¡Hola!

 

Day three was yet again another joyful day filled with culinary delights. We started the day off with a visit to Palau de la Musica, a privately owned music hall designed by the famous Catalan architect Lluis Domenech I Montaner. The picture above is the stained-glass window at the ceiling of the concert hall that represents the Sun. Isn’t it just stunning?

 

Then we took the bus tour around Barcelona – our next stop was Gaudi’s La Pedrera or Casa Mila since it was situated next to Hotel Omm, where we have lunch reservation at the 1 Michelin-starred (in 2006) Moo. After seeing the long line of tourist outside the architectural landmark, we decided to get refueled first and headed for the hotel.

Moo is overseen by the Roca brothers Joan, Josep and Jordi that’s famous for their ever-so-positively-reviewed El Celler de Can Roca in a nearby town called Girona. Since we did not have time to visit Girona, we thought Moo would be our best alternative to sample their modern interpretation of Mediterranean cuisine. Moo did not disappoint. The dishes were beautifully presented, fresh, and new. Some elements of the dishes were surprising, some elements odd, and some were beautiful. They did a good job at bringing out the true flavor of the ingredients while enhancing them. My favorite dish had to be the dessert, the ruby-colored sugar sphere nicely complimented the accompanying apple, while the cotton candy added a playful finishing touch. The only complain we had with this place was the service, although, going by the book-wise, they did not do anything wrong, I found it to be rather cold and unimpressive.

After lunch, we visited a lovely art exhibition by Javier Marisca the designer behind “Cobi” the dog for the 1992 Olympic at La Pedrera. Then we took the bus to tour the rest of the city including the Olympic village and the Beach. Before we knew it, dinner time was near. Today’s dinner had to be one of my favorite. We followed the many suggestions from friends, guidebooks, and Chowhound and decided to eat at Quimet y Quimet.

As we entered the tiny restaurant, first we noticed dozens and dozens (maybe hundreds) of bottles of wines, liquors, and whiskeys that lined each of the four walls. The place was completely packed with mostly locals. Quimet y Quimet is run by the Quim family; the quirky joint specializes in montaditos – small sandwiches – and canned products. Yes, you read that right. But before saying eww, I must tell you that canned goods are regarded very highly in Spain and are known for their superb quality. We didn’t try to order, by now we were used to the language barrier and simply asked the nice guy behind the bar to recommend us four dishes along with an order of olives, and artichokes, and a cheese plate (only had to point for these ones.)

While we soaked in the lively atmosphere, we carefully observed each of the unique bottle that lined the wall up to the ceiling. The guy behind the bar noticed our curiosity and tried to (unsuccessfully) explain to us what they were. As he realized the extent of my Spanish skills, he simply brought down the bottle and poured us a glass to taste along with the rose cava that we ordered. (Even we tasted it, we still didn’t know what it was though.) A few moments later we were given many delicious looking open-faced “sandwich” for a lack of a better word. Some were topped with the familiar sun-dried tomato, ham, and cream cheese, while others were more exotic with anchovies etc. Overall, everything tasted great and we loved every single piece we had. What a wonderful little place, I will be sure to visit Quimet y Quimet again if I ever find myself in Barcelona.

Bon Appétit!