As we often do during our travels, my wife and I joined a food tour when we visited Barcelona. Barcelona is a fun city to visit, partially because there are neighborhoods that have retained their “small town” quality. One of these is Gracia, where this tour was centered and we could sample a variety of Catalan food.
After meeting our guide and taking a stroll, we stopped at Can Tosca where we enjoyed a glass of cava and a tasty sausage sandwich. This sandwich is apparently a typical local mid-morning snack.
We continued into a multivendor food court — a place locals shop at — wherein we had a chance to try a variety of Catalan treats, including a one of the terrific olive skewers common in Spain (although rare elsewhere in my experience). These skewers typically include one or more olives, a piece of fish, and a vegetable (like pepper or sun-dried tomato). These are consumed in one mouthful and the mixing of the flavors as you chew is what makes these skewers so interesting and delicious.
Our next stop was at a ham carvers where we watched a master slice a sampling of ham (jamón), including the very popular (and pricey) darker Iberian ham.
Nearby we tried a sampling of local cheeses, all good as I recall.
We next journeyed to a tapas bar were we had a chance to sit and enjoy a variety of appetizers…
(Bomba – deep fried meat/potato ball on a spicy tomato sauce,
topped with aoili)
I don’t believe the next stop was part of the normal tour, but our guide loved this shop and wanted to buy a few pastries to take home with her, so she took us in. It’s an Arab pastry shop run by a family of immigrants, with a large variety of interesting baked treats mostly like baklava — phyllo dough, honey, nuts, etc. We had a sample, then bought a dozen to take with us. The best baklava I’ve ever had.
Next stop was to an interesting bodega bar — more than 100 years old and rather Bohemian — where we enjoyed vermouth (made right on the premises), anchovies and bread. I’m generally not a fan of anchovies, but these were quite good.
Our next stop was quite amazing! It was a traditional shop specializing in home-cooked Catalan food. We enjoyed another olive appetizer and a wonderful meatball and chickpea stew.
This small restaurant mostly does take-away food, several examples being shown below:
Our final stop was at a pastry shop—where we ended the day with a nice warm cup of cappuccino and some traditional pastries.
All in all, a great way to experience Gracia and a very enjoyable food tour. This tour was hosted by Devour Barcelona, which I’d recommend you check out. I traveled incognito and paid my own way, as I always do for such activities.
