Ms. Foodie and I had a short hour flight from Bilbao to Barcelona. Still tired from our early more departure, we decided to rest in the afternoon and then head off for a stroll in the old Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. We found many small courtyards such as this one.
There were a number of cheese, pork and other food stores too. You have to admire a country where the pig is so venerated. Although this photograph recalls a William Holding novel, the love of the pig cannot be underestimated in Spain. From roast pig to Serrano Ham to Chorizo, the pig is everywhere. Perhaps only the chinese have more pork dishes.
That evening, we had easily the best meal in Spain at Cal Pep. We arrived at 9pm (early by Spanish time) and did not get a seat the bar until 10pm. The usual one hour wait is normal at this restaurant (and we were warned about this at many reviews of the place). However, we were served several glasses of white wine and beer while waiting. It also give us an opportunity to observe the dishes being served. This turned out to be valuable as there was no menu. There is one posted outside of the restaurant but none was given when we were seated. Dishes of baby octopus stewed with chicken peas, whole prawns grilled with heads on, calamari, lightly battered and deep fried artichoke hearts, baked white fish, stewed clams, floated by. Our heavenly meal was washed down with house white wine. To complete this culinary experience, I had Calvados and Ms. Foodie has some pistachio ice cream. Drunk, full and happy, we stumbled home which was thankfully less than 300m away.
There were a number of cheese, pork and other food stores too. You have to admire a country where the pig is so venerated. Although this photograph recalls a William Holding novel, the love of the pig cannot be underestimated in Spain. From roast pig to Serrano Ham to Chorizo, the pig is everywhere. Perhaps only the chinese have more pork dishes.
That evening, we had easily the best meal in Spain at Cal Pep. We arrived at 9pm (early by Spanish time) and did not get a seat the bar until 10pm. The usual one hour wait is normal at this restaurant (and we were warned about this at many reviews of the place). However, we were served several glasses of white wine and beer while waiting. It also give us an opportunity to observe the dishes being served. This turned out to be valuable as there was no menu. There is one posted outside of the restaurant but none was given when we were seated. Dishes of baby octopus stewed with chicken peas, whole prawns grilled with heads on, calamari, lightly battered and deep fried artichoke hearts, baked white fish, stewed clams, floated by. Our heavenly meal was washed down with house white wine. To complete this culinary experience, I had Calvados and Ms. Foodie has some pistachio ice cream. Drunk, full and happy, we stumbled home which was thankfully less than 300m away. 
