Good Spanish Food; Where? Two trips and it's still hidden.
Dec 27th, 2002, 02:18 PM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Good Spanish Food; Where? Two trips and it's still hidden.
We have just returned from Barcelona which we liked very much. The city was great, the people wonderful and helpful and there was no evidence of the petty crime we heard about on these boards. The caveat was the food. It was awful. Salt, salt and more salt. We tried Los Caracoles in the Barrio Gotico. The food was second hand, the paella inedible, fish soup tasted only of salt, the salad wilted and then it went downhill. This is now a tourist trap. It clearly must have seen better days. In addition it is expensive. We also tried Brasserie Flo which is owned by the Flo chain of France hoping that we would get a decent restaurant meal. No such luck, salt everywhere. It was much better than Los Caracoles but paled in comparison to any of the Flo chain restaurants in France. The best meal of the visit was a self catered "picnic" from La Boqueria market. Here there were fresh vegetables, cheeses, non-salty meats, breads, pastry, wine etc; all the necessities. We had the exact same experience in Madrid on an earler trip. Tapas is not a solution either. What gives? Spain is a wonderful country but we just can't go there for more than a few days since it is going to be very hard to find something unsalted to suit our paletes.
Dec 27th, 2002, 04:20 PM
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Up until the horrid oil spill I would have sent you to Galicia. The little towns along the Northwest of Spain have delightful fresh (had) seafood. None better.<BR>The churrasco was to die for.<BR><BR>Sure it gets tiresome eating all the shellfish one desires but we found a great little Italian place to break up the experience.<BR><BR> Sorry about the salt experience, I find that is fairly common in overated restaurants around the Globe and in particular, chain operations. Do try to stay away from those in the future.<BR><BR>Spain's cuisine is very much regional. It helps to be keyed in to what is the local speciality. For instance the only decent paella I had in Galicia was a homemade version made of rabbit. <BR><BR>Some of the best food was obtained at little bars the locals frequented. Many times we were the only patrons speaking english. <BR><BR>In Madrid we were fortunate to have good tapas experiences. There was one stand-out in the milieu. Probably the best experience had by all were the Donner Kebabs over by the Atoche station. Good and inexpensive. <BR><BR>But it is disheartening to eat bad meals night after night. I had approximately hte same experience in France, very hit and miss. However, now I have a friend living in Paris so hopefully I will be keyed in for the next trip!<BR><BR>Spain is worth a trip back.<BR><BR>Buzzee<BR>
Dec 27th, 2002, 04:28 PM
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
I'm sorry you ate poorly in Barcelona! I had two great meals there, one at a restaurant behind the Boqueria and another at a restaurant on the lower part of Las Ramblas -- had to eat late for an American -- after 9pm. I would have had had at least 2 more great meals, I'm sure, but my travelling companions are more Mickey D/KFC aficionados and had to be placated. Still, we ate Spanish "fast food" -- tortilla espanol, etc. and weren't oversalted. By the way, both restaurants came from Fodors Rants/Raves section. Better luck next time!
Dec 28th, 2002, 10:02 AM
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
when we were in spain this fall we depended on the guia roja of michelin and didn't have a bad meal. they have a special bib gourmand symbol for good food at moderate prices. a good tip for those who can't dine late is to look for a VIPS restaurant. they have tasty food although not fine dining quality.
Dec 28th, 2002, 02:25 PM
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
we found the food so drowned in olive oil that it needed a life raft. we regularly eat olive oil at home so we do appreciate a good qualioty oil lin moderation. we did find in madrid 2 or 3 bars at noon that had a great tuna salad( a large green salad with whole canned in oil tuna served with good fresh bread and a couple of decent beers. with all that oil constipation is never a problem
Dec 29th, 2002, 06:54 PM
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
We liked much of the food we ate in Spain, although not as much as France or Italy. Found several good restaurants in Barcelona--my favorite was La Dolca Herminia at Magdolenes 2 blocks towardsRables from Palais de la Musica. Everything we had there was excellent and very reasonably priced. They even had a non smoking section.<BR><BR><BR>The 4 Cats was pretty good too, though a bit touristy and not as well priced.<BR><BR>We eat very healthy food--no butter, lard, unhealthy oils, etc., very little salt, very little red meat, and didn't have a problem in Spain except for the bread which we thought was awful. However, the wine made up for it--didn't have a bad bottle the entire time we were there, and it was very inexpensive.
Dec 30th, 2002, 02:49 PM
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
I guess each person has a right to enjoy what his/her palate dictates, but to denigrate Spanish bread is unacceptable. Did you try the Spanish-version of baguettes? Even the ones I bought at El Corte Inglés were wonderful with crunchy crusts and moist interiors. If you buy Wonder bread at home and Pan Bimbo in Spain, you can't really expect much. Try it again!<BR> Also, in Barcelona, in September we enjoyed superlative, if moderately priced, meals at La Tramoia. If you think you don't like lamb in the States, try it in Spain in León and many other spots. You will think you have never tasted it before. It's simply prepared and succulent! ¡Suerte!
Dec 30th, 2002, 03:54 PM
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
Sorry, Carolyn, but I NEVER eat Wonder Bread in the U.S. Infact, the bread we do eat most of the time (Grand Central Como Bread) was ranked as the "best in the world" by Pavorotti (and he should know)! However, we're planning another trip to Spain and will give the bread another try. Loves everything else about Spain!<BR><BR>P.S. Disgusting--get a life and check your grammar book. In this case "The 4 Cats" is singular, duh...Better yet, if you don't have anything to add to this forum, keep your bad attitude to yourself!
Dec 31st, 2002, 05:51 PM
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
Hola All! Ah...two of my favorite topics..food and wine! 
For Paul, who ate at Los Caracoles -- you should have ordered the specialty of the house - snails! They were great. That said, maybe you don't like them, and I believe you that the paella wasn't good - I ordered it twice in Spain, and frankly, I make a better one than what I sampled. Tapas not a solution? Well, like anything else it depends where you go I guess; we had great tapas all over; the best being in Madrid and Seville. Bread: the Catalan bread - the one smeared with garlic and tomato was divine - but once leaving Northern Spain - poof! Couldn't find it anymore. Now the wine, well, that's a whole different area -- very inexpensive and wonderful.<BR><BR>Melodie <BR>Certified Spain Specialist
For Paul, who ate at Los Caracoles -- you should have ordered the specialty of the house - snails! They were great. That said, maybe you don't like them, and I believe you that the paella wasn't good - I ordered it twice in Spain, and frankly, I make a better one than what I sampled. Tapas not a solution? Well, like anything else it depends where you go I guess; we had great tapas all over; the best being in Madrid and Seville. Bread: the Catalan bread - the one smeared with garlic and tomato was divine - but once leaving Northern Spain - poof! Couldn't find it anymore. Now the wine, well, that's a whole different area -- very inexpensive and wonderful.<BR><BR>Melodie <BR>Certified Spain Specialist
Jan 2nd, 2003, 08:41 AM
#13
Guest
Posts: n/a
I've never been to Barcelona, but in Seville the food is gastronomic heaven. The paella there and in Malaga was delicioso. Seafood is a specialty in Malaga, as it is coastal, but the Andalucian delicacies in Seville were unmatched in the other cities I visited in Spain.
