Les Tres a la Cuina

Only yesterday I read an article in Barcelona Metropolitan about a Gràcia cafe, just a stone’s throw from my flat, where the owners outlined that much of their inspiration came from Ottolenghi. Ottolenghi? Did you say Ottolenghi? Ooh I was going to wait all of, ooh, 24 hours before heading down there to see what this was all about.

For anyone not familiar with Ottolenghi, although if you know me or read this blog regularly you are sure to have heard me evangelising and generally being a bore about their food, Israeli Yotam Ottolenghi and Palestinian business partner Sami Tamimi own a series of vibrant, enticing cafes in London and Yotam has become something of a print and TV celebrity over the past year too. Their food is characteristic of their Middle Eastern upbringing and is notable for its bold yet complimentary ingredients, strong colours and in my opinion outstanding flavours. I could literally gush all day.

Let’s be clear Les Tres a la Cuina is not trying to emulate Ottolenghi. You won’t find the lavish window displays or lively counter of rainbow salads and baked goods. However, what you will find here is excellent, both in flavour combinations and ingredients that hint to their inspiration and in terms of quality, friendliness and incredible value for money.

Not knowing what to expect we came for a coffee or plate or two and unintentionally ended up having brunch. It was too good to turn down. Three dishes, yes you read that right, three dishes, and a huge café con leche for, wait for it, 9 euros! Lunch time menus and single plates are available during the week too.

To start we had home made granola with Greek yogurt sitting on a layer of either raspberry jam, also made in house, or honey. The yogurt was wonderfully creamy, the jam and granola not too sweet. Fabulous and filling.

Granola, Greek yogurt and home made raspberry jam.

Next came a single slice of toasted sourdough from the Reykjavik bakery, rubbed with tomato, topped generously with sweet jamon York (or Yorkshire ham where I come from), a thin layer of cheese, slices of ripe avocado, a pile of rocket, a runny fried egg and a splatter of rocket pesto. For vegetarians there was an option with mushrooms instead.  It was so good it was gone far too quickly. They say (good) things come in threes and this was certainly true here. We made space for an amazingly moist, almond and pistachio cake with a delicate layer of water icing and crushed pistachios and possibly a hint of orange zest. A definite hint to the Middle Eastern inspiration we discussed earlier. This was simply divine and as a cake baking aficionado I was slightly envious its simple perfection.

Pistachio and almond cake

If I was to be slightly critical of Les Tres a la Cuina, and this feels difficult to say after such a fantastic brunch, it would be that a few cushions to make the seating more comfortable and taller tables that were more conducive to eating rather than just having a coffee, wouldn’t go amiss. I have to wonder why they don’t open Sunday for brunch and close Monday instead of the other way round at the moment although I don’t begrudge them their day of rest. I would also have been more than happy to pay 9 euros for a choice of two of the three dishes including the coffee and would certainly have left more than satisfied rather than stuffed. I for one never thought I’d ever utter those last seven words. What has come over me?

Les Tres a la Cuina, Sant Lluis 35, Gràcia

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Rekons

I’m not quite sure how it’s happened that I’ve been writing this blog for over two years and have only merely hinted at Rekons up to now. It’s a true Argentinian treasure that needs to be shared and not locked in my secret chest. The counter of empanadas , embutidos and enticing cakes, muffins and alfajores seduces you to enter and what was previously a small space has recently been ‘renovated’ (read ‘bashed a wall out’) and has opened up the capacity downstairs. If full there’s also the terrace outside or a shimmy past crates of milk and beers to some upstairs seating. It’s also the only place I’ve ever been where I’ve had to sit sideways on the toilet.

Not sure if it’s the Yorkshire genes or limited budget but regular readers of this blog will know I like to trumpet places that offer great food at reasonable prices and there are few places I’ve come across that achieve that more successfully than here.

Starting with a fruity glass of red I went for the grilled chicken sandwich leaving off the cheese, just adding a dollop of mayo. Unless you are seriously hungry then order the half sandwich, you’ll also pay less than 3€ for this beauty. When I have a sandwich like this I always wonder why on earth international chains with their fake bread, warm limp salad, soggy breaded chicken and not exactly bargain prices are so popular.

