Barcelona Tapas

While New Orleans had one hell of a February this year, the natives of Spain have much to brag about this July. Yesterday, upon the header of Carles Puyol, La Furia Roja advanced to its first ever World Cup Final match, setting up a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Dutch/Holland/Netherlands/People with Wooden Shoes. Meanwhile, the Basque region is currently throwing a little party called San Fermines, which you might know as the "Running of the Bulls." This weekend our fair city will be hosting our own version of San Fermin, complete with an Encierro on Saturday morning. All this talk making you hungry for tapas? We got you covered.

Tapas restaurants can leave you shaking your head. You go in expecting a meal, nibble at five or six plates of food, walk out $100 poorer, and starving. Granted, a tapas restaurant is not traditionally a place one eats a full meal at. Were you living in Spain, you would know tapas as a snack to eat while drinking your jerez or txakolina.

At Barcelona Tapas, owner Xavier Laurentino, has bridged the gap between the American expectation for a full meal and the traditional Spanish notion of tapas. The menu is enormous, and Laurentino is "constantly tinkering with it."
The most difficult aspect to grasp is knowing how much to order; tapas are not like sushi where you know how many rolls will fill you up. A good rule of thumb is 3-4 tapas per person, which may not seem like enough food but the progression of dishes allows you to slowly fill your tank and realize when you're full.

Start with the tomato breads or canoes, which are both a similar concept to anyone familiar with bruschetta. Both the tomato bread and the canoes, top grilled bread with tasty ingredients from the Iberian peninsula. The difference? The canoes let the toppings speak for themselves, whereas the tomato breads meld the ingredients into something different. An especially flavorful canoe showcases the brilliance of manchego and quince paste. Skip the garlic shrimp and brie in favor of meatier options like beef and pork tenderloin with gouda.

On one visit the tomato breads arrived with toasted bread, cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves and a dish of serrano ham. You are instructed to rub the garlic, then tomato, over the coarse bread and create your own tomato bread. On another visit, the work had been done by the kitchen, which is a necessary justification for the $7-$9 price tag.

The best surprise of the small bread-based tapas may have been the simplest. Laurentino serves his version of Caprese salad with tomato, mozzarella, mint (rather than basil), and a reduction of balsamic vinegar. It tastes of summer, yes, but also better highlights the interplay between sweet tomato and salty mozzarella.

Fried potatoes are excellent in two forms. Thin, crispy patatas fritas arrive alongside a single, charred lamb chop lollipop. The only sauce either need is provided in the form of a garlic laden, creamy allioli. Patatas bravas have a fiery sauce and are delicious on their own. The calamari we differed on. Rene loved the way it's firm flesh tasted of the beach and the sprinkling of smoky paprika, on the other hand Peter thought the chewiness was a bit offputting.

The simple slices of manchego on toast should be skipped, and the ceviche, Caesar salad, and avocado shrimp tropical were forgettable. Listen closely to the day's specials, especially if you hear the words "marinated artichoke heart." This special is prepared exclusively by Laurentino and features an upright heart atop a base of grilled manchego which is then drizzles with aged balsamic vinegar. The much touted roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with salmon mousse were ordered on one visit, but the dish never made it to the table. Oh well, there will definitely be a next time.

Laurentino does an admirable job with his paella. While we are assured of its authenticity from numerous sources, it seems bland compared to jambalaya. This is not a criticism of paella in general or Laurentino's paella in specificity; just an observation that for anyone who has spent a fall afternoon eating jambalaya while waiting for that 7:00pm kickoff in Death Valley, you will find yourself reaching for the hot sauce.

We always get in trouble when we talk about interior decorating, but here it goes. The inside of Barcelona tapas is cool. Laurentino, a former contractor, spent years building and shaping the building himself. As you enter, an ocean blue, mosaic topped bar anchors one half of the anteroom. The door to the kitchen looks as if it was ripped off a Spanish monastery. Exposed beams line the ceiling creating an illusion of dining in an ancient corridor of a castle.

The bar mixes a, excellent not-so-sweet sangria poured into glasses filled with diced apple. The wine list is a medley of Spanish varietals augmented by Italian and California selections; sadly txakolina is nowhere to be found. In this heat, stick with an ice cold Estrella. For dessert you have a choice of flan or creme brulee, the latter served either in the classic French style or spiced up with cinnamon in the Catalan style. Barcelona does not accept credit cards, but there is an ATM machine up front (no fee).

As far as Spanish food is concerned in New Orleans, Barcelona Tapas gets a birdie from us.

¡Viva España!

Barcelona Tapas

720 Dublin
New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 861-9696

Tuesday - Sunday from 5:30pm - Till

Laurentino's

I was told yesterday's entry was rather mushy. So here is some snarky grumpiness.

Lindsay and I had been on a pretty impressive Ted Williams-esque hot streak. Meals had been going very well and we got overconfident. This overconfidence led us to Transcontinental and West Esplanade for a disappointment of historic magnitude.

I had wanted to go to Laurentino's for years. My interest was further piqued by an article describing how the chef/owner Xavier Laurentino spent some time recently at a Ferran Adria boot camp of sorts. Finally last Friday we made it out there. Walking into Laurentino's really feels like stepping into a tiny tapas spot in San Sebastian. The vibe is cave cool and one is immediately amped for a good meal. Then the food arrives.

To be fair the salad was pretty good. Although the olives came straight from a jar of Lindsey's, the sun dried tomatoes and light dressing were refreshing and a good palate cleanser.
The garlic soup was a disaster. The soup lacked body and soul. Although the menu billed it as garlic and egg set inside a vegetable and chicken stock, the only discernible flavor was rotten shellfish.
Next up was a bowl of gruel in the form of an artichoke pesto. The first bite was flavorful, by the second an intense saltiness took hold. Luckily, the San Miguel beers were close at hand.
The some shrimp in garlic sauce. Look at those shrimp. If you look closely you can see what they ate before being caught. This is New Orleans. I can swing a cat and hit a roadside vendor selling fresh shrimp. These frozen poker chips of brine laden chemicals will not do.

The patatas ali i oli were not bad, but could have been a little crispier. Am I quibbling? Sure, but when each dish has flaws you begin noticing them more and more.
Hope sprang eternal for an order of pork loin on toast with Manchego and roasted pepper. It would have been significantly better with a roasted red pepper rather than a green one. But all in all, this was tasty and I would order it again.

Much of the food suffered from a similar fault: it lacked punch and diversity. The flavors, and colors of dishes, began to all blur together. A garlic sauce can only go so far to cover up inferior products. When that sauce is repeated again and again, its does a better job pointing out flaws rather than hiding them.

Service consisted of a waitress who had her back turned on the dining room for 90% of the time as she folded napkins. I will leave it at that.

Peering into the kitchen, I could see the Chef Laurentino was not in the kitchen. Now, I realize at some restaurants the chef is not in the kitchen. But chefs like Emeril have a highly trained squad to execute his ideas and more importantly develop their own ideas. Maybe chef was on vacation, but he needs to come back. An authentic, delicious Spanish restaurant would be most welcome, a destination disappointment is not.

Laurentino's-Bogey. Will revisit though, perhaps.


Peter on vacation. As if two months of studying for the bar weren't taxing enough, he is off to Portugal and Spain with the Pope and Woodpecker. So that means next Thursday, Guest Blogging Thursdays return for one last incarnation. Win prizes, impress your friends.