Restaurante MyKasa

At this time of year when the purse strings are as tight as the waist band it’s time to head away from the centre of town and towards those neighbourhood bars that might not bring you fine dining but will feed you well without straining the wallet.

‘MyKasa’ feels more a communal dining room than a restaurant, packed to the rafters with the vecinos of the surrounding barrio and an integral part of this part of the city, catering for a local school going back decades.

Not everything at MyKasa is worth the journey down there, the patatas bravas and pan con tomate were serviceable (although the oil on the bread was in a league above what it was drizzled on).

The pig’s cheek however, was worth jumping on the metro for. Unctuous and falling off the bone, hugely improved by slow roasting in that broth than on the grill as I’ve had it previously elsewhere. Oh, I should mention it was only 3.30€ on the menu too.  The ridiculously low priced entrecot steak with its mountain of fries and the budget, savoury, spiced pork pinchos morunos were also worthy of a using a T-10 journey.

The albondigas exceeded many I’ve eaten before, I love to cut one in half and swirl it in that tomatoey sauce before it finds its way to my mouth. Sometimes calamaris and chiprones (baby squids) leave me feeling ill with their soggy, cool and often over thick batter. I didn’t need to worry about that here. With the splash of lemon I devoured the best part of the plate of chiprones without help.

Now an Irish coffee is not how I’d usually finish a leisurely tapas lunch, and certainly not with one as monstrously, magnificently wrong-but-oh-so-right as this. Warning, give it a good stir before going in for the sip.

The first payday of 2013 might still feel a long way off, but MyKasa can certainly make sure that December pay cheque stretches just that little bit further.

MyKasa, C/Espronceda, 367, Navas

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Mosquito

If, like me, you feel full to bursting from all the Christmas cheer and heavy grub, and there’s also a few pennies left to afford a meal out, then there’s probably no better antidote to the usual Christmas fodder than the Asian dumplings and dim sum of Mosquito.It’s been several weeks since I last ate at Mosquito and I’m not going to blag that I can remember the exact details of what we ate there. All I can say is it was good, very good, oh, and we ordered far more than we needed, but still polished off the lot.

Mosquito is known for its high quality beers both on the barrel and in bottles and although the thought of sinking this strong Belgian beer turns my stomach slightly after the excesses of the last few days, it was a mighty fine brew at the time. It’s very easy to get carried away, as we did, with the wide selection of dumplings and hot and cold dishes. Better to order a few at a time and add to it than suddenly find a table overflowing with mini plates. I wish I was good at following my own advice sometimes.

Whilst I can’t remember ‘what was what’ of everything we ordered the stand out dishes were all the dumplings which were light and zingy and all hand made by the team of very efficient women out back. The fried duck was magnificent but I would leave that until rich food starts to appeal again and the Sichuan pepper beef and pancakes were also memorable.

Despite our gluttony we still came away with change from 20€ for our dinner, being reluctant to pig out post Christmas, the bill would probably come in at even less. Mosquito is a must visit.

Mosquito, C/Carders 46, Born

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Elsa y Fred

A combination of visitors, a bad back and frozen hands in a cold flat (the worse thing about a Barcelona winter) have kept me away from the laptop of late.  If you’re freezing and need the perfect place to get cosy through the next couple of months, you’d be silly to not try out Elsa y Fred.

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Craft beer bars

Tired of Estrella and other commercial brand beers? Then why not check out some of the bars of Barcelona selling craft beers and keg ales featured in my piece for October’s miniguide.

 

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Bodega Manolo

Appearances can be deceptive in Barcelona and none more so than Bodega Manolo. You’ll find not a website for this place and without a hunch about what delights come out of their kitchen, you’d be forgiven for walking past and doing nothing more than making a mental note that it’s one of those great spots for refilling your wine bottles.

However, a glimpse at those sparkly white table cloths at the rear gives the hint that this is more than just your usual bodega. This family business is now with the third generation and very popular with locals, although our visit coincided with a Classico football match and bank holiday weekend, leaving this corner of town eerily quiet and the restaurant to ourselves.
With payday money burning a hole in our pockets we most definitely over-ordered and indulged and whilst everything we ate was absolutely scrumptious, be warned, the only criticism I can aim at Bodega Manolo is that the menu is crying out for a couple of dishes to offset the richness. A green salad or un-embellished vegetables are nowhere to be seen.

I’d been hearing about their anarco bravas for weeks and was keen to become acquainted with these leftfield spuds. Crispy, chunky sliced fried potatoes with a moreishly pungent garlic and squid ink sauce, drizzled with parsley oil, tomato sauce and a further daub of iodine ink didn’t disappoint. Give me a bowl of these alone with a cold beer and I’d be a happy woman.

