Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Bar Inopia, Barcelona


Jetlag must have definitely hit me..since I've been awake since 5 Am...so I decided to post about my first tapas meal of the trip. I've been wanting to go to this Tapas Bar for a while now. What is so great about this place, nothing relly, just that it is owned by Albert Adria, brother of Ferran Adria and former Pastry Chef at El Bulli. Its a simple, no nonsense Tapas Bar. They are only open 7 to 12 PM...since most of the food they work with is fresh and they need a lot of time for preparation. To be honest I was expecting much more because of all the reviews/talk about this place...

For starters, we had a bottle of their house white, a dry white from Penedes, and a Tapa of assorted Olives. A total of 6-7 different kinds and varities. They then brought us a the first dish: Paletilla Iberica hervida a la Gallega (Iberian ham boiled "a la Gallega) - a twist on the traditional Pulpo a la Gallega...where in they boil Octopus and serve it on a wooden plate, with Olive Oil and lots of Paprika, only thsi time they use Iberian ham which was boiled.


Next, we had a Torrada Mallorquina - another classic dish with a Twist. They use a special bread made in the restaurant called Pan de Aire ("Air" Bread) with a spread of Sobrassada Mallorquina (a Chorizo spread typically from Mallorca), with tomatoes, Onions and peppers and Olive oil...delicious and for me the favorite dish of the night.

Then, more tas started flowing in to the small ledge that we were eating on: Patatas Bravas, Fried Shrimp and Berenjenas con Caña de Malaza (deep fried Eggplant with Molasses). At that point, the place was packed...they do have a sort of bouncer/security person on the door who does not let anybody inside until one table has been emptied, so in that sense, it was quite organized...but at that point this place looked more like a tourist spot than a real authentic Tapas bar..as I hardly noticed any locals..



The last 2 dishes we had: Seared Tuna and a Pincho Uruguayo (Chorizo Criollo). The Tunas was actually my favorite dish of the evening..slightly seared Tuna, with a sory of Olive Oil-Soy Sauce mix and grated Tomato on the side ( I guess is to substitute the Lack of Pan con Tomate)...the chorizo Criollo was also quite tasty but my preferred dish was the Tuna.



For dessert, Piña con Melaza de Caña (Pineapple with Molasses syrup and a pich of salt. Very refreshing dessert and good contrats between the Pineapple and the Molasses...


At the end of the day, the meal was.... ok, but for all the hype it's been receiving, I was not so impressed. It must be that the Adria family name has a lot of weight, specially with the tons of tourists who line up to eat here. Service though was spot on, very fast, efficient and friendly.

My next post will be on Asasdor de Aranda, a classic restaurant in Barcelona serving Cordero Lechal al Horno (21 day old lamb served the Castillan way....) and other great dishes...

9 comments:

Rene said...

Sounds like your off on right foot gastronomically...

Noel said...

Do tell. Wonderful!

chiara said...

Oh my...I want sobrasada! A really yummy one!

And pls do your post on Asador already...yum!!!!

Miguel said...

Rene - yes...have others na but just to busy to post them...

Noel..the Asador was very good...will be up soon...

Sis - hmmm..ok I'll bring a little Sobrasada for you...

Unknown said...

Grabe... suerte talaga.

Excited about my wedding gift. Mwahahaha!:-)

Miguel said...

haha it's true your wedding is soon na pala....everything planned already?

Unknown said...

All set! It was hell two weeks ago because of Matt's papers and we could not get the marriage license posted. I really wanted to kill him. But it was all fixed na, so now I can go back to the fun part of preparations. Hehe.

At least i lost a few pounds coz of the stress! But I swear after the wedding I have a line-up of restos na to go to- Antonio's, Amoroma, Gourmand, Pepato and La Tienda. Preferably all in one week. Hahahaha!

firenze said...

I agree with you re: Inopia, it wasn't a WOW meal, just okay, or good at most, but the highlight was I sat beside Ferran Adria!..So whatever he ordered, we ordered! hehe...plus a toast and a shot at the end of the meal!

Miguel said...

Lucky he was there during your meal....thats really a treat. Did you talk to him? he is very shy...