Grilled chicken salad sandwich

My companions shared a plate of varied empanadas, one of beef and pumpkin with an unusual but complimentary sugary topping, another of celery, roquefort and walnuts and the others that slip my mind but the full selection is available on the menu here. Each costs between 1.50 – 3€ depending on your choice and they still have a crispy, flakiness after reheating which is a failing of some of the empanada joints in the city.

What I haven’t captured here are the mountainous, varied salads they serve which have a plethora of ingredients that work even when you sometimes think they wouldn’t. Check out their ‘rekomendaciones’ here for more tantalising options.

A bouncy sponge with a fluffy meringue topping drew us to dessert and had an unexpectedly pleasurable hint of orange running through the sponge and filling which left us with that uncomfortable moment in dessert sharing where noone wants to take the last spoonful but secretly everyone’s hoping it can be theirs.

Orange cake

You can easily enjoy lunch or a light supper, some dessert and a glass of wine here for under 10€, so now my secret’s out go forth and enjoy the riches of Rekons.

Rekons, C/Urgell 32 (corner of C/Floridblanca), Sant Antoní

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Red Ant

Another meal, another blog and yet another occasion where I feel blessed for the invention of photo editing suites and ashamed to be posting yet more sub-standard photos to this blog. So, no more, never again, I’m through, we’re done. Here I make a Moonraker Morsel promise that if they don’t make the grade in future, I don’t include them.
Maybe it’s a ploy to disrupt us bloggers, but lighting in many cafés, bars and restaurants is not exactly conducive to good photography, and Red Ant more so than most. I will not lie, those that follow have had some serious touching up to make them even passable.

Photo courtesy of http://blog-static.hola.com, who is clearly a much better photographer than myself. Many thanks if you see this!

Red Ant is the latest offering from Mosquito, a Vietnamese neighbour in the Born and here they specialise in noodles and accompaniments. In order to be able to sample as much as possible without bursting at the seam, my dining comrade and I often go for a selection of side orders, the tapas influence never too far away.

My knowledge of far Eastern cuisine is up there with my photography skills (or should that be down there?) so steamed bread is something I’ve never had the good fortune to try. Here it was filled with belly pork, a sliver of spring onion, cucumber and an ooze of sweet sticky sauce. Lovely and light, I could’ve eaten three.

Steamed pork bun with pork belly

The only main dish we opted for were the spring onion ginger noodles, again with belly pork. Unlike many, pork is one of my favourite meats, which is lucky as it featured in nearly every dish we chose. The noodles had a depth of flavour unlike plain wheat noodles but the whole dish was so uneventful I’ve almost forgotten eating it. Decent, filling, memory gone once digested.

Spring onion ginger noodles with belly pork

Bok choi, or pak choi as I know it better, has such a rainwater taste and a simultaenous softness and crunch that I love. Drenched in an oyster sauce with sesame, a plate full of that alone would’ve more than made me happy.

Bok choi with vegetarian oyster sauce

Yet, that Bok Choi and the Mapo tofu wrap would be my stand out choices on a second visit. A steaming bowl of pork, tofu and rice in an, let’s be honest, oily, fiery sauce to be made into wraps with crisp lettuce was both fun, messy and delicious. Slurping the oil and juices back up your arm as they dribble from their leafy home may not be sophisticated or dignified but it sure was enjoyable.

Mapo tofu wrap

I can often pass on dessert, but comrade in knives and forks would never hear of it, and neither would I when I read chocolate + ginger on the menu. Second only to chocolate + hazelnut in my world. Tongue tingling ginger, airy yet rich mousse and forceful dark chocolate flavour made this a potent pot of pleasure.

Chocolate ginger mousse

After my dreadful green tea dessert at Udon I had to give it another whirl with Red Ant’s green tea yogurt crumble. Green tea has a lovely floral flavour and the crumble was a good contrast with the yogurt texture but the sourness of the yogurt just didn’t compliment the green tea, or vice versa. So I’m still waiting to be wowed by this eastern ingredient in a dessert. Any suggestions where I might find that?

Green tea yogurt crumble

Red Ant didn’t hit the mark for me with every dish but was excellent value for money and a wonderful, relaxed informal setting (if you can relax without air con) and speedy, friendly service. Vegetarians also have half the menu to themselves. All the above plus 6 glasses of wine presented us with la cuenta of only 35€, leaving me enough for some photography lessons or a teach yourself book.

