Eating & Drinking in Barcelona

A few highlights of Barcelona eats...

Chorizos Artesanales with caramelized onions and fried plantains with lime and coriander mayo at El Atril in El Born.

Pimientos de Padron (salted fried green peppers) at Cervesería Catalan along with a caña (draft beer) and a rosé...yes, I know it's a beer house (and a rather fancy one) but I was saving that for Bruges.

An assortment of tapas also at Cervesería Catalan, which was easily our favorite restaurant and we weren't the only ones who thought so... 30 minute wait even though we went late (after 11pm). Totally worth it. This is only a percentage of the tapas we tried here - the best part is that fresh food just kept coming throughout the 'meal'. Below: grilled sausage with caramelized onions, jamon crudo mondadito, peanut battered cheese croquette with raspberry sauce, grilled shrimp.

Patatas with alioli (garlic sauce - yikes, that flavor will follow you around the entire day) at QuQu (a little overrated).

Obviously, we needed something to wash it all down...

Una clara (beer and fizzy lemonade) at Drac Café outside the natural science museum in Parc Ciutadella. Great for a mid-morning snack (hummus, nachos, etc) and a shady place to sit and get spritzed by hydro-fans.

Sangria from Atril...goes down easy

And we just couldn't resist the novelty of icebarcelona, which is basically just a large freezer modeled to look like an igloo night club.

For 15 euro you get coats, gloves, and a drink in ice glasses.

Of course, these are just a few tastes of the city. There are still Spanish wines and cava to try, along with the multitude of tapas this city has to offer. Plus there's paella and tortilla and gazpacho...oh my! El Born is a great neighborhood for tapas bars and restaurants...everything from € (where bars compete for offering the cheapest mojito) to €€€€ (where I haven't been because 4 euro signs are just too much). Tapas bar hopping is totally acceptable and can be easily affordable, especially since many places will give you a free tapa with your drink anyway. As I've mentioned, TimeOut is an excellent resource for finding trendy places to eat & drink. ¡Salud!