Barcelona is a food lover's city, and because dining out is one of the great pleasures of the nearly four million people who live here, this is city where one can find a comfortable bar or restaurant at any hour of the day or night. On my last visit, I checked into my hotel, the luxurious Ritz, at eight in the evening. Even though it is possible to dine as early as eight in the evening in Barcelona, nearly all of the locals are firmly convinced that the hour for dining out properly begins only at ten.

This is easy to understand if one understands that many Barcelonans eat five or six meals a day. Morning starts with a breakfast of coffee or chocolate with fried, doughnut like "churos". At noon, most people have a first lunch of an omelet or light seafood dish, and during mid-afternoon have a more serious meal, generally of a salad, one or two meat or fish dishes and dessert. By seven they are ready for an evening snack, and finally, by ten or eleven they are ready for "cena", the late night supper for which the city is so famous.

Several days before our arrival we had phoned for reservations at Eldorado Petit, my favorite restaurant in the city, and when we arrived at ten our table was waiting for us. A luxurious private home that was converted by chef Jean-Luc Figueras this is one of the finest and most comfortable restaurants in Spain. For a first course we shared a shrimp salad with champagne vinegar, a refreshing dish made even more pleasantly the small glasses of strong sweet brandy that accompanied it. From here we went on to canellone that had been stuffed with shrimps and served in a creamy mushroom sauce and raviolis that had been filled with shrimps and Beluga caviar and coated generously with a rich Bechamel sauce.

For our main course we were told that several of the fish found only in the waters between Marseille and Barcelona were available and that if we so desired, one of those could be ours. Figueras' method of cooking these fish is famous throughout Spain because his cooking system involves burying a whole fish in a mound of sea salt and then baking it. When the fish has been cooked, the salt is brushed away, the fish is filleted and served with Hollandaise sauce or lemon and oil. As we closed out our dinner with pineapple and raspberry sorbets, still more of that marvelous sweet brandy and strong black coffee, I reflected that these are not the only fine dishes at this charming restaurant. On other occasions I have been equally pleased by a leg of the lamb that had been baked in a delicate pastry shell and the salad of cod that had been marinated in olive oil, pepper, coriander grains and bay leaves before being tossed together with lettuce, celery leaves, strips of red pepper and cooked white beans. Even though our bill for two came to $320, we felt that we had received excellent value for our money. We had selected some of the most expensive dishes on the menu, and most dinners will cost about $100 per person.

On the way back to our hotel we asked our driver to stop for a few minutes to admire Casa Batllo, a building that could have only been designed by Gaudi, Barcelona's oddest, moodiest, most brilliant architect. To be perfectly frank, I have never knownwhether to laugh or to be awed when I view this edifice with its undulating stone walls, balconies that resemble mushrooms, and doorways that look like the mouths of sea monsters. At any rate, as we finished the small flask of brandy that had been given to us before we left the restaurant, this was a superb way to end anevening.

Early the next afternoon we were ready for lunch at the warm and inviting Jaume de Provenca. Despite the relative simplicity of the dining room, the talents of chef Jaume Barges are so respected that this is the restaurant great French chefs visit when they are in Barcelona. It is also the favorite restaurant of the King of Spain.

We wanted a light lunch so shared one portion of crab raviolis in clam sauce before going on to the lobster Romesco, a dish that is the envy of every other chef in Spain. To make this dish Barges first makes a romesco sauce by blending together sauteed onion and garlic, tomato, sweet red peppers, hot red peppers, fish stock and white wine with a mixture of ground almonds, vinegar, salt and olive oil. To prepare the dish, he splits two lobsters lengthwise, puts a teaspoon or so of olive oil into a remarkably heavy large skillet, sprinkles this with coarse salt and then cooks the lobsters over a high flame until they are done. A few minutes before the lobsters are ready, he adds a handful each of shrimp and clams to the skillet and when the clams have opened, a bit of brandy is sprinkled over and flamed. When the flames have died down, the dish is served with the sauce, lemon wedges and a greensalad. At the chef's suggestion we had a crisply dry white wine of Vina Tondonia, with the dish. We could not have been more pleased with either the food or the wine and the bill, of $120 seemed reasonable considering the quality of the dishes we had.

That evening we made our way to the casino, there to lose a few pesos at the roulette wheel. Because of a odd law that was enacted in 1828, the city itself has no legal casinos (there are several quasi-legal gambling clubs in town, but I am told that very few people ever actually win any money in these places. At any rate, the Gran Casino de Barcelona is located near Stiges, nearly 40 kilometers from the city limits. Those attracted to casinos in the grand style will find the trip well worthwhile, for this casino is housed in a luxurious 19th century building where the antique Persian carpets, genuine Louis XVI furnishings, crystal chandeliers from Saint Petersburg and heavy satin curtains guarantee a sophisticated, elegant atmosphere.