Red Ant, C/Tiradors 3-5, Born

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Picnic

Grey November skies and what seems to have been almost a fortnight of a constant deluge of rain (I can almost hear the non-sympathy vote coming from those reading this in the UK) mean the opportunities for a picnic are now put on the back burner until the spring. Thankfully, there is an alternative Picnic waiting to shield us from the autumnal gloom. As with so many of the newer openings in the city, Picnic is filled with pastel shades, faux vintage nic-nacs and bold, bright flowers, all of which are cosy and inviting but for me, nothing more than the latest bandwagon that lacks a little originality. However, they have also jumped on the trend for brunch and this is never a bad thing in a city that lacks midday, weekend options.

Decor is one thing, what’s on my plate is another. Lunch is the best value time to eat in Spain, the menu del dia is a welcome hangover from the Franco days. Basically this is a 2 or 3 course meal, usually including wine or soft drink and a coffee for a set price. Here it was 10.50€ for a main course + dessert or 12.50€ for starter, main course and dessert. As someone who prefers to have starter and main but skip the dessert I would’ve welcomed another third option for 10.50€.

A small basket of wonderfully chewy, fennel laced foccacia entertained us whilst we waited for our orders. We got through almost three of these by the end of the meal. I think that says it all and thanks to the very friendly waiter who kept them coming.

Fennel foccacia

Sharp yet sweet pomegranate seeds topped the satisfying brown lentil salad with walnuts and green beans which left me feeling healthily smug and the flakes of sea salt sprinkled through it set it alive.

Lentil salad with walnuts, green beans and pomegranate

The ‘market fish’ of the day was that Iberian favourite hake, a beautiful generous piece of which sat atop some neat squares of hash brown and accompanied by a slightly wilted, ‘too long in the dressing before being served’ salad. The hash browns will be excused of their sogginess as they were tasty nonetheless and a dash of lime in the crème fraîche would’ve given the plate a zing. The hake was wonderful and I adore crispy fish skin.

Hake with hash browns and salad

Given that I hadn’t really wanted dessert I chose the simple yet refreshing fruit salad, known here in Spain as macedonia, though quite how a bowl of mixed fruit should come to be named after a Balkan country is beyond me.

Macedonia fruit salad

My friends went for the other dessert option of mouthwatering mini pancakes which came with a spoonful of maple syrup and fresh berries, the perfect size portion for a lunchtime meal. This isn’t the cheapest menu del dia to be found, but the general quality of the food and coffee, the full bodied glass of wine and the welcoming waiter meant it was money well spent. Now back to the street, where did I leave my umbrella?

Picnic, C/Comerç 1, Born

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Kiosko

Barcelona appears to be taking on an air of NYC of late where recent café openings seem more like they should be in Greenwich Village rather than in Gaüdi’s city. First it was Federal, then the Meatpacking Bistro (which I’ve yet to sample) and now Kiosko, all bringing with them muted, loft style venues. And in the case of Kiosko, bringing yet more burgers to the city.

They should be giving themselves a big pat on the back because even though they only opened recently on the Friday lunchtime we popped in it was absolutely packed out. Ordering at first is a little confusing as it’s not what you’re expecting. The large wall mounted board lists their burgers and accompaniments in Catalan, Spanish and English and then you complete a slip with your order which you pay for there and then. What initially felt like a clumsy system transpired to be very efficient; no confusion from the waiters about whose order was whose and the ability to just pick yourself up and leave when you’re finished without having to sort out the bill. A big advantage for all concerned on a busy, rushed lunchtime.The hints of the Big Apple are everywhere from the industrial piping in the ceiling, the stark white and block colour walls and the brightly lit interior.

The portion sizes are also very reminiscent of America, these are very generous burgers and if you order fries with it I suggest sharing them or being prepared to be defeated by the combination. These are also very delicious burgers, handmade every day with excellent quality meat from Castilla y León, well cooked and served with fresh salad and good bread. I chose the ‘Asturiana’ which comes with caramelized onion and blue cheese which I had on a light wholemeal roll. I contentedly dabbed the slight grease from the burger and cheese off my chin and popped chip after gloriously fluffy, crispy chip in my mouth. Kiosko also deserve commending for their approach to their products’ production and waste management. Only fresh, Spanish ingredients are used, your burger is served on a real plate lined with paper and when you’ve devoured your order you have to clear your table yourself, making sure to put the paper and food waste in separate bins from those for cans and bottles. If only more places could have this ethos.

