Ciutat Comtal/Ciudad Condal - Great Tapas in Barcelona

The first meal I had in Barcelona was a mouth-watering experience at Ciutat Comtal (its Catalan name) / Ciudad Condal (its Spanish name). Each bite of each dish was really tasty.

It's very popular and doesn't take reservations. I was on a waiting list for 90 minutes before I got a seat at the covered outdoor cafe. It also has indoor dining. The extensive menu is in both Spanish and English.

Part of the Menu

I started out with Bacalao Especial (salt cod) with aioli for €10.95. If you're in Spain, you have to try at least one Bacalao dish because it's a major Spanish (and Portuguese) food. I tried several, and was always pleased.

With the Bacalao and the next tapa, I had a glass of Viña Pomal Crianza Rioja for €3.35. It was very nice.

My second tapa was Mejillones del Norte al Vapor (steamed mussels) for €6.30.

Time for another glass of wine - Raimat Abadia Costers del Segre - Cabernet Sauvignon & Tempranillo for €3.10. Also very nice.

My third tapa was Huevos Estrelladas con Jabugo. Fried eggs with Jabugo ham and potatoes. Jabugo is a terrific ham from the village of Jabugo in southern Spain.

Huevos Estrellados

My total bill came to €42.40.

The restaurant is located on the corner of Rambla de Catalunya and Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, one block north of Plaza Cataluña.

Tapas Paradise in St. Pete

Yesterday, I had a terrific tapas and Basque wine experience at Ceviche restaurant (http://ceviche.com/) in St. Petersburg, FL. Even though the temperature was in the low 90°s, I felt perfectly comfortable sitting outside on their covered porch (about one block from Tampa Bay).

Despite its name, the restaurant has four ceviche dishes on its menu compared to forty-three tapas dishes. It also has three kinds of paellas, cheese and charcuterie plates, and salads.

I had two seafood tapas and a Basque wine at the restaurant and took another two meat tapas home for dinner. They were all mouth watering.

The first seafood tapa I had was Mejillones a la Catalana (Catalann-style Mussels) - Sautéed mussels, sherry cream sauce, serrano ham, shallots, and garlic, with crispy baguette slices and lemon to squeeze. ($11)

I thought the first dish was great. Then I tried the Cangrejo Fundido (Crab Melt) - jumbo lump blue crab, manchego cheese, sherry cream, with small slices of perfect pita onto which I scooped the crab mix. That dish was out of this world. ($13)

The wine I had was a delicious white wine from Spanish Basque country - a 2017 Txakolina wine made with Hondarrabi Zuri grapes. The wine was a bit on the sweet side, and a perfect accompaniment for the two tapas. The winery that produces it is Rekalde, which is owned by the Hirutza family. The 9-oz glass was $13.

The two tapas I took home for dinner were also delicious. (They were on the edge of my modest spiciness tolerance).

The first was Albondigas - chorizo, pork, and veal meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce. ($9)

The second was Piquillos Rellenos - Roasted red peppers stuffed with veal, pork, and chorizo, in sherry cream. ($10)

The restaurant has flamenco performances three nights per week - Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

My server, Brittany, was terrific - customer-focused with a warm and ebullient personality.

I can't wait to go back.

Columbia Restaurant, St. Armands Circle - Always Nice

Columbia Restaurant on St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota (http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/Menus-By-Location/Locations/St-Armands-Circle) is a Spanish restaurant that I always enjoy. Over the years, I've had a number of meals there with family and friends, and have never been disappointed. 

I recently had a delightful lunch there with a special friend of Spanish heritage. She knows authentic Spanish food. She loved her meal, and I loved mine. 

We each started with a cup of Gazpacho Andalucia - a purée of tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cucumber, and garlic. It was topped tableside by finely chopped vegetables and croutons. It was reeeeeeeeeeeeally delicious. Each cup was $4.45.

The main dish she chose was actually a Tapa - two Empanadas de Picadillo - pastry turnovers filled with spiced ground beef, garlic, tomatoes, onions, raisins, and olives for $8. They were excellent.

My main dish was Cakes de Congrejo - two crabcakes of grilled blue crabmeat drizzled with passion fruit aioli. They were tasty and solid, unlike the mushy version I'd had at a Punta Gorda restaurant a few days earlier. They cost $15.

(Normally, I have a larger main dish like Columbia's wonderful Ropa Vieja, but this time, I went lighter to save room for a nice dinner.)

My drink was a 2015 Rioja tempranillo wine called Rusty for $11. Like all the wines I've had at Columbia, it was very nice.

Our waiter, Norbert, who was Hungarian, was exceptional. Not only was he a superb server, but he was a hilarious comedian.

The parent restaurant of the Columbia group is located in Tampa. It was established in 1905, is Florida's oldest continuously operated restaurant, and is the largest Spanish restaurant in the world. It offers Flamenco dance shows, for which there is a cover charge.

Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant @ Sarasota - Cocina Muy Sabrosa!

Last night, we had a delicious meal with four friends at Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant near downtown Sarasota (http://www.ceviche.com/3134).

My wife had two tapas and dessert. I had two tapas, dessert and a double espresso. We shared a half pitcher of sangria. Everything we ordered was terrific. In fact, we liked the dishes more than most of the tapas we'd had in Spain 18 months ago.

My wife's tapas were:
- Gambas Romesco - Sautéed jumbo shrimp with roasted tomato, garlic, almonds, and sweet red peppers for $12.95.
- Solomillo a la Parilla - prime fillet grilled and slice with mushrooms and brandy cream sauce for $12.95

Her dessert was Torta Valenciana - chocolate ckae with vanilla ice cream, raspberry sauce, orange zest, and fresh berries for $8.50. Her dessert portion was very large, as was mine.

I had a very difficult time choosing tapas because there were so many that sounded delicious. I chose:
- Chorizo y Pimientos - five types of chorizo sausage sliced with roasted tomato and sweet peppers for $7.50.
- Piquillos Rellenos - Roasted red peppers stuffed with ground veal and mild chorizo sausage & served with a light sherry sauce.

My dessert was Pudin de la Pan - bread pudding with dried fruits and Spanish brandy served with vanilla ice cream for $7.95.

The half pitcher of red sangria was $16.75. It was very nice.

Our total tab with gratuity was $100.60.

They have an extensive wine list comprising Spanish and Portuguese wines. The Spanish wines are from all the major wine regions of Spain. Bottle prices are reasonable and range from about $19 to $199.

One of the dishes that some of our companions order was Champíñones de Sevilla. It was not quite what they expected. It was described as four types of mushrooms sautéed with sherry over goat cheese and toasted bread. They were expecting slice of toast on a dish. Instead, it was a soupy mixture in a bowl.

One of our dinner companions was unhappy with the cost of his ordinary well vodka - $7.50 a glass. I don't know what such drinks normally run.

I was unhappy with the fact that our waitress did not mention that a 20% gratuity had been added. While she was very friendly:
1. Because the table was small, we did not want all of our orders to arrive at once. All of us at the table asked that the one part of our orders come first and the other part later. She assumed we meant the first part of each couple's order, whereas we meant the first part of each person's order. Consequently, some of us were served our entire order in the first round and some were served none. She then tried to get more orders out and the table was very crowded.
2. She was inattentive toward the end of our meal.

We dined on the second floor. Some nights, there is live music and/or flamenco on the third floor. The schedule of events is on the web site.

There is a roof-top bar that is very nice.

We will definitely return and I suspect two of our companions will because the wife had previously enjoyed meals there with friends and they enjoyed last night's meal.

This restaurant is a part of a small chain with other stores in Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater, and Orlando.