Hi again!
I’m so happy that you guys have been responding to my posts and enjoying the pictures! A lot of you have been asking about the food here, so I’m going to walk you through some of my favorites so far.
First off, we’ll start with tapas.
Tapas are small plates of food that are generally meant to be shared. They’re kind of like appetizers in size, but here in Barcelona it’s popular to order a bunch of tapas as a meal rather than one big main dish. This is partially because mealtime here is more of a social event than in the United States. People often sit at big, long tables with strangers, so it’s fun to meet people over a family style dinner. It’s somewhat of a ritual for locals, and they even have a verb for it, tapear! Have you guys heard that word before?
Some of the most common ones I’ve seen here are shrimp, olives, mozzarella or goat cheese, fried calamari, the classic Spanish jamón Serrano, corn and avocado salads, skewers, and patatas bravas. So far my favorite is the cheese and olive combo, what do you think yours would be?
Next, you can’t visit Spain without trying paella.
Paella is a Spanish dish of rice and saffron with some kind of meat. It’s cooked in a large skillet like this one, served with a huge spoon to share. Our waiter said they even have a rule you have to order for at least two people; see what I mean about the social dinners?
The dish comes from Valencia, which is the province right next to Catalonia where Barcelona is. I was lucky enough to get to try the real deal on my trip to Valencia this weekend at a restaurant that’s been around since 1957. The traditional paella Valenciana consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat (rabbit, chicken, duck, snails), beans and seasoning. As you can see, this one was a little adventurous with the full shrimps, baby lobsters, clams, and squid, but I personally really liked it.
For those of you that like to try new things, check out this classic one with rabbit and snails! The snails were definitely something a little different for me, but I’m glad I tried it for sure.
If that’s not your thing and you’re looking for something a little more like what you’d have at home, don’t worry Barcelona has you covered.
We went to a little pizza shop called La Finestra, where they only make one size of pizzas a little bigger than your hand. Instead of picking exactly what you wanted on top, you tell the chef if you want meat or not and he surprises you! Again, perfect sharing some slices of mini two-bite-sized pieces and trying them all. That front one had potatoes, rosemary, mozzarella, and goat cheese. Hands down my favorite, plus each one was only 1.8 euros! A big score.
As you can see, there’s quite a few options here. My roommate and I have have really been loving the tapas bars, and it’s a fun way to meet people as a foreigner. Going out to eat is basically just a hang out for people, and it’s not uncommon for them to spend two or three hours at a restaurant at a time! One of the big things I’ve had to get used to here is waiting to eat dinner until 10 or 11 pm. The main take away is that Barcelona is all about the social aspect of dining.
Let me know which of these sounds the best to you, or if you’ve tried any of them yourselves!
¿Hola tengo una pregunta,tu cocinaste toda esa comida o tu comiste en un restauran?
Hi, I have a question, did you cook all that food or did you eat in a restaurant?
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Those were all from restaurants but I cook every day too!
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wow! i´ve heard about how many different types of exotic foods there are in Spain. I love to try new food! i am a vegetarian and have been for 1 year and counting! I really want to be vegan but it sounds really hard. Have you had any food that was REALLY exotic? Let me know!
– Savina T
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I bet you could do it if you tried! The craziest so far was probably rabbit and pork knuckles.
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the food looks really good! a mi me gusta mucho los camarones. so far whats been your favorite food that u ate there?
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My favorite has been the Spanish meats and cheese!
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Did you cook that if you did thaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmm. Me da ganas de comer y tanbien si lo hisistes tines que ser un cheif prefresional porque es comida rica. Tanien como te va alla en españa. Can you send us a video that shows that amazing cookoing sorry if I spell bad but also my friend is also hungry and we have yo wait 2 hours then its lunch time!!!!!!!!! Tanbien dise el site ¿Tienes hambre? PUES SI ESTOY MURIENDO. Pues eso es todo manda el video de comida bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I wish I could cook like that!
