A Spainish Fiesta

On my recent travels in Europe, I stopped in Barcelona for a true taste of Spainish cusine.
From traditional tapas to the most amazing paella I have ever tasted it was an experience that tantilised thee taste buds.

When dining out for tapas, one usually tends to consume a few plates between a group. This way one gets to experience and taste an array of Spanish flavours, which makes it easier to try a variety of dishes. I was told the best way of looking out for a good tapas restaurant was if the place was in a bit of a 'state'. By 'state' I mean the place is in a downright mess. Which I found to be rather odd because you would usually turn away from a place that looked somewhat messy. However, the reason for this statement was because these places are usually the favourites of the locals and the food is so good that the staff do not have time to clean the napkins and residue from the floor!  Needless to say we never actually came across a place that was in a 'state' but I was looking out for one and even at the 'clean' places we did have many a good tapa.

The 'traditional' Spanish tapa which delighted me the most were the Pimientos de Padrón which are mini peppers usually friend in oil and seasoned with sea salt. 

These green peppers are a mouthful of goodness! They are about the size of your thumb and so sweet to taste. They were definitely one of my favourites and I will attempt to make them myself to relive the Spanish experience very soon. Other traditional tapas sampled were the Spanish meatballs, garlic mushrooms, salted fish (usually whitebait or anchovies), and patatas bravas which consists of fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce.


Barcelona also enticed me with her food markets, just off the main street of La Ramblas. I have never seen so many rows of fresh produce, from sweet treats, to bread, fish, nuts, many types of olives and cured meats. I was in Heaven! I couldn't stop thinking if only I lived here I would be shopping up a storm!!! To share my experience I have contributed with some photos below. Just looking at them is making me drool. Pleasant.

Barcelona for me was a foodies delight especially for having so many different dishes to try and being so easy to do so via the traditional tapas experience. However, I found the people and customer service pretty rude, and two the sangria in bars was bollocks. You could definitely make your own better concoction at home! They watered down the alcohol with plenty of mainstream juice and went stingy on the amount of fruit and it can be expensive! For example one place was going to charge us 15 Euros for all you can eat tapas (our eyes lit up) however they sting you on the price of the drinks and the waiter did not want to give us a drinks menu or tell us the price of their jug of sangria was 20 Euros! We ended up walking out and the waiter telling us to go to McDonald's... RUDE! We did in fact find a place after another 20 minutes walking who gave us a feast of tapas for 10 Euros and a beer included. So tip from me is look around and don't settle for rubbish service!!!

Being the foodie that I am McDonald's caught my eye as they actually serve wedges as an option with their meals. FACT. Check out the image below. They also have DIY tills where you order from a computer touch screen and pay into the machine (almost like a ATM machine) and then collect your order when it is called. Delightful and fast. They also take the cake for best cheeseburger in all three countries we visited. And also for the biggest burger I have seen. Called the 1955, double pattie, salad and bacon. Big ups to Spain McDs!

Also, Spain has bread called Bimbo. Hilarious. Literally cracked up and had to take a photo.

That is all folks. For my next installment I will be discussing my Spanish Paella cooking session and eating the most seafood I have ever eaten in my life. In one go. Literally. Just wait till you see the photos.... delish!!!

From a lover of all things food, especially Spanish cheeseburgers. Over and Out.

On a Side Note...

I have been perusing some of the tastes of London in the past couple of weeks, which seemingly has been in a lot of pubs!

Adam and I recently attended the Prince of Wales pub on Lillie Road in West Brompton - which looks slightly glamourous from the outside and appeals with its sign stating 'beer garden out the back'.
Henceforth as it was a rather sunny afternoon and we had only just arisen from a large night out we decided to try this food quarter out. The menus appealed and looked nicely presented. I was after mushrooms and tomatoes (one of those hangover cravings) and decided on the fully cooked breakfast (although I was rather tempted for the roast). Adam went for a good English pub classic; Bangers and Mash, and we sat outside in the sunshine eagerly awaiting our food. My mid afternoon breakfast arrived complete with eggs, baked beans (slowly becoming a fan of though I hate to admit it), one soggy hash brown, two pieces of extremely well buttered white toast (ugh!) and a horrid sausage with one rash of bacon, SANS mushrooms or tomatoes... which is why I chose the meal in the first place! I was mortified and asked the waiter where the rest of the meal was - he shrugged his shoulders and went to ask the chef - he then came back with a boiled half tomato and said they were out of mushrooms. In my hangover state I was not happy but ate the meal with disgust as I needed something to fill the itching in my stomach.