Kiosko, Marquès de L’Argentera 1bis, Born

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Federal

Federal has undoubtedly been the hottest, new kid on the block since it opened in the sticky summer months of last year. If you wandered past Federal in north London you probably wouldn’t give it a second glance, but in Barcelona it’s something of a rarity, strikingly different from the other café offerings with it’s paired back, muted, airy style and offering that other Barcelona rarity, brunch. The weekend mornings throng with friends getting together, couples sharing breakfast and the morning papers, solo eaters with their heads also buried in the global updates of the day. It can be difficult to get a table on a Saturday or Sunday morning but once you’ve succeeded you can enjoy the light streaming in and in the warmer months enjoy your meal on the roof terrace or with your legs  slung onto the street when they peel back the ground level windows and doors.  My friend Vera, fellow Barcelona blogger and much more proficient photographer than myself, has captured the feeling of Federal here.

I try not to be a creature of habit, but where eggs are concerned, there’s only one thing for breakfast. And I love these eggs, baked in a Staub cast iron dish with slices of pancetta according to the menu, to me it’s good old back bacon, some crème fraîche and finely sliced spring onion.

Baked eggs with bacon, crème fraîche and spring onion

The two slices of lightly toasted and buttered sourdough loaf are begging to be dunked into that runny egg and undeniably rich and calorific creamy mixture but the sharpness of the onion stops it just short of being too much.  My freshly squeezed orange juice, swimming with bits which I love, washed it all down. This is not a dish for those watching their waistlines but indulgence  is what weekend’s are for aren’t they? Unlike previous occasions (and there have been many), the bacon on this particular day was very salty and left me with a thirst all morning.

My companion started with the breakfast seeded muffin, but for her breakfast isn’t breakfast without something sweet so had ‘seconds’ of the back forest cupcake, and so resumed our usual cupcake ‘love them/hate them’ debate.

Black forest cup cake

Federal shouldn’t just be a destination for breakfast or brunch, they have an evening menu of light meals and salads, check the opening times as I believe the kitchen closes for a period between the morning and evening services but your hunger gap can be filled and weary legs rested with the coffee, tea and cake selection throughout the day. Sadly, my one and only cake experience has been disappointing, a slice of carrot cake that beneath the icing could only be described as a ‘cakey-jelly’, I can’t even imagine how that was created.

Regardless of their success, their beautiful setting and my own enjoyment of their venture I hope these small flaws will be ironed out, along with the repeated comments I ‘ve heard about less than friendly welcomes at busy times. It’s especially easy for things to fall below par when you are riding high on a wave of popularity

Our farewell was nothing other than warm, two kisses goodbye from the owner and a handful of childhood sweet shop treats from the jars behind the cash register. Surprised at my immediate identification of all the confection, my first Saturday job at a ‘pick and mix’ market stall still etched on my memory, he had us leaving with a pocketful of butterscotch tablets, cinder toffee and jelly babies.

Federal, C/Parlament 39 (with Comte Borrell), Sant Antoní

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Alfajores

Like my dad I’m rather partial to a biscuit, especially with a steaming cup of tea or a freshly brewed coffee. I can hear him now, saying in his broad Huddersfield accent “this brew’s a bit wet Claire” which indicates the biscuit tin needs to come out and soak up the liquid with his mug.

Alfajores are a biscuit I think my dad might approve of. I’d never come across them until coming to Barcelona, they originate in Argentina and considering the high concentration of their countrymen in the city it’s no surprise they pop up everywhere here.

They have similarites with shortcake, two discs sandwiched together with that Argentinian staple dulce de leche, a thick caramel from a sweetened vanilla milk boiled down until concentrated. An easier way than standing over a pan of milk and constantly stirring for nearly an hour is to use condensed milk and the method described by fellow London based food blogger Milly here. The edges of the sandwich are then usually dusted with desiccated coconut.

