Recapture the Flavor of Your Favorite Destination

In the waning winter of our discontent, we’re still limited in our options for something new and different to eat, to visit, to experience. So how about revisiting some of your favorite places via food, photos, travel journals, and memories? Make a night of it. Re-create some of those dishes you enjoyed in your travels and savor those wonderful times.

When I think of food and travel, Barcelona is the first place that comes to mind. Its cuisine is not only delicious, but locally sourced. I can still taste the breakfast tapas and Caffe con Leche, the fresh fish and local sausages, the robust local wines and fresh fruits, and above all the smell of roasted hazelnuts.

Any discussion of Barça, as the locals call it, should probably begin with Las Ramblas, the three-quarter-mile long promenade boulevard that begins at the Plaça Catalunya and ends at the seaport and a statue to Christopher Columbus. This main thoroughfare, with a 40- to 80-foot pedestrian promenade down the center, hosts a massive collection of kiosks on the weekends selling all manner of goods from flowers to jewelry. Midway down and off on a side street is La Boqueria, a huge food market packed with local purveyors selling meats, cheese, fish, produce, and more. We loved observing people with their big baskets brimming over, imagining what they were planning to cook for their evening meal.

The aroma of roasting hazelnuts

As for architecture, Barcelona offers everything from Roman walls that still mark part of the architecture in the Barri Gotic, the medieval portion of the city with its labyrinth of narrow streets, contains a wealth of shops and restaurants. I can still remember the wonderful smell of roasting hazelnuts at the Casa Gisbert, where the nuts have been roasted in the same wood-fired oven since the 1850s. It’s not just the old; Barcelona is studded with the jewel-like architecture of Antoni Gaudi. Of course, there’s the Sagrada Familia cathedral, a modernist gothic-themed building, and Parc Guell on Carmel Hill, which features not only Gaudi-created entry gates, but also a wavy mosaic-colored seating terrace.

Since we were tourists without a kitchen, our shopping at La Boqueria was limited – which meant we were forced to dine out. Once attuned to the Spanish meal-timing habits (lunch from two to four pm, dinner beginning at 10), we began to adjust. Our favorite late-morning spot was QuQu, a tapas restaurant near our hotel. It was a wonderful way to experience how the city’s denizens start their day as I enjoyed a Caffe con Leche and a sweet along with some sausages or a potato omelet. Morning, midday, or night, it was a great place for a tapas snack. Of course, there were other food and wine experiences: wine tasting in the Port area, meals both fine and so-so in other areas of the city.

A most memorable meal

But the most memorable meal was at La Parra, a former inn converted to a restaurant, with its low ceilings and huge wood-fired grill in the center. We’d read about it in a New York Times article. Getting there was a challenge, because the cab driver was unfamiliar with the name and address – until he eventually pulled up in front and realized it was one of his own favorite spots.

The menus were in Catalan, without even Spanish translations. But we noticed among the large groups of locals a neighboring table of English speakers. We reached out to our compatriots for some guidance on what to order. Turns out this group of visitors from Manhattan had read the same New York Times article, and they couldn’t communicate with the servers either. After we all stopped laughing, we just went with the server’s advice and the point-and-cross-your-fingers approach. I can still remember the delicious grilled asparagus in Romesco sauce and game hens stuffed with prunes and pine nuts.

I looked on CKBK.com for a recipe for zarzuela, a Catalan fish stew, that we enjoyed there. I recommend checking that out if you’re looking for a regional specialty for your evening of reminiscing. (And here’s a tip: Next time you’re traveling, you might pick up a travel-friendly spice mix or sauce to take home for re-creating a favorite dish.) We’re planning to enjoy our zarzuela some evening soon while we pore over our photos and think about our next adventure. It was a great trip to Barcelona – back in 1999. I can still taste it.

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