By billienkatz
1. Pan con Tomate - this simple dish is simply toasted bread with a tomato spread, but it is one of the foods that has stood out the most throughout my time in Barcelona. My first experience with this dish was when my roommate and I wandered into a restaurant around the corner from our apartment for our first Spanish meal just a few hours after stepping off the plane and where we were jet lagged out of our minds. This (for some reason) is a staple on most restaurant menus and a definite 'must order' appetizer.
2. Paella - duh. Paella is a staple of Spanish meals in general; however, you truly don't understand how incredible it is until you actually eat it in Spain. Barcelona, specifically, has really amazing Paella because it is a port city and all of the seafood used is completely fresh. The only downside for someone like me who tries to view my food as just food and nothing more, the fact that the Spanish keep the heads on all of their seafood ruins a bit of the meal for me.
3. Cava - while Cava is certainly not a food group, it is very possible to argue that since it is an alcoholic drink, that it is essential to the Spanish diet. This isn't to say that everyone in Spain drinks copious amounts, but having a few beers or glasses of wine/cava/sangria at any point in the day is totally normal. I even saw a 4 year old playing with a not totally empty beer bottle once...Anyway, back to Cava! Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine, which is grown and produced in the Catalonia region. Essentially, Cava is to Spain, what Champagne is to France.
4. Fresh Juice - I am a fruit fanatic, and the concept of fresh-squeezed natural juices that are abundant in Barcelona is potentially one of my favorite things about studying abroad here. There are two very distinct types of juice in Barcelona. The first, is very common and from a giant industrial sized juicer that is found in every restaurant, cafe, and little shop you walk into. The second, and my definite favorite, is the 1€ juice available at La Boqueria (the big open market). The IES center where I take my classes is about a 5 minute walk down Las Rambles to the Boqueria, and I often find myself taking juice breaks because it's just that good.
5. Chocolate con Churros - there isn't enough to say about this dessert, except for the fact that it is amazing, fattening, and may result in a bit of self-loathing if you eat one too many, but it is such a worth it while visiting and more importantly, eating in Spain!