The quality of alfajores varies, I’ve had some where the biscuit has been heavy like shortbread and paired with the extremely sweet filling were a step too far even for my sweet tooth. Others have a coating of white icing on top, again unnecessary extra sugar in my opinion. My current favourites are the ones pictured from the charming little cafe Rekons (more about that another time). Crumbly, slightly pillowy biscuit that’s not overly cloying like some and lets the chestnut coloured dulce de leche play that role. Just remember to dust the crumbs off when you’ve enjoyed it in the street like I did.

If you fancy making your own here is a recipe (thus far untested I must add) taken from a book given to me as a gift from friends returning from a trip to Buenos Aires, called simply ‘Argentine Cooking’ by Mónica Hoss de la Comte.

600g plain flour

pinch of salt

4 egg yolks

200ml water

120g fat (butter or lard)

1 x can of cheat’s dulce de leche

The recipe suggests a cold water icing but I’m going to omit it so you can have them the Rekons way.

Method

Put the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the centre. Then put the yolks, salt, water and melted fat in the centre. Knead well for some minutes and allow the mixture to rest for a while, then knead it again.  Roll out, cut the round biscuits and put them in the oven on a greased baking sheet. (The recipe doesn’t give a temperature, I would suggest about 180°c but keep an eye on them). When they are cooked and cool, stick them together with the dulce de leche and sprinkle a dusting of desiccated coconut round the outer edges.

Alfajores Rekons, C/Comte d’Urgell 32 (Comte d’Urgell with Floridablanca), Sant Antoní

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Tarte and Quiche

I achieved my 32nd birthday last Wednesday. I use the word ‘achieve’ as this is the literal translation of saying you ‘turned’ a certain age in Spanish. I like this interpretation; that despite everything that life can throw at you and all the obstacles that could cut you down at any moment, you’ve survived to rack up another year.

Therefore, to celebrate having managed to get thus far in life, two kind friends whisked me off to ‘Tarte and Quiche’ for a birthday brunch at this tiny, tasty café.

After a spate of torrential rain and grey skies last week I was overjoyed to see that the non-existent weather god had answered my prayers and given us back the sol so we could enjoy the pavement tables and the warm, autumn sunshine.

It took me all of, ooh, 30 seconds to decide I wasn’t going to be torn on the decision of tarte or quiche when everything in the cabinet looked so divine, therefore I naturally chose to congratulate myself and plumped for one of each. My more restrained friends were drawn straight to the magnificent looking sweet tartlets.

Decisions, decisions

‘Tarte and Quiche’ is a prime example of a place limiting what it sells but doing it really well. There are no sandwiches, tortillas, fries on the side here, it just creates exactly what it states and to such a standard that it was difficult to get past salivating over the glass cabinet and make a selection.

My deep-filled wedge of crab and spinach quiche could’ve been heavy but both the pastry and filling were light and not stodgy in the slightest. I’ve wondered whether to reserve my criticism of using crab sticks in the filling as it was a flavoursome piece of quiche but I can’t hold back on that. Why choose crabsticks? They’ve never seen a crab in their existence and given the café’s concept of using fresh, local and some organic ingredients I’m surprised that they’ve included them. They must also have a fantastic microwave as I shuddered at the thought of soggy pastry as it went in to be heated but whatever they’re using kept it crisp.

Crab and spinach quiche

Whilst I wanted to be adventurous about my tarte, I predictably went for the chocolate and hazelnut one, whether it’s nutella ice cream or belgian praline chocolates, this is a combination I find difficult to sway from if it’s on offer. This was HEAVEN, sweet, very light and crisp pastry and the filling coated my mouth with a wave of dark, slightly bitter, hazelnut and chocolate ganache.

Chocolate and hazelnut tarte

Considering I was being treated to this brunch and that I already had two portions of my own to work my way through, it seemed unfair to start digging into my companions’ plates as well but my fork managed to make it’s way into that pillowy, swirled meringue, tangy lemon filling and more of that expert pastry on the plate next to me. I didn’t manage to sample the raspberry and almond tarte. Knowing how much my other friend would have a 3 course dinner comprising of ‘dessert, dessert, dessert’ I didn’t want to deprive her of a mouthful, the picture and her slow, contemplative eating showed how much it equalled ours.

Lemon meringue tarte

Raspberry and almond tarte

For further tarty titilation there’s a gallery of more of their products here.

