Eatin' our way thru Placa de Sants (Barcelona)

Fo Bar

Placa de Sants

Bar S.OMY

Placa de Sants

So we started our days in Barcelona with an excellent cup or two of cafe con leche.    It's awesome espresso coffee with steamed/frothed milk.  We tended to end up in  Fo Bar, a cozy spot in Placa de Sants where students and locals like to hang out.  Nothing so chi-chi, no fancy airs, just good coffee. 

It's really true what they say about the cafe culture here in the continent... people do relax with their coffee, and just sit and talk, maybe read the paper.   The coffee is cheap, fresh and invariably excellent--- no fancy names, no thirty different variations to choose from, no marketing jabber.  I love it!

We've been dying for some chocolate y churros too, but we always woke up around noon, so we never got to have any.  Sigh. 

Two cups (demitasse) of cafe con leche and some excellent croissants.

Inside Fo Bar.  They do serve a couple of small bites too, mostly light snacks and sandwiches.

Another place we tried here at Placa de Sants is Bar S.OMY.  Unlike Fo Bar, this was a smarter, sleeker place.  The place was pretty quiet that night we went.

Murphy's Irish Red.  Harsh and gassy, did not like at all.  Beer in general did not seem like Barcelona's strong suit.  Not many places had San Miguels, which I think is the most decent local brew.  Most places only carried one type of beer on tap.

I liked how the tapas of the day was handwritten in a little scrap of paper. 

Breaded and fried camembert drizzled with a balsamic glaze.  It was crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside.  Interesting combination of flavors.

Patatas S.OMY.  There was some meat-based filling in it.  DJKung liked it a lot.

DJKung got the hamburger.  It was actually quite small, but rather tall too.  Look at how lovely the crackle on the top of the bun is!  DJKung quite liked the hamburger and said that the meat had a lot of flavor.

La Paradeta, Barcelona

La Paradeta
Calle Riego, 27, Sants (other locations available)
Barcelona
http://www.laparadeta.com/eng/paradeta.htm

This was our favorite restaurant here in Sants.  We ate here the night we arrived (Sunday).  And one more time, when it reopened on Tuesday.

La Paradeta is a self-serve seafood restaurant chain here in Barcelona.  You pick your items, which they will weigh before cooking.  You get your drinks and pay at the window.  Your receipt lists a number that they call out as your items come out of the kitchen.  It's great that they stagger the items so you do not get too overwhelmed.

Fresh seafood on ice.  There was a variety of shellfish (oysters, littleneck clams, razor clams, teeny weeny clams), baby squid and regular squid, shrimps and prawns, two types of fish.  The lobsters were actually from the US.  Everything is prepared simply, either fried, grilled or broiled.

We had some San Miguel while we waited for our number to be called.  It tastes quite distinct from the Philippine brand; its a tad fruitier and smoother to drink.  I think I'm in the minority because I like it more.  It's definitely easier to drink than Estrella Damm, the other popular pale lager here.

House salad.  The best part are the barbeque-flavored olives, which have a lot of umami. 

Steamed mussels.  These were sweet and superfresh.

Chipirones (fried baby squid) and little fried fish.  The chipirones are ten times better than your usual fried calamari because the baby squid are more tender and cook up crunchy.

Clams in white wine and garlic.  These babies were tiny but have immense flavor.

The other time we went, we also got to try the razor clams (not pictured), which were sweet and succulent.  It was interesting that the only sides they had were rolls, no rice or any other grains.  The focus is just on the seafood.

We noticed that La Paradeta was popular with families and groups of friends.  There was quite a jolly atmosphere with everybody talking, drinking and digging into the piles of seafood.