Spain, along with many of its Euro neighbors, creates cheesy masterpieces. Who woulda known it… I can hardly remember all the foods, but there was a cheese tasting, of course. Vermouth is experiencing a renaissance in Barcelona at the moment, from places like the one we visited (average customer age, about 80), all the way to young and trendy bars and nightclubs, vermouth is “in” right now. A bit later on we visited a genuinely famous dark and dank space, with smoke-stained walls, for vermouth. A stop for a refreshing beer was quite nice. And, with Renee’s outstanding knowledge, all the scents, sights and flavors came alive that much more. Oh! Another market was a showcase for the almighty olive, another national treasure of sorts, many different varieties and styles and textures. Yum! A Middle Eastern bakery was in the line-up where we consumed all sorts of phyllo pastries, with assorted nuts, in that famous ooey-gooey thick & sweet treacle-like sauce. After a few tips of the bubbly, we were off to another place for a homey, stew-like concoction of cece (garbanzo) beans, and a big meaty meatball, in a hearty tomato-based broth, topped with a lighter-than-air bread-like edible dunking tool (tool?) that reminded me of those “Stella D’oro” biscuits back in the day (my day, a very long time ago), but without any sweetness. You can find extraordinary quality here - Recaredo and Gramona, to name two of the best varieties - for a very good price, especially if you measure them by French standards. Today, cava is an extremely popular drink in Barcelona and in Catalonia. The history of cava dates back to the first half of the 19th century, when some Catalan winemakers tried to follow in the footsteps of French champagne makers, but with their own set of rules. We tasted Cava, the amazing Spanish version of Champagne, of which I am a huge fan. Anyway, Renee treated us to her personal version of the wonderful history of the city, the region, the country, the foods, and the mixed cultures of the people who settled in and around Barcelona. How does (up to) 199 Euro per kilo sound to you? I’ve even seen it priced higher in some places. It’s everywhere, and yes, it’s ridiculously expensive. This is legendary swine, dry-cured in mountain air for a month or two, then aged for up to 4 years. This ain’t your daddy’s ham, my friend, no no. As a matter of fact, at the very least in Spain, Italy and France, they all claim bragging rights to who has the best ham in the world. We tasted the famous ham (jamon Iberica), which is sacred here. The group of about 10 guests on our tour met in a charming village section of town called Gracia, and we were led through the serpentine streets for tasty bites for several hours. That’s a perfect mix for a food tour guide, right? If she lived here in Honolulu, I’d hire her in a hot-second to do my Hawaii Food Tours. Today we started with the Devour Barcelona Food Tours, led by Renee Christensen, an ex-pat with a passion for Spain, food, fun, and people. I am so jealous of the Europeans, many of whom can rattle-off three or four different languages fluently. It’s because Barcelona generally regards itself as (almost) a separate nation (Catalunya), with a different language (Catalan is the dominant language, very similar to Spanish), although many people speak English. Not to suggest that one doesn’t wait to eat until late it’s just that your days are filled with so many goodies, often called tapas, but here in Barcelona, those bite-sized snacks/morsels (often skewered onto toothpicks) are often referred to as pintxos as well as tapas. There have been plenty of nights (after a particularly active day of sight-seeing) when we don’t sit down for our evening repast until 11pm. Dinnertime here often doesn’t even get going until 9, maybe 10pm. Nor would any night-owl type who happens to love food & drink. “Eat Barcelona” is my latest catch-phrase.
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