let’s get it started in here.

placemat art.

the boy had a dance performance tonight & it was the sweetest thing.  we decided to go out afterwards to celebrate & the boy chose barlata, a great tapas spot that we frequently frequent.  after a glass (or two) of the fruity & muy fuerte sangria, and being oh-so fortunate to have a kid with sophisticated food tastes, i left the ordering up to him: patatas bravas, morcilla (blood sausage), pulpo (octopus) & trinxat (chard puree).

morcilla.

barlata’s patatas are superlative – deep-fried cubes of crispy potato with aioli & a spoonful of kicky tomato sauce that give way to a steaming & creamy interior.  the boy’s favorite is the morcilla.  the rich sausage is deeply browned & the casing has a pleasant crunch; the inside of which is spicy & aromatic & especially lovely with the garlicy white beans & aioli served alongside.  tender sliced pulpo is a revelation – served in a lata with fingerlings & plenty of pimenton ahumado.  and i love the trinxat which is served in a mini-skillet type dish, baked & topped with crispy bits of pancetta.

barlata dishes up delicious (& dear-spanish-friend-from-madrid-approved) tapas & since the boy’s little brown fingers, jazz hands have never looked so good.

trinxat.

pulpo en lata.