After days of indulging in stick-to-your-bones traditional Catalan fare, The Astronomer and I were ready to sample some of the region’s modern cooking. We hoped to visit Albert Adria’s Bar Inopia and Carles Abellan’s Comerç 24 to satisfy this portion of our culinary itinerary, but we were turned away when we visited. A note to travelers similarly guided by their stomachs: you’ll have to arrive early to get a seat at Inopia, and for Comerç 24 you should make a reservation several weeks in advance.  It’s also best to visit the city on Tuesday through Saturday to avoid limited restaurant options.

Fortunately, a great dining alternative is never far away in a food-centric city like Barcelona. After a bit of research, The Astronomer suggested that we head to Santi Olivella’s Cata 1.81. Slightly larger than a shoebox, Cata 1.81  is a pioneer of modern tapas. The restaurant is also known for its stellar wine collection and market-influenced menu.

The dining room is bright white with even brighter orange accents. I loved that every table was carved out in the center to create a sturdy well for wine bottles, decorative floral arrangements, and even the bread basket.

The Astronomer and I were served a mountain of olives during our two and a half week stay in Spain, but none tasted as delicious as the ones served here. The language barrier kept us from getting the full story on how they were made, but we had an inkling that soy sauce was the secret ingredient that took off the olives’ characteristically briny edge.

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Bar Pinotxo came highly recommended to The Astronomer and me by an army of trusty folks. From our college teammate Duncan to our food blogging friend Charles to our handy dandy guidebooks, everyone had the nicest things to say about this place.

Located in the wonderland that is the Mercat de la Boqueria, Bar Pinotxo is a fourteen seat tapas bar specializing in hearty Catalan cuisine. It’s the most famous of all the eateries inside the marketplace and is constantly buzzing, from six in the morning until it closes sometime around three in the afternoon.

On both of our visits to Bar Pinotxo, The Astronomer and I had to wait fifteen minutes for two of the coveted metal stools to open up. Although I would have preferred to have my name jotted down on a sheet of paper and then called out when my seats were ready, the hover-behind-diners-that-are-sipping-espressos strategy worked out quite well.

The food here is truly fabulous, but it’s Bar Pinotxo’s amiable owner that  keeps diners coming back time and again. Always decked out in a pressed vest and dapper bow tie, Juanito Bayen made sure that we were well fed and well taken care of every time we pulled up a stool. Because the bar has no written menu, it was up to Mr. Bayen to suggest to us what to eat. He sells the daily specials in the same simplified manor as international flight attendants—“pescado or carne?”

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