An enthusiastic foodie I met sitting at the bar at Tayēr + Elementary in London this past autumn asked me, “If you had to recommend just one wine region in Europe to visit, which one would it be?” He was surprised how directly my answer came. Priorat. I did, after all, live there through the…
A 50-minute flight from Bordeaux to Barcelona, followed by a 1.5-hour train ride down the Costa Daurada to Reus, and I’m greeted at the train station by Alex Frisch, Resident Chef of Cal Compte guesthouse in Torroja. He’s here as every Tuesday to visit the local market, chat with the vendors and do some shopping.…
As our impending move to Bordeaux began to finally sink in, and I started counting our remaining days in blue-skyed Barcelona, my mind began to race, composing interminable lists of favorite things. Favorite last things. One last 3-wine nightcap on Plaza del Sol with the girls. One last wild night out with them, one last late-night falafel bowl, one last…
On a recent excursion to Priorat wine country I acted the tour guide for my mother and my man. I lead them to the little cottage in the mountains of Montsant, which I had called home for close to six months. We walked through the town of Poboleda and had a beer on the terrace of ye olde La Venta. I…
It’s gotten cold up in the mountains of the Priorat as of late. While I sit in my brightly lit and climate-controlled Barcelona apartment my colleagues gather dry wood in early afternoon darkness, twigs with which to make a fire, not recreationally. There’s no marshmallows or campsite stories going around. It’s just a part of the routine. I…
Reus. It’s where Gaudí was born. It’s also home to the market where my coworkers and I used to buy fresh produce, the laundromat where I had my clothes sent for dry-cleaning, the hospital where my tooth was filled when I chipped it on a fork eating a fresh summer salad with figs and mató that one time. I…
The pristine, blue gem that is the Siurana Lake offers a wonderful escape from the sticky, salty seawater and looming influx of summertime tourism on the beaches of Barcelona. It’s a place to get away and enjoy fresh mountain air, while sunning on a dock, surrounded by silence. Every once in a while a family or two will set…
WRITTEN IN NOVEMBER, 2014 IN PRIORAT, SPAIN I haven’t been to too many restaurants in the past month but I’ve been eating well for the most part. On some days it’s defrosted ragout dumped over still quite crunchy pasta cooked on a stove whose gas source doubles as a hot water heater for the shower.…
El Cau is the local watering hole in the Priotari town of Poboleda, packed for lunchtime every day of the week. Part of their success has to do with location – it’s the first restaurant you pass on the drive into town from the direction of Cornudella. Parked in front are cars, vans and tractors; parked inside are hungry vineyard…
Dining options in the Priorat are somewhat limited and each town offers only one or two places that are really worth stopping at for more than just beer and good company. Siurana has Els Tallers; Cornudella has Al Toll and Refugi, Poboleda has La Terrasseta and El Cau. And then, of course, there’s La Venta. I…
That Best Bite 