Let's start with Bar Fidel, a great little bar/café found at the heart of the trendy student area of Raval on Carrer de Ferlandina, just off Carrer de Joaquin Costa. Like most good cafés in Barcelona, this was a very understated, relaxed little place; just a few tables, a few chairs and a couple of people chilling behind the bar taking orders. The menu on the other hand was a much less relaxed affair, hosting more than 60 different sandwiches, these guys mean business. Sounds like a dream come true. But wait, no, it was all in Spanish! 60 Sandwiches, the delights of which I could only imagine. It had become a most haunting nightmare- all these sandwiches locked away from me by the cruel mistress of language. I fruitlessly span my gaze across the menu, left to right, right to left. But then, like a beam of light from the heavens, I spotted the beautiful, glorious word I knew deep down I was looking for, the word no language can keep from me, the word, the holy grail....'Chorizo'. The fact that moments later the kind waitress behind the bar leant over and handed out a copy of their English menu is neither here nor there. My choice had been made. Chorizo. With Camembert.
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| Chorizo and Camembert - Bar Fidel |
It came served in a delicious crusty baguette and was amazing. The rich, sweet, salty thick sliced chorizo perfectly accompanied the creamy smooth Camembert. There is one other ingredient which I will reveal at the end, it is the secret to all the sandwiches I sampled, and which I can say without fear of contradiction has changed my life forever.
Next I shall move onto Bracafé, a Brazillian/Spanish chain of cafés, as far as I can see only found in Barcelona. It was in fact a misjudgement that caused me to visit the Ronda de San Antoni Bracafé establishment. I had intended to investigate the adjacent San Antoni market, but to my dismay it was closed on the day of my visit. Hunger took the better of me and so I was drawn to the nearest scran spot, which happened to be Bracafé. It would be an understatement to say that the menu wasn't quite as inspiring as Bar Fidel, and perhaps being given the English menu right away took some of the magic from the precedings. But nonetheless, I decided to go for a classic Spanish sandwich I had eaten many times during my first visit to Barcelona, the Tortilla de Patata; Spanish potato omelette.
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| Tortilla de Patata - Bracafé |
To my surprise - because to be honest I didn't have the highest of hopes - it was pretty dam good. Served in a lovely crusty, floury baguette, the omelette was well cooked, nice and moist, with plenty of potato and of course the secret ingredient, which the keen eyed amongst you might be able to spot it in this photo.
And now, last but not least Café Vienna. Now this little venture was most definitely a premeditated outing. While googling away for the best sandwiches in Barcelona in preparation for the trip (as you do) I stumbled across an article in the New York Times by their food critic Mark Bitten. In the article he describes his visit and makes the not so insignificant claim that Café Vienna serve the world's best sandwich. What makes this claim so intriguing is the fact that this is not some grand Spanish deli or a tiny hidden away little café; Café Vienna is essentially a fast food chain. And so naturally I decided this had to be investigated!
The sandwich in question is a baguette filled with Iberico ham or in spanish Flauta de Pernil Iberic. Iberico ham is a Spanish salt cured ham. But it's not just any cured ham, this stuff is considered the best of the best. It costs around £60 per pound and is produced exclusively from black Iberian pigs fed on a diet of acorns.
Upon entering Café Vienna, it becomes very clear that they are aware of Mark Bitten's review. By this I mean they should probably rename the place to Café Mark Bitten. The walls are plastered with posters of the sandwich with a NY Times seal of approval and the review itself is actually printed in every menu. At this point I began to wonder if Mark had been paid a few Euros for the review, but nevertheless I went ahead and ordered the infamous sandwich with a large glass of beer (you know, the ones only English tourists buy).
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| Flauta de Pernil Iberic - Café Vienna |
I sat down at a plastic table with my tray of food and unwrapped my sandwich from its waxy paper surround. First impressions were good, it looked great, nice deep brown baguette and the famous dark slightly glossy ham poking out the edges. I'm going to cut to the chase. It was amazing, the baguette wasn't crusty, it was crunchy, crispy even, and the Iberico ham was insane. Forget proscuitto, this is the shit. It has a deep, rich, sweet and slightly nutty flavour which is apparently thanks to all the acorns. There is a third essential ingredient to this sandwich, the secret ingredient I have kept from you that has featured in all these sandwiches. And that ingredient is......wait for it......tomato. That's right the humble tomato. But not sliced and chucked in as an after thought. The secret to all of these sandwiches is that the baguette is rubbed with tomato so that all the pips and juices get soaked up into the bread keeping it incredibly moist and delicious. This technique was used to optimum effect with the Flauta de Pernil Iberic; the tomato ensured the super crunchy baguette didn't dry out the sandwich and the subtle flavour of the tomato let the incredible ham shine centre stage without distraction. But is it the world's best sandwich? I don't think so, I've had better in Amsterdam (see some of my earliest posts). But don't get me wrong this is a blummin' good sandwich and deserves some applause.
So there you have it, tomato is the key to Barcelona's bad-boy bocadillos. Try it for yourself instead of mayo or butter, it's better for your figure and downright delish.
Adiós
