Barcelona...asi asi...

Still feeling hit by the cruise vertigo/virus but not wanting to act like anything was abnormal we made reservations for Saturday night at Barcelona. I was excited because we had a friend coming into town and I remember liking Barcelona last time I was there probably over a decade ago. We were excited by the Restaurant Week special that consisted of 9 tapas + a glass of sangria all for $30. That's a deal considering the last time I was there our bill for 10 people came to about $700. That's probably why it's been so long since I've been back there.
I tried unsuccessfully to capture the menu on my camera yet again but what you see below was the best part of the meal which was the sangria to the right and the first 3 appetizers.


hummus and flatbread, almond gazpacho, and tomato & mozarella

The sangria was tremendous. I've historically not been much of a sangria person but this sangria was tasty not overly sweet and had some bite. I like it lots and would definitely try it again in larger quantities. The hummus to me was standard. The flatbread tasted a little stale to me. Betty and our friend thoroughly enjoyed it. The almond gazpacho was something i've never tasted before and though pasty was very tasty. The tomato and mozarella was simple and very delicious.

At that point i got tired of taking photos on my camera as i was bumped a couple of times by folks because we were packed tightly in and also because the very act of taking photos was disruptive to our table conversation.

The rest of our meal was pretty so so consisting of: a mushroom-sausage dish that was bland and greasy, a chicken and manchego croquette that tasted like a generic wedding appetizer, an overcooked rubbery scallop, another generic salmon salad, lukewarm pathetic meatballs with a bland creamy side sauce, and then pretty tasty asparagus with overcooked shrimp. If I seem lackadaisical it's cause I honestly could care less for the remainder of our meal.

Part of the appeal with Barcelona is the dining atmosphere and feel of the place. You don't feel like you're in the midwest. We had a lot of fun chatting it up and talking about the food that we didn't really care that it wasn't great. Typing up all these posts is making me fret my credit card bill for this month which has yet to come

lobster bisque euphoria...Spagio's

Betty and i have been pretty good over the past 2 months about not eating out during the week. On the weekends we've been hitting up some new joints and trying to mix up where we dine. Last month we hit up the refectory bistro which was tremendous...and also went to Vino Vino...this weekend we decided we'd try Spagio's. i alway thought it was an Italian restaurant but they consider themselves to be "European and Pacific Rim". I've never been to the restaurant but have eaten at the cellar.

We were pleasantly surprised with our meal with the highlight being the lobster bisque. Oh man was this good. We also split some appetizers: the shrimp, lobster, and jumbo lump crabcake was delicious. Pricey however -- for $13 you get one cake. The delicate lobster sauce on top was the real treat as the texture of the crabcake was a little too chewy for me. Betty and I dipped our bread rolls into the leftover sauce until it was all gone. We also split the French Charcuterie Plate. My oldest sister hipped us to Charcuterie when we visited her in Portland last year. To be honest -- i think i just like to say Charcuterie more so than I enjoy the type of meal. Our plate came with 2 pâtés that were pretty tasty. A lot of this food is new for my palette but I compare it to liverwurst. The hams were tasty as were the cornichons -- that are just mini pickles. The cocktails were pretty good. I think the Refectory has the best bombay sapphire dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives though. We each also enjoyed some wine that was more up my alley. I also give props on the bread. It was crusty and warm but did not rip open the roof of your moth like some other places. All in all not a bad place. Not in a rush to go back but it is near Jeni's ice cream and Stauff's -- which was part of the strategy in deciding to try it out.


we started with the cake and charcuterie first...


Then i was just too curious about the lobster bisque...who has soup second? Cholesterolking does. That's right. This lobster bisque is heaven.