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those are the cutest pizzas ever!!!! I wish that meals were more about interacting with other people in america.
Siempre queria saber que fue paella. Parece interesante
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Me too! I think it’s definitely something we can learn from the Spanish.
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Hola ! tengo una pregunta ¿ Hay comida Americana alla?
Hello ! I have a question. Is there American food there?
– Ruby
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Hey Ruby! You can definitely find American food, but the authentic Spanish is much better!
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hi again its James i wanted to say that it looks so cool down there
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Hey James, it’s pretty amazing!
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i forgot to say byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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Halen-The pizza dish and shrip dish look really good. Also the little appetizers look preety good.
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They were as good as they look!
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Hola, la comida se ve muy interesante. Es posible que puedas ir a un parque alla en España para ver si hay alguna diferencia de los parques de aqui?
Hi, the food there looks really interesting. Is it possible for you to go to a park nearby to see if there is any differences between the ones in spain and the ones here?
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Yes! There’s a park by my apartment and I’ll take pictures next time I go!
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the foof looks realy good a mi me gusta comer camarones.so far queque es lo que es tu favorita comida
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A mi me gustan los camarones tambien (:
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¡Hola! Thank you for sharing your favorite foods because i was wondering what the foods are like and if there is anything that is alike to the food we have here in Portland. I hope you are having a good time!! What activities have you done since you’ve been there?
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There’s a lot of foods you could probably find in Portland too, the trick is to find them cooked in the Spanish style. I’ve hung out a lot in the city and gone out with friends, plus the beach is always fun!
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Me das ganas de comer pizza! A mi personalmente no como carne pero las tapas y la palleya se ve delicioso. Ni mensionar las pizzas. Qual es tu lugar favorito para comer? Como te gustas tus clases? 🙂 ❤ -Wendolin- :3
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¡Me gustan mis classes mucho! Hay más que sobre de informacion de Barcelona. We dificil para mi que dice mi comida favorita pero me encanta las tapas.
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Dear Joni,
how are the festivals over there, I hope you make a post about it. anyway back on topic one of my favorite foods is pizza so i would love to go over there to try one. I have always wonder how does goat cheese taste like? Also whats you favorite part of the city?
sincerely,
Ciara Fragoso
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I love goat cheese! You can find some in Portland too (: I really like my neighborhood because there’s lots of fun places to go out and eat and to meet people from other places!
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Querido Joni,
do you like shrimp? Shrimp is one of my favorite foods. (In my opinion, their good with hot sauce, or sweet and sour sauce) Que ha sido tu comida favorita? Todos de esas comidas miran fabulosas. Y, si, después de mirar a esas comidas, tengo hambre. Ya sabe que te gustas la fotografía, pero tienes otros ‘hobbies,’ como dibujando, o cantando?
Sinceramente,
Katherine
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Hey Katherine, I do like shrimp and especially with hot sauce. I don’t know if I have a favorite but Spain has been really good to me with the food. My favorite things to do here include hanging out with friends and going out, it’s fun meeting people!
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Oh, and shrimp with cocktail sauce! Yuuuuuuummmm!!! (;
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Hola otra ves! The food looks delicios! i would like to know whats your opinion on the culture and religion there, and if their food plays a role in their culture? Also what activities have you done there? Another question, have you made some friend and is it easy to talk to people there?r I hope you are having an amzing time! Hope to see a reply!
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The food definitely plays a role in the culture because it is such a social activity! I’ve met a a lot of people here and I love just walking around the city (:
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Wow la pizza se ve rica me dio hambre. Yo creo que deverias ir a un partido de el Barcelona. The tapas look really good, I wonder is there is any restoarants like the ones in Spain here in Portland.
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Hi Adrian! I would love to go to a game, and might in December! I’m not sure if there are any authentic Spanish restaurants in Portland but I bet you could find one!
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😉 😍
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😋
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