Anarcho bravas

We also ordered beautiful, delicate white beans topped with melt in the mouth octopus, firey rocket and more generous smears of that squid ink sauce. And amazingly, you seriously don’t get sick of it.

Saltejat de mongetes amb pop White bean salad with octopus

The curiously and aptly named ‘Destroyer’ is a puree of potatoes pimped with jamon topped with morcilla, crispy bacon and a poached egg yolk. Maybe not the choice to compliment what else we’d ordered. However, it was still “awesome” to quote one of my companions’ much used buzzword, probably does to your arteries what it says on the tin and makes me wonder if they’d deliver it round the corner to my door for breakfast some day.

Destroyer

Ah, some vegetables! Aubergines on the plancha grill with a honey drizzle and zesty piece of toasted goat’s cheese, to offset any potential health benefits the egg plant might bring us. Damn it was good.

Aubergines with honey and goat’s cheese

And finally, the pièce de résistance of dinner. Foie gras in a sweet and tangy sauce of port, braised apples and booze soaked raisins. I’ve had this a second time, on a more restrained visit, with some crusty bread to soak up those syrupy juices. Indulgent heaven on a plate.

Foie with apples and port

As if our livers weren’t approaching something similar to those of a fattened goose already, greed and curiosity pushed us to share a portion of cheesecake. Simple, a little overbaked but homely and comforting at the same time.

Cheesecake

I sense that the menu at Bodega Manolo has changed little over the years and a lightening of the evening menu might not go amiss. Yet it is the kind of place that ensures I will never be slim and I’m thrilled to have it as a local.

Bodega Manolo, Torrent de les Flors 101, Gracia

Tel: 93 284 4377

Open for lunch and menu del día Tuesday – Saturday 13:00 – 16:00 / Dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday 21:00 – 23:00

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Domino

Domino been an on-off Thursday night haunt for almost the entire time I’ve lived in Barcelona. It fulfills the mid-week requirements of cheap and cheerful with ease and is long overdue a mention on Moonraker Morsels. What Domino’s excels at is decent quality food and great mojitos, amongst other cocktails, at prices more attuned to Barcelona salaries. This compact drinking den with its slightly overused sofa and dark wood tables and chairs keeps us coming back again and again for those strong, sugary, mint laden mojitos and gorgeously thin and crispy pizzas. Pizzas are not the only thing on the menu, salads and empanadas are also up for grabs, but it’s the midweek (Sunday to Thursday) 6.85€ pizza offer that always gets our order. Nine pizzas are covered by the offer, at least two of which are vegetarian, and include our test driven margharita; salchicha sausage and onion; aubergine, courgette and pepper; mozzarella and serrano ham; ham and mushroom; mozzarella, onion and scamorza Italian cheese.

Mozzarella and serrano ham pizza

Do not be alarmed as we once were seeing the cook suddenly sticking a mop into the pizza oven! Had the place we had grown to love all this time been cleaning out the cooking space with the same mop to clean the floor?! Thankfully not, just a novel way of periodically cleaning out what must be a notoriously difficult, narrow, roasting hot space.

At times there can be hardly a corner to sit here, others it’s a haven of tranquility and quiet conversation, so don’t bank on either, and if going in a big group maybe give them a call ahead so as not to miss out.

Domino, C/Les Flors 16, Raval / Poble Sec

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La Cervesera Artesana

For those of us Brits who love our new Catalan home or visiting city yet at the same time hanker after the familiarity and flavours of home, we should look no further than La Cervesera Artesana, a Gràcia based microbrewery which produces beers to the traditional English brewing methods. As you pull open the wooden swing doors that comforting aroma of ale envelopes you and the carpet, a rare thing in Barcelona, brick, wood, brass and warmth provided sanctuary from the November (relative) cold and drizzle. Stepping in is reminiscent of being in your English local.

Forget India Pale Ale, as our acronym IPA is derived from, these guys are producing Iberian Pale Ale on site and what I understand to be a boil kettle and fermentation tank are seen behind glass at the back of the bar. For me beer is quite an ‘adult’ taste and one it’s taken me a while to acquire but both the negra and honey beers I’ve tasted previously were fantastic. Sadly, that negra black beer which I so enjoyed last time wasn’t available so we went for the lighter rubia blond beer. At 3.10€ for a half pint this is not cheap, yet as with all artesan produce I believe you get what you pay for. They also stock a wide range of bottled beers and ciders including our native Newcastle Brown Ale along with Basque beers and those from across the globe. If you’ve had your fill of Estrella Damm and Moritz and are looking for something a little different or are a beer connoisseur frustrated by the lack of availability elsewhere in the city this is paradise. The fusion with Catalonia comes with the food. This may feel like an English boozer but there’s no sausage and mash or pub grub going on here, rather creative takes on Catalan cuisine. On this occasion I didn’t eat but in the past have enjoyed the patatas bravas, mil fulles de botifarra negra i patata which was thin layers of potato with Catalan black pudding, beer roasted chicken pieces and pebrots del piquillo farcits which are small red peppers stuffed with salt cod. I know of few friends who are aware of this bar, yet it’s a hidden gem especially for the coming winter months, tucked away just away from the huge junction that is Diagonal, Passeig de Gràcia and Gran de Gràcia. Make a point of getting that coat, hat and brolly on and be sure to seek it out.

