Barrio Bounry: The Gothic Quarter
Across Las Ramblas and a few minutes inside the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) is Plaça del Pi, a lovely, multi-pronged square that curls around a 14th-century Gothic church. There are pavement café tables for lingering, a weekend market that draws local honey producers and cheese makers from the Pyrenees, and, near the square’s eponymous pi (pine) tree, Ganiveteria Roca, an elegant knife shop that opened in 1911. From hand-forged Japanese chef knives to pocket blades for collecting wild mushrooms (note the brush on the end) and huge meat cleavers, it’s a celebration of, as the shop’s motto goes, l’art de tallar—the art of cutting.
The culinary heart of the square is the centuries-old Bar del Pi. Run by the Pujol family since 1927, there is always a local or two standing at the marble bar having a morning coffee, a cup of thick drinking chocolate topped with fresh whipped cream, or, starting at noon, a caña (glass of draft beer) and a tapa to accompany it—mussels topped with mild Padrón peppers, say, or a dish of boquerones (marinated anchovies). Obligatory with these is pa amb tomàquet, Catalan bread rubbed with tomato and drizzled with olive oil.
Spain is the world’s largest producer of olive oil, with some 300 million olive trees being pressed into 1.5 million tons of oil annually. Cultivation goes back 3,000 years, and farming and milling techniques have been honed ever since. Top producers still follow age-old methods of hand harvesting, with sublime results, as is evident at the aptly named Oro Líquido (Liquid Gold) on narrow Carrer de la Palla. Specializing in Spanish aceite de oliva virgen extra, this modern boutique stocks some 120 varieties. Oro de Bailén, from the Sierra de Morena mountains in southern Andalucía, is a favorite single-source oil; made from just-ripe Picual olives, it carries a perfect balance of fruitiness, bitterness, and spiciness. You can also sample Dauro de l’Empordà, an intense, unfiltered blend that hints of artichokes and dried fruits.
Next door is Caelum, a small shop-cum-tearoom that specializes in dulces de convento (convent sweets). In many cases first prepared centuries ago when Andalucía was the Moorish heart of the peninsula, their recipes were passed down through generations in convents and monasteries. Be sure to try the yemas, or candied egg yolks. The yolks are laboriously worked with sugar and a touch of lemon juice until they have a delicate, creamy consistency before being rolled in sugar and individually wrapped in waxed paper. Divine.
While its tempting to linger (and over-indulge) here, just down Carrer del Banys Nous is another mandatory stop for decadent sweets. The closet-size Xurreria San Román prepares the city’s best churros. “I’ve been making them for 55 years,” says the gregarious Manuel San Román, “since I was 11. I started in the shop of my older brother.” He has perfected the technique. The deep-fried fritters are tender in the center with a slightly crispy outside, never oily, and always hot. So popular are they with neighborhood folks and nearby cafés, Manuel or his son fry small batches almost continually. A decent ración of six or so tucked into a paper cone and sprinkled with sugar is a steal at just one euro.
That ración should last long enough to cross the political heart of the city, Plaça Sant Jaume, built over the forum of the original Roman city of Barcino (on one side of the square is Barcelona’s city hall, on the other is the Generalitat Palace, headquarters of the Catalan government). Ignore the seductive small streets that lead off it toward the cathedral, and head for Via Laetana and into El Born.