The first few days of travel in a new country are always a bit confusing. There's the typical stuff, like orienting yourself, learning the few phrases of language you'll need, and of course mastering the different styles of toilets. However, for Matt and I the most study goes into finding out where to get a good meal. There is nothing more frustrating then sightseeing to the point where you are so starved that desperation sets in and you settle for the restaurant where you are handed a menu in English with photos of the dishes next to each menu item. That's when you know that you're in a tourist trap...you'll spend far too much money on something that is guaranteed to be bland and inauthentic. This happened to us when we visited Venice, and tainted our whole experience of the city. Which is why I started researching restaurants in Barcelona weeks before we left on our trip.
In coming to Spain, one of the most intimidating cultural phenomena is the Tapas Bar. They are everywhere in Barcelona...small, rustic, hole-in-the-wall places with legs of aging cured ham hanging from the ceiling and crowds of people surrounding large wooden counters. Matt and I would admire these small places in awe, but were far too intimidated to go in and join the locals. How do you know what to order? When do you pay?
That's how we ended up at 'Casa De Tapas' two nights in a row. Literally it translates to 'House of Tapas', which in Canada would scream inauthenticity. The decor was the complete opposite of small and rustic. Cartoon images of people enjoying tapas lined the walls, depicting prawns and octopuses with little smiley faces as they are being consumed on tiny slices of bread. In my restaurant research I had been directed to the website for this restaurant from the web page of Barcelona's most exclusive, Michelin starred restaurant. When we saw this place in person it's decor screamed tourist trap, but having already made a reservation, we stayed. The strange thing was, the place was filled with locals. I'm not sure if this restaurant is trying some kind of reverse psychology experiment to keep the tourists away or not. The waiter graciously helped us choose 5 tapas dishes and a bottle of wine. As the food started coming we were gob-smacked....it was presented so beautifully and exploded with flavour. Anchovies, potatoes brava, prawn and avocado salad, suckling pig...this was fine dining cuisine in the strangest setting. While it did not necessarily feel like an authentic experience in a tapas bar, this experience prepped our palates for tapas in Spain. We ended up returning to the Casa De Tapas the next night, and tried some even more adventurous dishes. Incredible!