I loved this hidden haven and will have to try my best to resist the temptation to regularly call in now I know it’s only a slight detour on the way for my train to work. It’s not a place for a large group, the inside space is limited to seating around 12 and as the cooler weather approaches and forces us indoors the street won’t be available to take the overspill. Curiously they open 6 days a week with their day of closing on a Saturday but maybe they know that this small package of indulgence is just what’s required to set Sunday on the right path instead.

Tarte and quiche, C/Aragó 39, non-smoking

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La Crêperie bretonne in beautiful Girona

One of things I love about Barcelona is it’s close proximity and well connected and cheap trains to so many other beautiful towns, countryside and coastline. As I, like many other Barcelonins, have holidays at the moment I’ve been taking advantage of the free time I have and checking out some of these places.

Earlier this week myself and two friends made the hour and a half journey up to Girona. Once again just the train journey alone did not disappoint as we passed through rugged hills with distant mountains, pine forests and rich, green landscape. I could honestly just make a day of taking the train around Catalonia and gazing out of the window.

The main pull to Girona is it’s small, historic town about 10 minutes walk from the railway station.

On the way we dropped one friend at the cinema museum www.museudelcinema.org whilst we carried on across the Onyar river, where we admired the delightful painted residences, to explore the narrow streets, Jewish quarter and the city’s very own ‘great wall’.

The wall, a partial remainder of the city’s fortifications, encompasses half of the historic town and gave us outstanding views of the city, it’s outlying suburbs and the foothills of the Pyrenees in the distance.

We followed the walls for a while, descending from them to enjoy the shaded, park like areas and climbing again until we reached the impressive St Mary’s Cathedral.

Girona's restored city wall

St Mary's Cathedral

The city gave us a feeling that we were more in the southern regions of France than in Spain (and indeed many would argue that we are not in Spain either), it’s winding streets and shops reminiscent of the times I’ve passed through  Montélimar and Perpignan.

It was perhaps apt then that with weary feet, parched throats and hungry bellies that we had lunch at the delightful La Crêperie bretonne (well, I know Brittany is almost 1000 miles away but you get the French connection).

This is probably the most charming cafe I have ever eaten in and despite being a chain, there are also branches in Colliure, Figueres, Valenica, Vigo and luckily for me Barcelona. I was reliable informed by my companion that this Girona cafe is very different from the Barcelona outlet.

The preparation area inside a vintage blue bus draws your attention immediately as you walk in

and the cafe then leads you through a treasure trove of last century’s French advertising boards, vintage tables and chairs, yet another bus (this time the bathroom) and many other delightful objects and nik-naks.

Being lunchtime there was a ‘menu’ option (savoury galette, sweet crêpe and drink for 9.50€), our cinema buff friend had joined us again and as there were three galettes of the day to choose from we plumped for one of each.

Whilst we waited for our order our friend regaled us with details, pictures and videos of his morning at the cinema museum, clearly excited by the number of exhibits of pre-cinema contraptions and moving picture machines and the interactiveness of the displays, he eager to ditch us once again and see the remainder once he’d refueled.

The thin, folded, buckwheat galettes, one of ham, emmental and egg ‘La Complête’,

La Complête

the second with fried potatoes, sausage, bacon, shallots and a bechamel style sauce ‘La Savoyarde’

La Savoyarde

and lastly with spinach, raisins, walnuts and goats cheese ‘La Vegetarienne’, were delicious and deceptively filling.

La Vegetarienne

Luckily we still had space for the sweet crêpes for dessert, this time we were less willing to share and closely guarded the one we had individually ordered, mine with Nutella, my friend’s with chocolate and film guy chose a super-sweet ‘dulce de leche’ type caramel.

Sweet, sweet caramel

An envelope of Nutella

Oh, so chocolatey

We did eventually sacrifice a small corner each so we could sample each others, but they weren’t handed over without a fight.

This really was a lovely place to have lunch. We also saw very generous, mouthwatering looking salads being served and there is a busy terrace outside, although I feel you would definitely miss some of the cafe’s charm being outdoors if this was your first visit.

Satisified and happy, but slightly slower than the morning we headed back out into the afternoon sunshine and finished out respective stroll and muesum visit.

La Crêperie bretonne, Cort Reial 14, Girona – No smoking

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