In a new space, with a large influx of tourists and with some of the most distinctive restaurants in the city's gastronomic ecosystem. This is how the ninth edition of Tast a la Rambla started yesterday. An event that will last until Sunday and is organized by the Associació d'Amics de la Rambla and Gsr as part of the Barcelona Gastronomy Week. The perfect excuse to taste the dishes offered by some thirty restaurants, gastronomic bars and pastry shops, and return to the center of the city.
The works for the reform of La Rambla are the cause of the transfer to the Plaza de Catalunya. A provisional location that will last a few years and is preferred by both restaurateurs and visitors, due to the greater space and distribution of the booths. “Since it is a circular route, people walk more and see all the tapas on offer. In addition, this year we have a larger work surface”, explains chef Josep Armenteros, from Gaig Barcelona.
For four days, until June 11, you can enjoy proposals from 30 restaurants and 6 pastry shops in the city. Despite being the first year in which the establishments are not grouped by style, you can also find more traditional elaborations such as that of the aforementioned Carles Gaig restaurant, which prepares a sweet in its juice, Cadí cheese and pine nuts. Or, right next door, the successful truffled omelette at Bar Alegría.
You could not miss the Italian cuisine, with the acclaimed cavatelli alla Norcina and black truffle that they prepare at the Cecconi's stand —which was already a success last year— or the smoked caramelized burrata from Don Giovanni. The fried rice with Cantonese pork and kimchi at Casa Xica, or the surprising tapa at Babula Bar 1937 (crispy beef roll, béchamel suriyaki, umami demiglace and crunchy hazelnut with cocoa), represent Asian cuisine.
Compartir, by Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch or Mateu Casañas, is an exquisite and appetizing proposal, presenting a chick egg with potato foam and black truffle oil. In the field of signature cuisine, there is also the Nectari space by Jordi Esteve, where they serve a wild Alaskan salmon cannelloni with guacamole. And it is precisely that one of the purposes of Tast a la Rambla is to bring haute cuisine dishes like these to all audiences.
The tapas are just as popular as the sandwiches, from the squid with a citrus touch at Foodlona by Miquel Antoja to the garlic prawns at The Fish
The sweet note comes from Oriol Balaguer, Escola Espaisucre, Mervier Canal, Sant Croi by Albert Roca—with a beer ice cream he created for the Time to Eat Fest—, Pastisseria Escribà and L'Atelier, which triumphed yesterday with its colorful cornet with croissant dough
Around the square there are up to seven spaces with high tables where you can eat more comfortably and where the first onlookers gathered yesterday to have fun scoring each of the tapas. "I give this a 7.5," says one. "What do you say? But if she is very hot, at least a 9", the other replies. Likewise, there are several stalls for tasting beers, wines, sparkling wines, vermouths and typical products of Lanzarote's cuisine —which is the guest territory of this edition.
Diners can exchange the tokens, which must be previously purchased at the ticket office, for the tapas they wish to try. The price of each dish is 5 euros, while the drinks range between 2 and 5 euros. The meeting will open every day at twelve noon and close at midnight, with the exception of Sunday, which will end at ten at night.
Chefs, pastry chefs and sommeliers will also make their didactic contribution to the meeting, with workshops, presentations and demonstrations open to everyone (most with limited capacity). Some of the interventions will be given by renowned chefs such as Carles Gaig (Restaurant Gaig), Carlota Clavé (La Gormanda), Núria Gironès (Ca l'Isidre) or Marc Gascons (Els Pinars).
