Bar Inopia: tapas done well

This evening we went to Bar Inopia for some early tapas. Since we've been hearing about (thanks Pop) and reading about it, we were more than ready to check out this place. Heading over there at around 8pm on a chilly night, we found it almost empty so we made a lap around the block. Not fifteen minutes later, there were groups of people streaming in and the bar facing the kitchen had been filled. We took a spot on the wobbly stools across from the bar and had a second to look around this place. Tiles on the wall covered with writing and drawings from people around the world, nicely photography of the food on signs hanging from the ceiling, a multitude of circular fluorescent light fixtures, random blocks of black chalkboard with lists of specials, foods of the day, house wines, and drawings of some of the food itself. Insane! A waiter came up quickly to ask us what we would like to start with, and at that point we realized that we were not in a typical Spanish restaurant..

Empanadas Gallegas

We ordered wine, one red from the Rioja and a white from Penedès. Both were a great value for 3 euros and under per glass. According to articles we read about the restaurant, some of the best tapas to order are the jamón Ibérico croquettes (1.80 € each), patatas bravas (thin potato wedges, lightly fried and served with a spicy sauce and mayonnaise: around 3 €), and the malagueña olives (around 2.50 €). All were simple and delicious, as in so many other bars and restaurants in Spain, but these dishes had much higher quality and it's obvious that each was thoughtfully prepared. The croquettes were so good and flavorful that we had to get two orders. For only 1.80 apiece it was definitely an easy decision!

Carlos getting into some patatas bravas

White wine & patatas bravas? Hell yeah!

A can's worth of Chipirones in their own ink, with the empanada.

Next we had an order of the Empanadas Gallegas (6 €), which were golden-baked pastries filled with bacalao (cod), golden raisins, and some kind of peppery sweetness. At the same time (probably a mistake) we ordered the chipirones (squid) in their own ink (7.50 €). These had been canned, which is considered a good thing by many people. They weren't bad, but I really love the fresher grilled ones and we probably should have not had them at the same time as another fishy dish. Still, we had been curious to try the popular canned seafood ... why not try it at a restaurant famous for its quality?


Finally came dessert. One of the specialties here is also the flan de huevo (egg flan, 2.50 €), which is delivered to your table with a little "uncovering" celebration. It was very good, but even better were the strawberries with caramel sauce and Chardonnay (around 3 €). On top of this little pile of sliced fruit was a sprinkling orange zest and finely ground black pepper. What a combination, and even better with the flan to balance it and the white wine to wash it all away!

We ate up that flan before I could take a picture. Forgive me ;)

After an hour and a half, we could see that there were people waiting to get in so we decided to surrender our seats. We left a tip that the waiter had actually worked to earn (remember, this is Spain..) and let the doorman open the rope that separated us from the sidewalk. Outside in the cold was small and hungry crowd, eyeing that rope and probably our empty stools. Yes, get there early if you want a good seat, but don't expect a comfortable chair - Inopia is still in the style of an "old man" bar where you lean on the bar and talk over small bites for a few hours. Maybe it doesn't sound that appealing, but maybe that's why you should go....

BACK in Barcelona!

We've returned and finished our first full day back in this cool city.
Both of our flights were shorter than planned and getting here seemed so easy. Of course, getting 7 time zones ahead and arriving at 7am makes for some terrible jet lag, but I think we're doing OK.
Today was just a really bizarre day. We wake up and try to get the empadronamiento from the government so we can live here legally, but after making the 20-minute walk we find out that the dates on the contract are wrong so we will have to wait til next week. Of course, that's hoping that they will stay open past 2 or 3 in the afternoon and that Carlos will have a chance to get out of school to take the papers in. Because of this, we can't get the new bank account, the DNI (which is like the social security number), updated health care, etc.
So in order to ignore some of that, we went to what we thought was a steakhouse very close to the apartment. They have a life-size plastic cow in front of the restaurant and a cool brick oven in the front with hot coals always going. Once inside the brick interior, you go down a flight of stairs to the underground restaurant. There, we find out it is really a restaurant from Uruguay, but that they serve plenty of Catalan meals. That is, if they feel like it... outside they advertise over 100 primero and segundo plates for their menu of the day (which is an awesome european feature, by the way) but once you get the menu, many are either crossed out or you're told they don't have it anyway. Very Spanish :)
Then, after gettting slightly ripped off at the electronics store, we head out into the city via Las Ramblas towards the Born. On the way we come across some large stages, one of them having a drum group from Paraguay. Glow in the dark drum sticks! They were having so much fun.
After that we went to our favorite restaurant to get patatas bravas, a culinary staple of Catalunya. La Luna is more of a bar with a few fancy tapas, but it's great. Mojitos there are worth the 7 euros (not too often..!) and we finally had our favorite double malt beer again, Voll Damm. mmm... so delicious. After that, a trip on a metro and an underground train, and back to our very humid (90%!!) apartment. Fall is coming next week... pictures to come later.