A Moo-vable Feast

Our one evening in Barcelona and the four of us – Steve & Carolyn (our friends from Ottawa), Michèle and I – head for dinner at a Michelin one-star, called Moo. Moo specializes in Catalan cuisine, which has earned a reputation as the most avant-garde in the world. Dinner never starts before 9 p.m. in Spain so, at the start of the evening, we have time to take in a bit of La Mercé festival. From our open hotel window (hotel windows that open wide, how quaint), we watch a parade of giant-head paper-maché puppets. Ooo – scary, the kids love it.

We have time for a leisurely walk to the restaurant, again passing by the Casa Battlo (House of Bones), which looks eerie at night. Arriving at the restaurant, we start with a bottle of Cava in the lounge.

For appetizer, Carolyn and I go with the Dublin Bay Prawns with Curry, Roses and Liquorice; Michèle and Steve take the Asparagus, Mushrooms and Veal Rice. (For photo highlights of the food and wine, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9760&id=100000148392134&l=0923ae1056)

For a matching wine with these dishes, again I’m looking for something local, something that we won’t find in Canada. The sommelier suggests a white blend from Priorat, Nelin 2006, made with Garnacha Blanca, Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, Macabeo and Pinot Noir (presumably without skin contact!). It has aromas of pear, peach, honey and floral; full-bodied with a thick mouthfeel, yet good acidity. Great with the food.

For main courses, Carolyn and I take Farm Chicken in Two Cookings, while Steve and Michèle take Lamb’s Shoulder with Paprika. Steve and Carolyn aren’t too familiar with wines made from Tempranillo so I check the winelist for their selection of Tempranillo from Rioja. I love Rioja wines, especially the old style. They’re slightly oxidized with pronounced aromas of leather – an acquired taste. Unfortunately, that style is rapidly disappearing; Rioja is losing its typicity, i.e., what makes it distinctive. It’s the trade-off between appealing to the global mass market and making more money, or keeping a distinctive, if less profitable, style. There’s a Rioja Alta 904, it has the typicity, but the sommelier (who turns out to be from Puglia!) talks me out of it: too big a leap for first-timers to Tempranillo. I go with Vinedos de Paganos "El Puntido" Rioja 2005. It’s 100% Tempranillo and definitely the modern style: the colour purple with aromas of blackberry, black cherry, herbs, and tobacco. Definitely aged in new oak with the aromas of chocolate and smoke. Thankfully, it’s not too jammy and the tannins are well-integrated. Good with the chicken, and fantastic with the lamb.

On to dessert. Steve opts for Caramelized Apple; Michèle takes Mango, Coconut and Wheat; and Carolyn goes with Tiramisu. Me, I go for A Trip to Havana (rum sponge cake, lime soup, peppermint granite ice and cane sugar; with a Frozen Partagás Serie D No. 4 Cigar with spice ash... check the photos!) The “cigar” is made of chocolate-covered frozen cream, well-infused with cigar smoke! Ay caramba, definitely avant-garde. Like smoking a cigar, the smoky taste stays with me for the rest of the night. If you like cigars, then it’s worth A Trip to Havana.

Have Mercè!

One day back in Montpellier and it’s off for an overnight trip to Barcelona to meet up with Steve and Carolyn, friends from Ottawa who are touring through Spain. We catch an early-morning train for a 4 ½-hour ride to the capital city of Catalunya. I love train travel: the rhythm, the landscapes, the people-watching. We head southeast, hugging the shoreline of the Mediterranean, then turn south and veer inland, passing among the hillside vineyards in Roussillon. Crossing the border into Spain, both French and Spanish border agents check our passports…so much for the European Union!

We arrive in Barcelona right on time and look for the subway to meet up with Steve and Carolyn. After some confusion in finding the right subway line…

Sign Sign everywhere a sign

Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind

Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

…we’re headed for the Plaça Catalunya. It’s the noon hour and the subway is packed. When we arrive at Plaça Catalunya and come back to street level onto La Rambla dels Estudis, it’s a sea of people of all ages. Can all these people be out for a stroll at lunch?! It turns out, no. We’ve arrived right in the middle of the feast day of Our Lady of Mercy (La Mercè): THE biggest festival of the year in Barcelona and it looks like all 4.9 million people in the Barcelona metro area are here to party.

We slowly wend our way though the crowds and acrobats and musicians to our hotel, Regencia Colon, where Steve and Carolyn are waiting in the lobby. Once we check-in, it’s back out to join the street party. There are even more people now. Going in the direction of shouts and cheers, we reach a plaza where something is going on but we’re not quite sure what it is. Suddenly, we see it. Rising up is a human tower (called a castell). Each level is a circle of men who are standing on the shoulders of the men below. They build it level by level, with each level made up of progressively smaller men, then barefoot kids, who climb on the backs on the men on the lower levels to reach the top. Several teams are here to compete. The crowd claps and cheers louder and louder as each level is quickly completed, gasps when a castell starts to sway, and screams if it collapses. And they do, sending the children at the top crashing down to the base of the castell. There are ambulances parked nearby but they don’t need them today.  To see the "largest castell in history", go to http://www.metacafe.com/watch/254105/human_tower_the_largest_one_in_history/

We break away from the crowd in search of lunch. We all play tourist and order paella and rosé wine from Penedes. After lunch, we head away from the heart of the festival to take in the architecture of Gaudi. We visit the Casa Battlo, Casa Milà, and (after a long walk) the unfinished masterwork, Sagrada Familia. All are stunningly intricate designs, a feast of creativity. When Gaudi received his architectural papers, someone commented, “Who knows if we have given this diploma to a nut or to a genius. Time will tell.”

We’ve covered a lot of ground so, on the way back to our hotel, we reward ourselves at La Vinacoteca Torres, a wine bar run by the Torres winery.  I’ve been a fan of Torres wines for many years and, although I think they’ve lost a step in recent years (or I’ve become more demanding), they still produce consistently good quality wines. Too bad that we don’t see more of them in Ontario.

To see photo highlights, go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9717&id=100000148392134&l=fcf479ca4c