ten dishes from spain i haven't stopped thinking about

as lil’ kim so eloquently stated in her hit song the jump off, “I been gone for a minute,now I'm back.” it’s been a whirlwind end to the summer, so i’m a bit delayed on this post about my trip to spain, but consider it something like a substack siesta. i needed to rest to get back into the fun that writing these posts brings me (and i hope you).

blake and i headed to spain for 10 days, flying in and out of barcelona with a five day stint in mallorca in the middle. it was both of our first times in spain, and i was taken aback by just how good the food was. we walked a million steps, drove to secluded beachs, chartered a boat, and ate just about every octopus in the ocean (sorry, they’re all gone now). as someone who loves seafood, the fresh fish in both destinations made eating really easy and i always find it so funny how much less food affects my blood sugar in europe.

for each day, there was accidentally one dish that stood out to me, so i thought i would share with you some of my favorite spots we went to, with my favorite dish each day! ¡andele!

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day 1: the paella at bar cañete

what a strong start – we got to walk into bar cañete for lunch, and it was such a treat. even though most people in there are tourists, you understand exactly why it is such an institution. usually i feel like once a restaurant has reached that kind fo popularity, the food suffers, but the food was impeccable (it was hard to choose a favorite dish here) and the service was so lovely.

day 2: the tuna at bar brutal

a perfect wine bar with spectacular food, hot people, and great merch. this tuna dish was unlike anything i have ever eaten before – the texture of a cured ham, with all the seafood goodness of a sushi grade tuna. topped with crunch marcona almonds! no notes!

day 3: the fried artichokes at cal pep

no menu, no problem. this restaurant just has you tell them what you don’t eat and then they bring you a multi course dinner. these fried artichokes were so crispy, airy, and not greasy. i have no idea how they did this, but i wanted them to keep em coming.

day 4: the affogato at hotel corazon

after a quick flight to mallorca, blake and i arrived at hotel corazon – a perfect sanctuary of an old monastery at the top of a mountain. because of the harrowing drive up the mountain, most nights were spent coming back to the hotel on the early side, relaxing at their open air restaurant and bar with a beautiful glass of local wine and a show stopping affogato with espresso and locally made vanilla cardamom ice cream from mister mc coy’s. i took no pictures of this sadly, so you will have to use your imaginations!

day 5: the green beans at blai

a cute, perfect wine bar on the water at nearby port de soller, it was so hard to choose one dish here – but the long green beans here brought me back to my favorite long beans at bonnie’s in brooklyn and they were drenched in a delicious yogurt sauce.

day 6: the tortilla at la rosa vermuteria

a picture can say a thousand words, no? the only words i really have are chewy, eggy, and perfect.

day 7: the fig cake at fornet de la soca

the absolute dreamiest bakery with mallorcan specialties, including this fig cake! a major moment with me and my insulin pen…

day 8: the shrimp croqueta at bar pimental

the inside filling almost felt like some kind of delicious thick stew, i can’t really put my finger on it but i ended up getting two extra orders. this croqueta was a diamond in a coal mine of croquetas.

day 9: the celeriac carpaccio at bodega bonay

i love a recipe that i enjoy so much, it inspires me to try and make it myself at home – this dish with celeriac, olive oil, parm seems deceptively simple and fresh and delicious! it also felt so nice to eat something that wasn’t so… capital s spanish on the last night.

day 10: the one two punch of the veggie breakfast sandwich at funky bakery and coffee at nomad before our flight back to new york. (the design at nomad was just sooo good)

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as always, thanks for sticking with me and reading. i have a few reservations coming up that i can already tell i won’t be able to shut the fuck up about, plus some other ideas brewing so i am hoping to be a bit more active on here. <3

but until then, adios amigos!

p.s writing this post really has me missing “just ‘cause” 2 pm skinny margs!