After talking to Manuel again and getting some suggestions for dinner we headed to a restaurant near our hotel. He started to suggest some local bars but he was afraid that they were in a “dodgy” part of town, and redirected us to some near the restaurant. One the way we passed a restaurant that was PACKED inside and out and many people were waiting in line. We thought it was the restaurant we were directed to, but after walking a little bit further we realized it wasn’t. Of course Tina wanted to go back to the packed one, “Look at all those people it has to be great!” So we did, looked at a menu and Jared made the decision to stick with the original recommendation.
What surprised us the most was that no one was sitting outside, inside however there was only one or two open tables. We asked to sit outside and with some hesitation they let us. They warned us that it is not only hot, but also loud. They didn’t let our decision to sit outside to impact our dining experience, they brought out a tablecloth, even after Tina told him we didn’t need it he insisted. We asked his preference of a dry white wine from the list and he directed us to a local Catalunyaina wine. Unfortunately, they only sell it by the bottle so we had to drink the whole thing.
They brought tiny green olives to get us started. They were unlike anything Tina had ever had. They were salty with almost a sweet taste to them. She begged Jared numerous times to just try one. He wouldn’t! There was a lobster tank in the entrance of the restaurant so we had to get some form of lobster. We settled on the lobster casserole. We were anticipating some type of baked lobster dish. We also ordered the panko and coconut breaded prawns (shrimp) with hummus, and Pa amb Tomaquet, the bread topped with tomato and olive oil, that we got our first night.
They started us each with two little dishes of fried calamari. We thought that it might have been part of the Lobster Casserole Entrée. It was amazing. Now we know what you are thinking its just fried calamari, it didn’t have any olives or banana peppers nor a sauce to dip it in, but it was seasoned perfectly and we both agreed that it was the best calamari we have ever had. Next came the shrimp, hummus and the bread. All were delicious; the bread was different from the other night in that it was fluffier. The hummus was so flavorful and creamy. If there were a spoon Tina would have eaten it plain. The shrimp were very good, especially when dipped into the hummus.
The pacing of the food was perfect, allowing us to dine and digest in between courses. The lobster casserole came out in a red pot just like the one that Tina’s mom owns and was very different from what we expected. It was more like a lobster and potato stew. The sauce was delicious and the potatoes were cooked to perfection. The lobster was good, but not as sweet as either of us remembers lobster to be. All in all a much better experience than the previous night, and neither of us was stuffed to the brim.
Dinner may have been over, but our night did not end there. We met a group of men that were looking at the menu outside of the restaurant. We convinced them to have dinner, which lead to a small chat before they were forced to dine inside. I guess we were just that special. On their way out they continued the conversation that was started earlier. One thing lead to another and we found ourselves on the top of their hotel at a hopping bar. We quickly learned that we were dinning in the gay district of Barcelona and they were in town for a 10 day “gay party” as they described it. They were from all over the world (Brazil, Israel, Germany, Chicago, and France) and met each other that day at the pool. We had a great time as the pictures show. Unfortunately, we were having so much fun we ended up slightly intoxicated.
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