I went on a free walking tour of the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic) at 11. We met in this beautiful Plaça Reial, which would be Plaza Real in Castilian.
Penny and Matt
I met this friendly Australian couple on my walking tour and had lunch with them later at Sagardi.
Santa Maria del Mar
The tour ended at 1:30 at Santa Maria del Mar , one of the best examples in Barcelona of Gothic architecture. We passed by Sagardi, a Basque tapas place, on our way to this basilica. Basque tapas, called pinchos, rate among the best in Barcelona because they originated in Pais Vasco (Basque Country), the tapas mecca.
Barcelona is located in Catalunia.
Basque tapas are called pinxtos/pinchos (Basque/Castilian) because they're poked on a toothpick. Pincho comes from the verb pinchar, which means to poke or stab. These toothpicks are important to save because the bar staff counts them at the end to figure out your bill. At Sagardi, each toothpick was 1.90 euros.
Unlike tapas, which just refers to a small plate of food, pinchos are always served on toasted baguette and can be eaten in a few bites. Also, you don't order pinchos, but select what you like off the serving platters.
Unlike tapas, which just refers to a small plate of food, pinchos are always served on toasted baguette and can be eaten in a few bites. Also, you don't order pinchos, but select what you like off the serving platters.
The two pinchos below that are not on bread are called banderillas. Banderillas are also referred to as pinchos de encurtidos, which translates to pickled pinchos.
1) Purple pincho in the back
Col Lombarda con Cangrejo
Red cabbage mixed with mayo and crab (cangrejo) topped with a strip of green and red bell pepper and anchovy. This pincho was so flavorful!
The white line was lactonesa, a mayonnaise made with milk instead of egg. I learned about the difference between lactonesa and mayonesa from a Spanish woman sitting next to me.
2) Green tapas in the far back
Guindillas con Anchoa
This banderilla was made of mini pickled chili peppers wrapped with an anchovy and topped off with 2 green olives. The salty anchovy was a nice foil for the pungent peppers.
Queso Fresco con Mermelada de Tomate
Fresh cheese topped by tomato marmalade, pine nuts, and some crushed walnuts. Nice sweet and sour combo.
3) Sardina con Cebolla Encurtido
Fresh sardine topped with pickled onions (cebolla encurtido) and a dab of anchovy purée; the sardine rested on a spinach leaf. It was nice to try a non-fried sardine.
5) Atún con Cebolla Encurtido
The flavors of the tuna with pickled onion were
clean and fresh in this banderilla.
I talked with a Spanish woman for the first half of my lunch and then soon after she left, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Penny and Matt. What a great coincidence that they happened to choose the same place for lunch!
Sagardi gets 5 stars for presentation and 5 stars for flavor. My second plate of tapas is on the following post.
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