Breakfast
A coffee with some sort of pastry (pasta) is the typical breakfast. You may get a croissant or some cream-filled number (such as a canya). Some people prefer a savory start - you could go for a bikini - a toasted ham and cheese. A Spanish tostada is simply buttered toast (you might order something to go with it). The Catalan version, a torrada, is usually more of an open toasted sandwich with something on it besides butter (depending on what you ask for).
Although not terribly common in Barcelona, some people go for an all-Spanish favourite, xurros amb xocolata/churros con chocolate, a lightly deep-fried stick of plain pastry immersed in thick, gooey hot chocolate. You'll find a few such places around town and they are great hangover material.
Lunch & Dinner
Many straightforward Spanish dishes are available here as elsewhere in the country. The travellers' friend is the menu del dia, a set-price meal usually comprising three courses, with a drink thrown in. This is often only available for lunch and can range from around €6 at budget places to €25 at posh establishments. A plat combinat/plato combinado is a simpler version still - a one-course meal consisting of basic nutrients - the 'meat-and-three-veg' style of cooking. You'll see pictures of this stuff everywhere. It's filling and cheap but has little to recommend it in culinary terms.
You'll pay more for your meals if you order a la carte, but the food will be better. The menu (la carta) begins with starters such as amanides/ensaladas (salads), sopes/sopas (soups) and entremesos/entremeses (hors d'oeuvres). The latter can range from a mound of potato salad with olives, asparagus, anchovies and a selection of cold meats - almost a meal in itself - to simpler cold meats, slices of cheese and olives.
The hungry Catalan, after a starter, will order a first then second course. The latter may come under headings such as: pollastre/pollo (chicken); carn/carne (meat); mariscos (seafood); peix/pescado (fish); arros/arroz (rice); ous/huevos (eggs); and verdures/verduras (vegetables). Red meat may be subdivided into porc/cerdo (pork), vedella/ternera (beef) and anyell/cordero (lamb). Be aware that second courses frequently do not come with vegetables: You order a side dish of vegetables or salad. Often the first course is designed to take care of this side of your diet, though.
Postres (desserts) have a lower profile; gelats/helados (ice cream), fruit and flans are often the only choices in cheaper places. Sugar addicts should look out for local specialities, such as crema Catalana, where possible.
A coffee with some sort of pastry (pasta) is the typical breakfast. You may get a croissant or some cream-filled number (such as a canya). Some people prefer a savory start - you could go for a bikini - a toasted ham and cheese. A Spanish tostada is simply buttered toast (you might order something to go with it). The Catalan version, a torrada, is usually more of an open toasted sandwich with something on it besides butter (depending on what you ask for).
Although not terribly common in Barcelona, some people go for an all-Spanish favourite, xurros amb xocolata/churros con chocolate, a lightly deep-fried stick of plain pastry immersed in thick, gooey hot chocolate. You'll find a few such places around town and they are great hangover material.
Lunch & Dinner
Many straightforward Spanish dishes are available here as elsewhere in the country. The travellers' friend is the menu del dia, a set-price meal usually comprising three courses, with a drink thrown in. This is often only available for lunch and can range from around €6 at budget places to €25 at posh establishments. A plat combinat/plato combinado is a simpler version still - a one-course meal consisting of basic nutrients - the 'meat-and-three-veg' style of cooking. You'll see pictures of this stuff everywhere. It's filling and cheap but has little to recommend it in culinary terms.
You'll pay more for your meals if you order a la carte, but the food will be better. The menu (la carta) begins with starters such as amanides/ensaladas (salads), sopes/sopas (soups) and entremesos/entremeses (hors d'oeuvres). The latter can range from a mound of potato salad with olives, asparagus, anchovies and a selection of cold meats - almost a meal in itself - to simpler cold meats, slices of cheese and olives.
The hungry Catalan, after a starter, will order a first then second course. The latter may come under headings such as: pollastre/pollo (chicken); carn/carne (meat); mariscos (seafood); peix/pescado (fish); arros/arroz (rice); ous/huevos (eggs); and verdures/verduras (vegetables). Red meat may be subdivided into porc/cerdo (pork), vedella/ternera (beef) and anyell/cordero (lamb). Be aware that second courses frequently do not come with vegetables: You order a side dish of vegetables or salad. Often the first course is designed to take care of this side of your diet, though.
Postres (desserts) have a lower profile; gelats/helados (ice cream), fruit and flans are often the only choices in cheaper places. Sugar addicts should look out for local specialities, such as crema Catalana, where possible.
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