A Spanish Birthday Celebration - Petit Pau

September 10th, 2015

We quickly learned if you are in a new city near the end of a trip, worn down, and ready for home, a rainstorm would do little to help your mood.  That was where we were in Barcelona.

Not that Barcelona was a total wash.  Though I will want a re-do of the city at a certain point.  There were a few moments that redeemed the city in my eyes.  And as always, food was usually the factor.


Adele was 100% the reason we ended up at Petit Pau.  She did some TripAdvisoring and asked if I was interested.  We weren't able to get to the Adria Brother's restaurants, so we made plans for a few lunches.   The first (and best) was Petit Pau.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect here.  The rain was never-ending.  And it was enough to irritate two already tired travelers.  But then we walked down an unassuming street and into a nondescript door.  The rain melted away (and so did any chance of my hair being even remotely cute) as we were ushered into one of six tables.

Don't think the lack of people in this picture means the restaurant is bad.  This place was packed when we started.  We just lingered so long, we were nearly the last table in the restaurant.
There were two people working at the restaurant.  Both owners, one was the chef, the other ran the front of the house.  Both were adorable.

Hey, Chef!!
Of course we started with wine.  Because we are in Spain.  Well, because we are who we are.  Even now, months after I returned from Spain (I am way too far behind on the blog.  Sorry.) the price of wine by the bottle in Spain slays me.  We happily ended up with a bottle of red.  The owner said it was a great bottle and it was crazy that they could even sell it for the price they were.  It was like 15 Euros.  Per. Bottle.  Two thumbs way up.

I haven't found this bottle in the US yet.  Yet.
I'm not sure if it was because we had been dealing with a crummy day, or if we just needed a full-on meal.  It didn't matter.  We were going all out.  And considering there were only two (or three) options per course, we knew how this would play.

First up were the appetizers.

Mussels in a cream sauce for the win!!
Foie Terrine on top of a Baguette topped with Apple
In case you didn't believe me the first time
Then, we had the entree(s).  We each ordered one of the dishes, then split them to double the pleasure and double the fun.

Duck with a crispy skin and orange glaze.
Ok, so here's the deal.  I have no memory of what this is.  Shredded meat of some sort, with mozzarella tucked inside.  Plus a tomato basil caprese kind of deal.  I just can't remember!!  But it was good.  Really, really good.
Both dishes were great, but that duck really killed us both dead.

We were digging the meal hard by this point, so when the owner came by with the dessert cart, we were putty in his hands.  Even Adele.  I mean, she went with the cheese plate, but still.  It is technically dessert.

Apple Cake/Tart with Dulce de Leche
I didn't need to take a picture of the cheese.  Apparently.

Even at the time, I think we were both in the same place.  This restaurant was amazing and the meal was quite possibly one of the best we'd had in Spain.  And that includes the big ones we've had in the last two weeks.  If anything it was the best restaurant deal we had in Spain (considering lunch was a fraction of the price of those "big ones").  As we begrudgingly gathered our belongings and made our way out the door, the rain stopped.  Bellies full, content and with a renewed sense of purpose, we walked out into a very different Barcelona.

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