Culture through Cuisine: Barcelona

A closer look at the infamous, "batatas bravas", which can be found at every tapa bar. IT is served with a semi-spicy red sauce and a creamy sauce.

A tapa called, spicy sausage. This dish, served with potato chips can be found at most tapa bars in Barcelona.

While Barcelona is not necessarily known for its cuisine, culture is heavily embedded into the restaurants. Tourism plays a prominent role in the style of cuisine in Barcelona compared to traditional Spanish cuisine. On each street corner you can smell the conglomeration of ingredients next to a sign which most likely says, “Tapas”. The origin of tapas is unknown but there is a legend that King Alfonso X fell seriously ill and, to speed up his recovery, only ate small amounts of food with wine. Tapas include various foods native to Spain but also many secluded to Barcelona. A classic Catalan tapa is calçot, which is grilled spring onions dipped in romesco sauce. Pa amb tomaquet, or bread with tomato, is another Barcelona staple.

A table full of tapas. Tomato Bread, potatoes bravas, and ham all made for a scrumptious appetizer based outing.

Like other countries, it is important to also notice the international variety of food that is present here. Eating tapas during your entire stay while traveling is unrealistic so when looking for a variety of food you can find hamburgers, sushi, Japanese Wagyu, or even Columbian cuisine. The variety of culture within the cuisine is strong here in Barcelona due to the touristic nature and diversity of the population.

A place where you can receive the best variety of cuisine and culture in Barcelona is called Mercado de La Boqueria. Here you can stroll through the alleys of the market and can let the aroma decide which foods you want to delve into. One smell you may experience is the fresh seafood. Because of Barcelona’s location on the coast, their seafood is ranked among the freshest in Spain. Walking through Mercado de La Boqueria, the temptation will present itself to try to the tuna, shrimp, mussels, and all other types of fish that is being sold.

A fresh dinner of white fish served as an entree at a multi-course meal at a Barcelona restaurant.

An important aspect of the cuisine environment in Barcelona is the cultural differences between the way that things are done here in restaurants and general eating rules. These aspects are important to learn to fit into the culture and try to get the full Spanish experience. Generally, tapas are served in between larger meals, and are usually paired with a glass of wine or another beverage to meet up with a friend or for a snack. In the United States, the portions are on average much larger per restaurant order than here in Barcelona and most of Europe. The feeling of walking out of a restaurant in the United States with a food coma should not be an issue here.

Cultural differences between Americans and Spaniards also come into play when thinking about the time of day you are going to eat dinner. Most who travel to Europe from the United States are accustomed to eating dinner at the earlier hours of the night, anywhere between five in the afternoon to eight at night. These are some of the aspects that can give a visitor culture shock. If you attempt to eat out in the city before ten thirty at night expect to be greeted with a common phrase, “para beber?” This means, “to drink?”, as many people will grab a few drinks before heading to a restaurant. When conversing with a study abroad student from Michigan named Jacob, I asked him how he feels about the early time of dinner and he replied with, “My body still hasn’t gotten completely used to the time difference. My body naturally wants to eat around seven or eight at night and I feel in this culture I need to wait until around eleven.”

A typical outdoor seating area of a restaurant likely to be seen in Barcelona or towns surrounding.

An aspect of Barcelonian food culture that is historically different than what most Americans are used to is the lack of tipping. The United States is heavily based on service and providing the best experience for the customer. In Barcelona and specifically Barcelona, this does play an important role in the restaurant environment. While the food is phenomenal likely wherever you go, do not expect to be catered to like you do in the United States. You will not often be greeted with a smile, but rather be greeted efficiently and to get you seated as soon as possible.

Here in Barcelona, you will need to ask for the check, more drinks, or anything that comes to mind. These are some of the things that can make you feel uncomfortable while you are here in Barcelona, but take it with a grain of salt, because it is just a cultural change. Diego, a Catalonian who resides in Barcelona has traveled to the United States, and he expressed, “when I am in the United States, I feel like the servers do too much and are hungry for a higher tip”. This can raise issues for Europeans traveling to the United States and for Americans traveling to Europe, but these are normal cultural changes that arise between the two.

A popular dessert called, "Catalonian Cream". It is very similar to Creme Brule, but tastes almost as a Spanish pudding.

Empanadas are a classic tapa that you will find in Barcelona. Empanadas are found in various countries but originate in Spain. Empanadas get their name from the Spanish word, “empanar”, which means breaded. The phrase was coined when they first started to be made in Spain and the rest of Iberia in the 1500s, when the first known recipe was found in a 1520 Catalan cookbook. As the years passed by, empanadas were brought over to Latin America and became a quick hit.

The original empanadas were made with beef, chicken, and a very popular Spanish chorizo sausage. Nowadays, empanada shops create various forms of empanadas and include other cultural foods. Some examples are curry and hamburger empanadas. To get the full Barcelona experience, trying your first empanada is key.

When discussing Hannah’s favorite food while studying abroad, the student from the University of Oregon relayed, “my favorite snack to eat while being here is by far the Spanish empanada. I like the original flavors but also dabble in the culturally different flavors as well."

Two empanadas. The empanada labeled "Pollo Al Curry" is an example of two cultures meshing to create a new food product.