La Cervesera Artesana, C/Sant Agustí ,14, Gràcia.

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Laurel

If you’re not a fluent Spanish speaker your first encounter with Argentinians and their breed of this latin language can be a challenging experience.  Tune into their swishes, swooshes and hard ‘j’s however, and you will get to know some charming people. More importantly though you will hopefully be introduced to their take on a good old ‘pasty’, the empanada, and to their favourite places for eating them. Namely Laurel. Conveniently located across the road from the Floridablanca cinema (one of several cinemas in Barcelona that show movies in their original version), this is the ideal place to grab a pre or post film snack or meal. Pasties, of whatever accent, can have me either drooling at the lips or turned off by the overly thick pastry. Laurel’s offerings are of the former and the rainbow of pastries naturally coloured by carrot, beetroot and spinach set the masticating juices flowing.

The fifteen variteties listed on the menu, each as enticing sounding as the next, make choosing challenging, we started with a selection with a view to ordering more if we could “fit them in”…..no prizes for guessing whether that was achieved or not. Two ‘Marron’, a ‘Billie’ and a ‘Negrita’ were the aperitivos. ‘Marron’ being cocoa pastry filled with duck, pear, pine nuts, leek, pumpkin and ginger , ‘Billie’ delighted the mouth with Aragón sausage, pear, pine nuts and red onion. As for  ‘La Negrita’, she offered the hint of blackness that its name suggests with cuttlefish ink pastry and a filling of cuttlefish, mozzarella, tomato and basil. A much more captivating combination that it may first appear.

Two 'Marrón', 'La Negrita' and a 'Billie'

 The pastry here is not thick, stodgy or over filling, but rather a light envelope to encase the flavour punching fillings.

'La Negrita' filled with cuttlefish, tomato, mozzarella and basil in cuttlefish ink pastry

'El Marron' filled with duck, pear, pine nuts, pumpkin and ginger.

The great thing, but also the problem with Laurel empanadas is that once you start you want to make your way through the whole menu. So for the ‘main course’ we managed an ‘Amarilla’, carrot pastry filled with plums, bacon, mozzarella and almonds and the crimped ‘Dino’ of diced veal, onion, sweet potato and chilli. Heavenly and enough to send me fleeing from a standard tuna empanada for the rest of my days.

'Amarilla' and 'Dino'

If I’m honest at this point we were just being greedy but I can’t resist an alfajore, these ones had a subtle hint of lemon in the crumbly biscuit.

Alfajores and brigadeiros

Laurel doesn’t just restrict itself to these flaky pastry parcels as this wouldn’t be a taste of Argentina without a selection of meaty main courses and a tempting range of salads.

No meal with Argentinians would be complete without a mention of the good old Malvinas, the Falkland Islands to you and me, although we concentrated more on why we have such different names for this archipelago than on the 80′s war. In case your wondering…”The Falkland Islands took their English name from “Falkland Sound”, the channel between the two main islands, which was in turn named after Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland by Captain John Strong, who landed on the islands in 1690. The Spanish name, Islas Malvinas, is derived from the French name, Îles Malouines, named by Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1764 after the first known settlers, mariners and fishermen from the Breton port of Saint-Malo in France” ..thanks to Wikipedia for that titbit.

El Laurel, C/Floridablanca 4o, Sant Antoni

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Bar Celta Pulpería

Tourists and locals/residents can be, at times, a heady cocktail in Barcelona. Many foreigners living here now complain about them but were once tourists themselves and these camera-wielding, path-blocking visitors undeniably contribute vast sums of money to the local economy, as well as of course having every right to come and experience and devour this beautiful city. This is somewhat offset, however, by some of the problems they also bring such as drunkenness, noise, crowded streets and the thieving that follows them, particularly in the barri Gotic. The city council continues, with varying degrees of success, to try and find ways to disperse visitors to other areas of the city.

There are some places though where the cocktail is perfectly shaken or stirred and everyone rubs along just fine and dandy. One of these places is Bar Celta Pulpería.This is a rustic, Galician tapas bar which is always packed out with those who live here and those who are visiting and it’s one place that has improved immeasurably since the smoking ban. A long L-shaped bar area is lined with tapas to be selected and ordered from the waiters, who after sweat and hard work deserve every cent of their salary as they are constantly rushed off their feet. Inside, walls are lined with panelling, bowls are attached to the wall to hang your jacket and the place is littered with nic-nacs and bottles.

