Romantic Ideas For Dinner in Barcelona
The Catalan Capital of Barcelona is enjoying a renewed success with new Michelin stars awarded in 2009 and spawns of Ferran Adrià’s “El Bulli” restaurant – voted the best restaurant in the world for an unprecedented third year running – mushrooming up all over the city. Combine this with the huge immigrant population in Barcelona and anyone is spoiled for choice when it comes to eating out, and most visitors to the city will take away a great taste of Catalonia or other world cuisine for a fraction of the price as countries such as Italy, for example. So what about the romantic couple, looking for that special meal?
Barcelona is flanked on one side by Montjüic mountain – the site of the 1992 Olympic games – and is the first choice for two of the best meals with a view. The first is the restaurant El Xalet, which is just next to the Olympic diving boards and comes complete with concierge parking – one of the few restaurants in the city to offer that. The restaurant is perched half way up Monjüic and offers some spectacular views of the bustling city lights of Barcelona below. The restaurant is not cheap, but for a special occasion you can choose from a fantastic quality menu, and fantastic desserts – which you need to order on arrival, as they are made especially for you.
Staying up on Montjüic, and perhaps the best surprise to spring on a loved one, is the cable car dinner. That’s right – a special dinner inside the Montjüic cable car all the way up to the old castle. The local brewery Moritz have organised a “Picnic in the sky” with a 3 course meal, and plenty of Aigua de Moritz – the alcohol free version of their brew. The cable cars can be occupied by up to 8 people, Read the rest of this entry »
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Eating in Barcelona
Barcelona has a lot of dining options that magnifies the effect of multi-cultural influences on food and flavors. In fact, there is so much variety and must-have Barcelona food items that you can come here just to enjoy a culinary tour. One reason why Barcelona is engorged with ex-pats and foreigners is their liking towards the food of Barcelona, especially that of Catalonia and food. Experimental cuisines, sushi and foam for food, Barcelona is the perfect place to savor some incredible taste.
It is important to make some research before traveling to Barcelona by creating a list of restaurants which have good reviews. You can find some of these restaurants on various travelers that sites. You can also check national newspapers like the New York Times and find out the specialties of the place, especially Catalonia. Items like paella, churros, patatas bravas, chocolat con, squid and sangria are some big ticket items.
In case you know how to speak in Catalan or Spanish, you can place your order with a lot of ease, but even if you don’t, there are many restaurants in the area, especially those frequented by tourists which have a staff that speak in English. However, rural areas may not have restaurants with English fluency. Catalan, being the national language of the place will most probably be the only language on menus but in Barcelona almost everyone speaks both Spanish and catalan. Read the rest of this entry »
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Save Some Time When Making Crockpot Beef Stew
Chances are that when you are making a Crockpot beef stew that you are already pressed for time. You want to be able to create the perfect meal for your family, but you do not want to take too much time making this dish. Instead, you just want to toss it together and move on to the next thing on your list of chores.
One of the best ways to begin making your Crockpot beef stew is to line up all the different items you are going to be putting in it. This includes your carrots, potatoes and any other item you are going to be placing inside of it. If you have a food processor, turn it on to the chop setting. This will help you to cut down these items without turning them into mush. Take a moment to get these items down to 1 inch cubes and you will be able to quickly serve this deal meal to anyone who you might think will enjoy it. Best of all, it will have taken almost no time at all on your part.
If you would prefer, you can find bags of frozen stew vegetables in the frozen aisle of the grocery store. These items are perfectly chopped and designed to allow you to simply dump the contents into your slow cooker and let you get to your Crockpot beef stew faster than if you had to do this part all by yourself.
Another way you can save some time is using a packet of stew base maker. This usually has bullion, cornstarch, and other items in it. When you do this, your water begins to fill with flavor and you can cut back down on the process of making this part of the foundation to serve to your family. You may however want to check several different choices as the salt content and flavors will vary from one packet to the next. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: beef stew, catalonia culinary