It may have been because losing money that stimulated us or it may have had something to do with the drive in the cool night air, but when we returned to town we realized that we were hungry once again and made our way to the bar known as Cannes. Technically, Cannes is neither a bar nor a restaurant. It is one of those uniquely Spanish institutions where people come when they have a need of social company and where the food served is known as "tapas".

A tapa may be as simple as a paper thin slice of warmed chorizo sausage or a few titbits of cheese, olives and almonds. On the other hand, a tapa may be an elegant composition of delicacies which are inspired culinary treats. It is impossible to list all the tapas available, for there are thousands of places serving them throughout Spain and each boasts at least one specialty that no one else makes. Cannes specializes in shrimps, and one can choose between garlic fried shrimps, shrimp pancakes, shrimps in hot sauce, shrimps marinated in cloves, shrimps in bechamel sauce, shrimps in white wine sauce, shrimps in green sauce, baked shrimps and mushrooms, and shrimp kebabs.

Along with a variety of other tapas (mostly of cheeses and sausages), all of these are laid out on the bar and customers can have one, two or as many as they like of anything that is offered. Everything, including the sherry wine that is placed on the bar inlarge porcelain pitchers, is based on a self-service honor system, and customers are expected to tell the barmen just what they had before they leave. Be warned, however, for as in the casino, once you have cheated here you will never be allowed in again.

I learned years ago that eating tapas and sipping sherry is considered an appropriate activity at any hour of the day. Even though tapas are usually thought of as hors d'oeuvres, many people make an entire meal of them, and a meal based on the delights offered at Cannes will run between $25 and $40 per person. Whenever I come here, I always try to leave a little room for the house cheesecake, which certainly ranks among the finest cheesecakes in the world

Before leaving the city the next morning, I realized that another rich meal might do me in. I did, however, promise myself that on my next visit I would visit Azulete, another old time favorite restaurant for which I hold a special fondness. This is where Toya Roque, one of the few women in Spain who has risen to the top rank of chefs, prepares marvelous lobster soup with saffron and an extraordinary dish of aged fillet mignon served with mushroom sauce and a delicate garlic puree. Hers is an interesting cuisine, and her cold cream of crab soup, lobster and fish salad and artichokes stuffed with crab and veal with wild mushrooms are also worth trying. Dinner at Azulete will come to about $120 for two.

Dining in Barcelona - The Details

Eldorado Petit, 51 Dolors Monserda: Open Monday - Saturday from 13:00 - 16:00 and 21:00 - 24:30. Tel: 204-5153. Reservations required.

Jaume de Provenca, 88 Provenca: Open Monday - Saturday from 13:00:30 and from 21:00 - 24:00. Tel: 430-0029. Reservations required. The only person who will get a table here without reserving in advance is the king of Spain.

Cannes, 4 Doctor Joaquin Pou: Open daily from 20:00 - 03:30. Tel: 302-5071. Reservations not required. (Phone to see if the restaurant is still open. When last I visited, the owner's favorite topic of conversation was suicide).

Azulete, 281 Via Augusta: Open Monday - Friday from 13:30 - 15:30 and from 21:00 - 24:00. Tel: 203-5943. Reservations required.

Also Worth Trying

Neichel, 16 bis Pedralbes: Open from 13:00 - 16:00 and from 20:00 - 24:30. Try especially the baby lamb in fruit sauce, the marinated quail and the lamb and red pepper stew. Between $50 - $75 per couple. Tel: 203-8408. Reservations needed only on Friday and Saturday nights.

Via Veneto, Granduxer 10: Telephone 200-7244. A very "in" restaurant but really delicious dishes. My last meal was of rape fish in croquettes, mussels in white wine and cognac and a fantastic minted chocolate with vanilla cream.

Casa Leopoldo, 24 San Rafael: The seafood and fish dishes here are all worth trying. Among my own favorites are the baked scallops, crabs in sherry, fish steaks in cider sauce and fillet of sole with green mayonnaise. Between $ 60 - 100 per couple. Tel: 241-3014. Reservations suggested.

Los Caracoles, Carrer del Escudellers 14: Open daily from 13:00 - 24:00. House specialties are snails, spit-roasted chicken, grilled lamb, and shrimps. Reasonably priced and most meals will come to under $20.00 per person. Tel: 302-3185. No reservations required.

El Gran Colmado, Carrer de Consell de Cent 318: This combination restaurant and grocery store is a fine place for a good country-style meal. Even better, arrive here between 10:00 - 12:30 and buy everything you need for a fantastic picnic in the nearby Parc de la Ciutadella. Meals will cost from $10 - $20 per person. Everything you will need for a picnic will cost about $15 for two, including a bottle of the good house wine. Tel: 302-2626.

For Recipes for A Meal Based on Tapas, Click Here

© Daniel Rogov