Barcelona off of Broadway (tapas & wine... YUM!!)

As you know if you've been following our Undies for a while, Susan and I spent a week in Barcelona last year.  We loved the crazy architecture, the museums, but the thing we talk about the most?  THE FOOD!  So on our never-ending quest to find great tapas in Manhattan, we visited Buceo 95 last Friday.

The self-proclaimed "Barcelona off of Broadway" is a cozy little wine and tapas bar on 95th street between Broadway and Amsterdam.  The menu isn't overwhelming, the wine list is excellent and it was reasonably priced.  We sat at the bar and ordered from our very nice and helpful bartender Sean.

The view from the bar... and of Sean's back

The wine is available by the quartino and the bottle, I got there early so I was already into a quartino of a Spanish wine when Susan arrived, which we loved so much we ended up buying a bottle (yes, in addition the quartino!)  The wine, (which I would recommend) was a 2004 Monastrell Raspay Reserva from the Alicante region.  In my opinion, a deal at $48/ bottle.  I mean you just don't see '04s for that price very often in this city.  I wasn't familiar with Monastrells, but I am hooked now, a lot of old world character: spice, tar.  Apparently it's ‘The Barolo of Spain’ (who doesn't love Barolos?).  Whatever, it was delicious.  The Raspay bottle looked something like this.

Every time Susan & I go to a new restaurant, we always make a point to ask the bartender/ server/ owner what he or she recommends.  You should always do this.  Ask what the specialties are, ask what the favorites of the staff are.  And this is why: Sean, the bartender recommended four dishes, only ONE of which was on the menu. So had we not asked we never would have known about the filet mignon with blue cheese sauce over spicy butternut squash, which was the highlight for me.  Also following Sean's suggestions, we got green beans w/crispy bacon and white truffle crème fraiche,  baby octopus with warm potato salad, and garlic shrimp.  I wasn't over the moon about the shrimp but everything else was definitely first rate.  Two other dishes I wanted to try, and would order next time is the fois gras (also not on the menu, so you would need to request it from your server) and the duck.
 

duck breast w/ cranberry, pic courtesy Ed Yourdon

So if you find yourself on the upper west side, cozy up to Buceo 95.  You may get lucky and have the lovely Sean as your bartender.  Do get there early, it's not very big and it does fill up fast (at least on a Friday night).  Txin txin!

Some Top Restaurant Picks for Barcelona

Many restaurants are closed Sunday and Monday.  So you will need to make sure you visit your top choices Tuesday – Saturday (unless they are among the few open on Sunday & Monday).  Also, most restaurants don’t open before 7pm, so going to the Markets and getting some cured meats and cheeses along with a bottle of wine is a great to do, especially if you have rented an apt.  It really submerges you into the local culture.  I wish we had markets like this here in the states, but being able to experience them for a week was a real treat.

Here are a few of my MUST GO TO  tapas bars from our last trip:

Inopia - Carrer Tamarit 104 - This is a must on your list of tapas bars to have dinner at.  They are closed Sunday and Monday, as are many of the best restaurants, so make sure you put this on your list to go Tues – Saturday.  The service is great and the food is fantastic.  Some of our favorite tapas included the Tuna, octopus, smoked sardine salad & smoked salmon with yogurt and honey.   They open at 7.  Get there by 7:30 to get a seat, otherwise there is a good chance you will have to wait in line.  Mario Batali said about Inopia on his website www.spainontheroadagain.com:  "Best Tapas Ever", and he was not wrong.

 

Before going to Inopia stop at Bahia Porto Mar Restaurante Sabor do Brasil on Ave del Paral-lel 127-129.  They have the best Sangria I have ever had.  It is 2 blocks away from Inopia and worth the trip if you like Sangria.

Paco Meralgo – Another must on Tapas bars.  This was one of my favorites on this trip.  We went twice and would have gone back a third time.  You must ask for the raw tuna steak, it is amazing.  Other things on my favorite list included Shaved artichokes, Fillet with garlic (fried), Octopus with caramelized onion, steak tartar and salmon.  Their wine list is fantastic and the service is great.  I enjoyed sitting at the bar.  You are close to everything and you get to see a lot of what others are getting.  This gets 5 stars in my book! 

Cerveceria Catalan – this tapas bar is open on Sunday and Monday.  Save this for one of those 2 nights.  The servers at the table were not as helpful with suggestions as the woman at the bar so here are a few of ours:  Get the selection of tapas, Veal Filet Bruschetta, Bacon, cheese & dates, Salmon bruschetta, and the grilled prawns.  We had a bottle of the Camins de Priorat 2007.  We had it first at Inopia and found that it became out favorite wine of the week.  It was good and not too expensive.

La Champagneria - When you go here you must order cava.  Then you can have food.  It's a local hangout near the beach where you are sure to have a fantastic time!  Calle Reina Christina