I was left feeling I would have rather got the roast having it been better value for money especially if they didn't have the two items on the plate that I was wanting... damn waiter should have said something.  Adams bangers were not banging as such, but very processed and the gravy was average - potato was tasty though.

So all in all - Prince of Wales - you suck - too costly for both meals for a rubbish job! Sort your bangers out!

We also recently Guanabana restaurant in Camden for my birthday dinner where Jerk Chicken and Goat Curry were devoured. Jerk Chicken - absolutely delightful and many of us struggled to eat the whole thing, the Goat Curry on the other hand tasted similar to lamb and looked like goat poo. See pictures below!

One more thing to note... our lovely friends who live in a Munster Road abode invited a group of us to the local pub The Durrell (featured in my First Roast Experience). On a pleasant Sunday evening the group of 10 of us devoured x8 Chicken Roasts (you get a half) x1 Lamb Roast (I finally managed to fulfill my craving for one) and x1 Tuna Steak (non-roast). We were graced with four whole chickens in which two men took up the role of carving them in half. A few massive plates of roast potatoes, brocolli, parsnip, carrots and a huge yorkshire pudding each. To top this off, our friends had a 50% off card which made the roast £6.50 each!

The Durrell and Munster Road Flat = You rock my socks off. We shall return again with more board game playing and plenty more roasts.

Delish!

Gustocissimo

Gustocissimo means 'very tasty' in Italian, according to the Rome waiters who served us free choc-mint martinis to attract customers to their ristaurante... free martini? I think yes!

Italy's palate consists of two of my most favourite foods; pizza, and of course pasta.

During our one week consummation of three cities in Italy, George and I managed to devour: x5 spaghetti's, x2 fettucine's, x1 gnocchi, x1 risotto, x8 pizzas, (with the help of friends of course!) needless to say after one week of this I am awfully tired of pizza and pasta... however, it had to be done!

Some foodie things that stood out to me in Italia were:

•  They put corn on pizza and in salads as a norm
•  Pasta sauces tend to be simple i.e tomato and onion
•  They don't use garnish... I would normally have beautified my meal of tomato pasta with basil leaves - they did not do this anywhere!
•  The black olives were not as good as the green olives
• White pizza consists of pizza without the tomato base - its more likely to be cheese or oil mmm
•  A cooked breakfast is non-existent - you will have to suffice with a coffee and a croissant!
•  Pizza does not come sliced - you will need to specifically ask for this to be done (tourist alert!)
•  The bread most ristaurantes will serve you with your meal is insanely crusty... so crusty in fact that it is a struggle to eat!
• I am now addicted even more to olive oil, and balsamic vinegar with fresh bread (not so good for the waistline!!!)

I will now leave you with an assortment of my favourite tastes of Italia - Enjoy!

First stop in Europe : Roma, Italia!

Rome welcomed my friend Georgina and I with open arms. It's delightful paved streets and beautiful atmosphere is exactly how I pictured Italy.  With numerous ristorante's and trattoria's (less formal than a ristaurante) to keep the mouth watering... it was hard to pick just one for a meal! My first taste in Italy was at a cute ristaurante in the Piazza del Popolo (a main tourist destination).  It consisted of pasta and pizza - in traditional Italian style! And a small antipasto of meats to share with George.  Salami, parma ham, olives and artichokes made up the antipasto which we devoured with the complimentary bread (in most ristorantes they will bring out courtesy bread when you order so do not fall into the trap of ordering it first!). I would rate this about 3-5 again. Still on the search for the perfect antipasto!

Our first experience of pizza and pasta in Italy was divine.  The chosen pizza : Capricossa, a tomato base topped with parma ham, mushrooms, olives, artichokes and a hard boiled egg.  And the pasta : All'amatriciana, a simple tomato bacon and mozzarella sauce spaghetti. Both Italian specialties left us eager for our next meal! All of this was washed down with a beautiful bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the South of France, which went down way too easily. 




Despite the joyous occasion of our first night out in Italia, we soon realised that after the bill arrived that we could not live a life of luxury on our two week adventure around the Med!