Barcelona, Spain
933.171.731
When you think of Mercado de la Boqueria you think of great products. When you think of Pinotxo Bar you think of great food. Great Product + Great Execution = Great Food. This is the kind of math that I don't mind doing.
Pinotxo Bar is always mentioned when people talk about places you must eat at while in Barcelona. Is it strictly because of the food or is it the always smiling and cheery owner Juanito Bayen?
Garbanzo Beans or chickpeas. Usually I am not a huge fan of these beans, but this flavorful preparation was very good. I can see why so many people end up ordering these chickpeas. I liked that they added some course salt to bump up the flavor and add a little texture.
Sausage with mixed greens
Nicely browned and greasy in a good way sausage. The sausage was perfectly cooked leaving the sausage juicy and full of flavor. The mixed green on the side was nice to cut the grease of the sausage and to add some veggies to this solo sausage dish.
Tripe
Whenever we see tripe on the menu, we usually end up ordering it. This tripe was stewed in a tomato and spiced broth that allowed the tripe to soften. The tripe was not tender and soft as I imagined it to be, but was still a good dish.
Omelet
Sitting there at the bar, I noticed a basket of fresh eggs that had just been brought in by a local vendor from the Boqueria. The omelet was served with a piece of pan con tomate. The omelet was good but wasn't anything extraordinary. The pan con tomate was pretty standard, not one of the better ones I had on this trip.
Since it was still morning we opted to have a bit of coffee to end our meal and give us some energy to walk around the beautiful city of Barcelona.
As I wrote in the beginning of this blog post, Great Product + Great Execution = Great Food. In my opinion, this is how I would change the equation for Pinotxo Bar. Great Product + Great Execution = Good Food. Pinotxo Bar gets a lot of love from foodies around the world but I wasn't wowed with any of the dishes that I had on my one visit. Don't get me wrong - the food was good, but not great. Based on this one visit, Pinotxo Bar in my opinion isn't a place that warrants all this attention.
6 comments:
a foodie here - looking forward to following!
myminiocs - Thanks for checking out my food blog. More Spain posts to follow.
I was met with disappointment in the Barcelona food scene. Their cuisine is too hyper-local. The lack of appreciation for outside influence has resulted in decent food, not great food.
Jacinda - We ate at some really good places and some OK places. Never thought about the hyper-local aspect of the cuisine. Thanks!!
The reason the garbanzos are so good is because they are made with blood sausage - you'd never guess, but it's true (trust me, I know). I'm glad you enjoy!
anonymous - Thanks for the information on the secret recipe. You are right, I would have never guessed that.
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