shellfish, etc.
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> But, even so, I would expect a Michelin-star place to be more accommodating than that.
Yet again, La Dama does NOT have a michelin star. This place is hardly mentioned in local news or considered an interesting place to eat.
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Right, sorry, I didn't mean to imply that it was. Perhaps a faulty guidebook is at fault here. Most of the US guides to Spain are rife with errors on every level.
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http://www.frommers.com/destinations/...
They have it online as well as having a michelin star. This could be erroneous. Last time I trust them.
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Just to be clear, La Dama HAD a Michelin star, and lost it in the 2004 guide. (I researched this point this summer when I too was confused by outdated Internet references to their star).
But I agree with Silly Disciple's point that La Dama is not on the local radar -- the BCN natives we house-swapped with left us with a really huge list of chowhounding tips that didn't include La Dama. I then bounced that list off various BCN friends and acquaintances during our stay, and my occasional queries about La Dama (based on those old Michelin star references) were always met with puzzlement.
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> The only place it conspicuously lingers is with
> the notorious short bald officious waiters in
> sweater vests.
Ah, if only that were true! I can't say I agree, I think the lack of hand-holding and catering to personal whims is a pretty pervasive cultural trait. But, as a visitor to this country, you may only brush against this with waiters (and uncomprehending pharmicists).
Not that I'm complaining. I have had extraordinary service at restaurants here... but any time you ask for something out of the ordinary, you may have to prepare yourself to very clearly explain what you mean and be quite persistent to see it through.
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as far as I know La Dama is NOT michelin starred. As a matter of fact, it's the first time I hear about this place.
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I had a HORRIBLE experience as well at La Dama. It was too pretentious and stuffy and the food was not even worth it.
Cal Pep / Quimet quimet / Tragaluz would be 10 times better and not as expensive either
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Just to continue the thread of prevelance of food allergies, US vs. Spain...I used to live in NY and now in Spain.
I remember going to a parents' orientation when my 1 1/2 year old was going to start day care. After the director gave her spiel the entire remaining time was spent with practically each parent worrying about and having to mention their child's precise food allergy. I'm not making this up. I thought this was odd. My Spanish husband accepted this more readily. Go figure.
It may be that my husband just thought this is what Americans do. But I grew up in America and don't remember this sort of thing.
Well after arriving in Spain we went to a parents' orientation and not one single mention of any type of food allergy, and there were double the kids.
It's sort of strange. It would be interesting to get some sort of well thought out answer to this mystery.
Also at the school's lunch the children (Spanish) at my kids' school are expected to clean their plate. If they don't like a particular thing they HAVE TO eat a half portion. And all the kid's do this.
Maybe I should be posting on a parent's site. But I couldn't help responding to the mystery regarding food allergy.
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