If, like me, you sometimes find sitting on a bar stool with your feet dangling a little uncomfortable then there is a small, cramped dining area at the rear of the bar.Name a classic tapas dish and they probably serve it here. The glass cabinets that line the bar make decisions difficult, rows of dishes of patatas bravas, razor clams, mussels, pa amb tomaquet, pimientos de padrón, whitebait, pinchos, sardines and of course this being a pulpería, octopus.With the exception of commenting that they were a little heavy-handed with the salt shaker before serving, especially with the pimientos de padrón, there are no complaints about this food. It is simple and honest fayre and at a reasonable price. Follow our lead and order a few things and then fill up more if needed, much more pleasurable than placing one bulk order and having too many plates in front of you. Here’s a few things we ate that survived for a photo opportunity:

Sweet, tender pulpo a la gallega (Galician octopus)

Crispy, salted pescaditos fritos (whitebait)

Pa amb tomaquet (Bread with tomato)

Oversalted pimientos de padron that washed the wine down quicker than expected

Other dishes that didn’t make the photo call due to our absent mindedness and hunger were pieces of warm, paprika-oozing chorizo and buñuelos de bacalao deep-fried salt cod dough balls.

On an evening in the city take a stroll along the seafront, do some fantasy yacht shopping at the harbour and then skip to C/de la Merce just behind Passeig de Colom and sample some of this for yourself. Soak up the buzz of the bar and admire the harmonious relationship between the insiders and outsiders.

Bar Celta Pulpería, C/de la Merce 16, Gotic

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La Caseta del Migdia

Many visitors to Barcelona, first time or otherwise, will often make the obligatory trip to Park Güell (pronounced very similar to ‘way’ not ‘gwell’ as I have often heard and said myself). Personally I think this is foolish. Of course Gaüdi’s work is fascinating and the park does provide some good views of the city, but the hoards of tourists, grafittied cacti and lack of open green space to just sit and relax really spoil the enjoyment of it for me.

Instead you should head to Montjuïc, the lush green parkland, topped by the castle overlooking the port and the Mediterranean Sea. Although it looms over the city, it’s very much ignored by many visitors and residents, but I think with it’s various small gardens, some manicured, others a little wilder, the Miro museum building, Olympic swimming pool, stadium and facitilities it’s one of the city’s most precious gems.

The true jewel of the park, however, is La Caseta del Migdia, the open air bar that nestles under the pine trees a short walk behind the castle. The path that runs around the castle, scented by the sweet smell of the pine mixed with the smoky aromas of the barbeque, leads you to the open-air tables, deckchairs and view out to sea.Now, I’m not going to kid you that this is a beautiful, uninterrupted ocean view, as the bar is tucked behind the castle it looks out onto the container port. However, as you lean back into your seat all you take in are the clear blue skies and aquamarine sea beyond the cranes, storage tanks and containers. A plate of barbequed botifarra, chicken, salad, toast and sweetcorn is the tucker on offer here,  fresh and decent quality it’s a tad on the costly side at 12€ but a price that’s probably been calculated to take in the setting and the fact that this can surely only been a profitable venture during the spring and summer months even though it is open all year round. Reggae, soul, funk and laidback tunes, at an appropriately low volume, emit from the decks and provide a perfect accompaniment to a sun-drenched afternoon under the branches and rays.

Before you set off, throw a good book, your camera and a sweater in your bag. Those stunning views as you climb up to the castle, either on foot or by cable car, are unmissable. As for the sweater, being above the city, even in summer there can be a cool wind up on the hill, you don’t want a few goosebumps to spoil a laidback, balearic style afternoon.

Las Caseta del Migdia, Montjuïc Park. Open Thursday to Sunday all year.

How to get there:

Walking: The easiest way is to leave Paral.lel and walk up C/Margarit. This leads to a steep slope and about 200 steps which brings you out onto Avinguda de Miramar. At the top of the steps, turn left and you will meet the cable car station. From here walk through the ‘Jardins de Brossa’ until you hit the Carretera de Montjuïc. Walk uphill and you will eventually see the castle and final cable car station. If you stand in front of the station as if you’ve just come out of it, turn right and follow the path round to the rear of the castle, if you don’t divert from the path it will bring you out under the pine trees and directly to the bar.

By funicular and cable car: Take the metro to Paral.lel and then at this station take the funicular up and then join the cable car which will take you to the castle. The current cost of the cable car is 8€ return. From here, turn right out of the cable car station and follow the path round to the rear of the castle, if you don’t divert from the path it will bring you out under the pine trees and directly to the bar.

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