Hearty brunch at Pinotxo Bar, Barcelona

It was hard to say goodbye to Barcelona on our last trip ... especially when the La Boqueria and it's range of brunch offers was so close to where we were staying. Our final farewell to our Boqueria brunches was an epic feast at Pinotxo bar. Of course, a beer and a glass of cava along with a plate of their incredible garbanzo. The chickpeas are braised with pieces of sausage, other meats, onion & herbs and have a mist of balsamic sprayed over them before being handed to us over the counter.



The braised pig cheek was exceptional on this visit. The unctuous chunks of fatty meat, glistening in a rich red sauce with a chunk of bread for mopping up all the juices.



Butifarra was one amazing breakfast sausage. Pork, herbs and spice in a hefty sized home-made sausage, with a few green leaves on the side misted with the balsamic.



We also indulge in a few little jamón croquettes.



Juanito then tells us that the caramel flan has just set, and that it would be a perfect end to our decadant brunch ... Well, how cold you disagree with that??



Pinotxo bar, how we miss you!



La Boqueria
La Rambla, 91
Barcelona, Spain 08001
Ciutat Vella
T: +34 93 317 17 31
6am-4pm Monday to Saturday


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Hot, caramel, salt, milk, jerez = heaven

There are several things that instantly win me over when it comes to dessert .... Warm custards, hot puddings, caramel, milk ice-cream, anything with a lick of salt that borders on the savory line of sweet ... When all of these aspects come together in the one dessert - I'm in heaven! We found a fine example of this at Atari in San Sebastian. Warm brioche with caramel apples & a salted milk ice-cream. There was a sprig of thyme resting on the ice-cream, which perfumed each mouthful with a earthy & herbaceous aroma and the reduction of jerez elevating the sweet & sticky characters of our glass of PX.



We did stop by on several other occasions for some pintxos & bar snacks, but kept gravitating back towards this delightful dessert with a glass of PX to finish the evening, sometimes mixing it up with a Blue de Basque that came with a quince paste & vanilla puree.



Lucky we were staying close by ....

Atari
Calle Mayor 18
Donostia, San Sebastián,
Spain, 20001

Rera, outlets off .. and what to eat / drink?

We're off on a road trip with D & A in search of bargains at Rera, outlets off (or outlet mall, anywhere outside of Japan ;)) and don't make it past the million yen toilet before we have a little snack stop ....

Japan-cakes filled with cream cheese, custard & caramel


Nama-caramel pan .... mmmmm


and a giant sausage on a stick!


All that before we've even hit Rera! After a few hours of hardcore shopping, it's time to tackle the lunch choices .... as we walk into the food area we're overwhelmed with choices ...



It's funny how D & Kim both seem to shift towards the sizzling steaks served on top of fried rice.



A & I join the massive que that's forming at the Korean hot stone stall.



I order a hot stone bowl filled with steaming kim-chi broth, with noodles, mince and pickles on the side. It's delicious!



We take a seat outside and enjoy our lunch and the beautiful sunshine ...



After we've finished our lap of the giant outlet centre, what better to find then a tiny little van pumping out espresso coffee and biscotti?

Christmas pudding

We all love Christmas pudding and fruit mince pies at Christmas ....

We wanted to serve it this year at Sekka with a twist.  This is what we came up with.

It was a fruit mince semi-freddo with pistachio's and dried cranberries on top.  It was sitting in a pool of a brandy orange caramel.  It was a lot of Christmas with a touch of class.  Went down a treat!