La Boqueria Barcelona Summer 2011

La Boqueria

Rambla

9100801 Barcelona, Spain

Yes, we just returned from a wonderful vacation in Barcelona. We did almost nothing in the way of sight seeing except to walk around the city with some sort of destination to which we almost never arrived (unless by cab). So easy to get distracted in such an architecturally and culturally diverse city.

On our first walk on our first day we strolled up La Rambla and quickly found ourselves among the hanging Iberico hams at the opening gates of the famous food market La Boqueria.

Luckily for us we arrived late in the day and the market was comparatively empty. We could ogle and nosh and snap at will.

Hearts, and heads, and blood of beef and tripe. The blood of beef in cubed form is used in some Catalonian stew style dishes. 

Salted cod fillets.

Rabbit.

I think the above is some kind of cured tuna.

I tried these snails the following evening in Barceloneta, simply steamed in water with a little butter and salt, they were mild tasting, meaty, delicious.

Percebes are also commonly called goose barnacles and I didn't see them in any menus while in Barcelona. Not sure I would order them if I had, although they are considered a delicacy. Harvested north of Barcelona in Galicia, they are often harvested for export to Canada or Morocco. 

When spoken of by the locals, La Boqueria was referred to (to me) as the fruit market. And while there is definitely a strong produce component I wouldn't call La Boqueria a fruit market if I were describing it to a friend. However, D buys us a fruit cup.

WHO took a bite out of that dragon fruit?

Dozens and dozens of varieties of pure and mixed fruit juices,

Needs no explanation.

Some markets in Barcelona label these as the French figue and some as breves. Nevertheless, they are much, much larger than figs grown in California. These are almost the size of my hand.

The exotic rambutan.

A baby pineapple. One of these was about the size of two of my fists put together. So cute.

There are many stalls for dining in La Boqueria. The two most well renowned (El Quim and Pinotxo) were two people deep even late into the afternoon. We stopped instead at the open barstools of this unassuming little tapas spot, had a nosh and great service. Booze is omnipresent in Barcelona, all day long. The little blonde woman at this spot had a full bar. Salud!

Lightly fried sardines.

And our first tapas of many, a grilled squid with pepper and a fried shrimp pinned through a sauteed mushroom.  These were very good compared to tapas we drunkenly came across later in the trip. Be picky. You literally cannot get away from tapas, so choose wisely. These were good.

Boquerones en vinaigre...the meat in the middle is chicken if I recall correctly. Again, nicer than boquerones I came across later in the trip. The breaded part was very light and fluffy, the red sauce tart and not spicy.

So many different offerings. Eggs, from all kinds of birds in all sorts of sizes.

Herbs and spices.

Chiles!

D did backflips for this stand. His favorite candy is anything gelly: Sourpatch Kids, Good n' Fruity, Gummi Bears, etc. This stall is a gummy candy celebration with amazingly authentic flavors. Every fruit under the sun. 

And other more inspired fruity flavors: caipirinha, sangria, citrico, mojito.

The tail end of the market at the end of a long afternoon. It still looks light outside but the sky doesn't actually darken in Barcelona in June until well after 9 pm.

Get in MAH Beer Belly!

Beer Belly
532 S. Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90020
213-387-2337
Beer Belly LA tumblr

No one can deny that Koreatown is a hub of good eats and drinks, a plethora of karaoke joints sleek and grimy, and pretty damn decent apartments in a central location at reasonable rents. I spent a few fantastic years as a singleton living at 5th and Catalina. I was happily located between Hollywood and Silverlake enjoying the occasional Korean BBQ and soondubu while bouncing back and forth between hipster bars  to the west and musical venues to the east. Those were some golden years right there.

It was not without some trepidation that I would pop into ChoSun Galbi with a date, the only white faces in the joint. And I don't ever remember enjoying soondubu on a cold rainy day without my Korean speaking girlfriend as my guide. Nowadays, I feel less bashful dropping in wherever in Ktown for whatever whenever, the more authentically ethnic feeling the better.  And now, I love the way brand new Beer Belly offers something of the old school Koreatown of fifteen years ago mixed with something previously unseen in Ktown. Delicious bulgogi, an ever so slightly esoteric location, a fresh menu and a beer lover's beverage program will make Beer Belly a destination gastropub from any zip code.

Quartet of artisanal brews from very local brewers.  Owner Jim told me on Memorial Day Eve that he searches out beers brewed as locally as Los Angeles and Orange County. The presentation of beer in both the glasses and behind the bar at the taps is sleek and modern, perfectly in keeping with the lustrous wooden walls and shiny metal bar made by a local craftsman in Silverlake. Newly local blogger Mark of iFlipForFood was out to play with a mate knocking back suds and chatting with D.

Lucky number 9!   

First out, grilled asparagus with parmesan cheese shavings.

Simply genius, fried artichoke hearts with a lemon herb aioli.  A really nice alternative to potato fries when swilling beer or sipping fizz.  I almost forgot to mention, Jim thoughtfully realized that a percentage of his guests aren't beer drinkers. In keeping with the sudsy beer theme, he serves for non-beer drinkers several kinds of sparkling wine by the glass. I sipped at a few glasses of German Gilabert Cava, happily prepping my taste buds for all the cava I will be drinking when I am in Barcelona later this month.

D and I both did backflips for the catfish and chips with kimchee tartare sauce, sea salt and malt vinegar. I love catfish to begin with and the follow through on this dish is a very light batter made tasty with a wheat beer, of course.

When in Rome one wears a toga and when in Koreatown one eats bulgogi while drinking, if at all possible.  We tried both short ribs on and off the bone; both were delicious.  Keep track of the daily specials at Beer Belly, the BBQ is only on the menu until sold out!

The above tweet was twittered the next morning....since Beer Belly doesn't serve soju, I admit to some late night #urbanhiking, but plead the fifth for details beyond.