The Coca de Sant Joan, Tarragona

The Coca de Sant Joan is a traditonal sweet bread which is sold all over Tarragona (and Catalonia) during the festival of Sant Joan. Made of yeast, milk, flower,  butter and eggs  the doe additionally flavored with grated lemon rind and aniseed and additional spices. Once baked it’s garnished with candied fruit, pine nuts and a sprinkle of sugar.

Chartreuse ice cream at Raffa Gelati, Tarragona

With the start of Summer ice cream becomes as mandatory as cold beer, and Tarragona has it’s own fair share of ice cream parlors competing with flavours.

Peix Blau at L’Organgerie du Marais, Tarragona

Peix Blau is a gastronomic event organised by Tarragona Gastronomica in order to promote this very local catch, the Peix Blau,  a type of sardine unique to these waters.
29 local restaurants are offering a bespoke tasting menu based  on this versatile fish and ranging from 20 to 30 Euros a meal. So, in reference to an outstanding Tapas on offer last month, we thought to pay L’Orangerie du Marais a second visit and see what they came up with this time.

Músic - a simple Catalan dessert

Always nice to find something traditional on the menu. This is Músic which is a simple, and very Catalan, after dinner munch consisting of an assortment of nuts like walnuts, almonds (salted and unsalted) and hazelnuts, served with raisins and a glass of deliciously ice cool Moscatell.

Pinchos at Txantxangorri in Tarragona

Located in the beautiful Placa de la Font, Txantxangorri is a Basque eatery which delivers its food with a sizzle and punch! With its garish green walls filled with memorabilia, Txantxangorri lives up to its reputation as one of the best eateries in town. Their counter is stuffed with pinchos (bar snacks)  and  for the uninitiated, this is how it works: grab a plate, select as many varieties of pinchos as you can possibly muster, go back to your table and eat. Once finished, you get the bill according to the type and amount of toothpicks (used to bind bread and toppings together) left on your plate. 

Pernil Iberic at Lola Tapes

Lola Tapes is a small but gutsy eatery set at Placa de la Font and, despite having only opened a year ago, they have already become a bit of a local gastro cult.

We ordered the Tuesday ‘para picar’ (to nibble) special which came in four platters, the first being a sensational Pernil Iberic Bellota, Berher which won the price in 2007 /2010 as the of the IFFA Delicat of best raw ham in the world.  This was matched by a genial variation of the Pan de Tomate you usually get here, consisting of a pizza thin, light ciabatta base lightly doused with peppery green extra virgin olive oil and finely chopped tomatoes, sprinkled with sea salt and pepper, in one simple word: fantastic!

Mousse de Chartreuse in Tarragona

The versatility of Chartreuse, this time incarnated in to a a firm mousse topped with a thin layer of caramelised sugar served with no fuss at the small and established pastisseria / confiteria / cafeteria Conde.

Buñuelos de Cuaresma at Tarragona

I am typing this with sticky fingers and a lingering taste of lemony vanilla on my tongue… Buñuelos de Cuaresma are a typical Easter  sweet  here in  Catalonia, consisting of fried dough balls filed with a creamy custard, rolled in sugar and piled high in local bakeries and patisseries

Chartreusito in Tarragona

Marry Tarragona’s favourite liqueur Chartreuse with a Mojito and you get a Chartreusito!

Bunyols de Bacalla

A personal Tarragona favourite,  the Hotel Plaça de la Font is located in the heart of old Tarragona. I did spend a week there while flat hunting, and there was nothing nicer than opening the shutters to the small balcony in the morning and look out on the square.

This is a small and well run family business, which is complimented by a good restaurant, great staff and service and tables on the Plaça.