Madrid-Barcelona, Barcelona

Monday June 22

On to Barcelona.
We had had the nice desk guys at our hotel call for reservations at some chi-chi place that only had an answering machine, and when we walked a few miles to get there, we found them not open. So we hiked back to our alternative (always have an alternative!), Madrid-Barcelona, and were glad we did.
We don't know why the "Madrid," because the restaurant is resolutely Catalan, and like another place we saw, adheres closely to the linguistic regulations. So we had to start with cava, a dry Anna Codorníu, as we admired the warm terracotta-colored walls set off with black and white. Our starters were caneló de tonyina, creamy-sauced tuna canneloni, and mongetes amb marisc, which confusingly translated as tender beans with seafood - we thought we'd get white beans (Tuscan style), but they turned out to be green beans with some shrimp and mussels. We meant to then share only one dish, as we'd had a late (unremarkable) lunch, but while we were eating our octopus (pop) with romesco sauce, the waiter whisked by with a paper cone, which he emptied onto a plate at a nearby table with such a waft of good smells that we had to use our best "we'll have what they're having" gestures. It turned out to be "paperina de verduras," a paper cone of quick-fried piping-hot battered vegetables, and it was the quintessence of yum.