On my last day in Barcelona, I was wandering the Gothic quarter’s area where the antique stores reside. Having mostly eaten my fill (okay, not really) of tapas, I found a restaurant intriguing enough to warrant dinner as there was Kangaroo Carpaccio on the posted menu. While I wanted to get to some of the more noted establishments like Rías de Galicia, I figured I would have decent luck getting my traveling companion somewhere relatively close to our hotel…
Well, it *was* an adventure, I will grant that. We ordered a 2004 Genium Priorat and proceeded to order. Gee, a salad with pine nut ice cream? That sounded promising! Look at the picture and note the addition of peanuts and raisins in the salad — it will become a recurring theme. Actually, the salad was not that bad; the addition of the pine nut ice cream was quite interesting. There was also sliced tomato, Asian pear, kiwi, cherry tomatoes, and a flower. It would make for an interesting interesting intermezzo in a large-coursed meal (well, the ice cream part, anyway).
I’m writing this from a Barcelona tapas bar, just trying to keep ahead of the reports. Our last day-time meal in London was at Papillon, recommended by the concierge at our hotel. We had wanted to go to brunch at the The Ritz, but it is still under renovation. I was a tad dismayed when I saw the menu as there were no “typical” brunch items that one would expect. My friends had gotten accustomed to my devilish ways of wanting many tastes and we essentially ordered the entire left-hand side of the menu; all of the soups, most of the salads, and all of the appetizers. Nine courses for five people, way too much money, and one of the most memorable meals I have ever had.
The first day in Barcelona was marred with lost luggage (now found) and a medical emergency (all taken care of). The luggage thing was sort of our fault; walking off the plane, while most of the travelers started walking down a very long hallway, we saw a sign immediately to our left which said "Baggage Claim." Well we were Terminal A and our baggage claim was in Terminal B and what this meant was that we suddenly were outside in a baggage claim for locals. This meant we did not go through any security or customs. It also meant that we couldn’t get back INSIDE where I luggage was… We headed to the hotel and proceeded to file a claim but — unfortunately for us — we had traveled British Airways and they were a *little inundated with dealing with another lost luggage crisis stemming from their Terminal Five debacle at Heathrow. So my first day in Barcelona was spent wandering around the Gothic quarter alone, trying to buy us a few garments of clothes whilst the medical emergency rested on his own in the hotel room… In my wanderings, I found this delightful restaurant which was just opening for the day, Irati.
Besides trying to look at as much art as possible, I went to Harrods every, every day. Quite simply, their food court is a thing of beauty. A jaunt to Harrods started my days, partly because they are less crowded right when they open at 10:00 a.m., but also because the food court is so diverse in its offerings. I had oysters on the half-shell with Muscadet for breakfast. One morning it was the cylindrical meat pies (venison with Stilton and orange, thank you!). How can you not love a place that has FOUR different providers of Goose Fat? Or a fish market that offers varieties which can be brought home — or they will cook it for you there (fry, broil, etc.?) The butcher has Scottish-raised beef and Danish-raised lamb. And it isn’t just the First Floor food court that makes Harrods special; they have restaurants and bistros on every floor, including a specialized chocolate bar (I know, I should have at least tried a hot chocolate from there and I didn’t!)
I firmly believe that many “foodies” out there discount the oldest restaurant in London, Rules. This was a second visit for me and a destination restaurant that I was looking forward to returning to. See, the last time I ate there, I was only a budding foodie, there was no such thing as a blog, and no way to network with other culinary aficionados to know where to eat. I was just a history buff who had read about the illustrious history including the literary greats who had dined there; Galsworthy, Thackeray, Dickens, and H.G. Wells.