Boqueria

To celebrate the purchase of some dirt-cheap tickets to Spain, we headed to Boqueria, a tapas bar in Chelsea named after the famous market in Barcelona. Boqueria channels its namesake's location both through its food and its Mediterranean sunshine interior.



We began with the most traditional of Catalan starters, pan con tomate (or pa amb tomaquet in Catalan), pieces of grilled bread that have been rubbed with a ripe tomato and topped with olive oil, salt, and garlic, like an Iberian bruschetta. The salty sweetness of it is irresistible. Similarly salty, but much less sweet, were the patatas bravas, potatoes that are fried in a skillet and drizzled with spicy salsa brava (tomato, oil, paprika, pepper sauce) and garlic aioli.



We moved on to one of the day's specials, a traditional Spanish tortilla. Completely unrelated to the Mexican tortilla, the Spanish tortilla is closer to a frittata, a thick wedge of potatoes and eggs (and filled with spinach, in our case) meant to be served lukewarm or even slightly cool. It's just the right balance of substance and creaminess. We ate it alongside the bocata de butifarra blanca, a snappy white sausage sandwich with onions and rapini.



And it wouldn't have been a celebration without dessert, so we went for the churros with a cup of melted chocolate. And yes, we drank some of the chocolate.