Food,  Markets

la boqueria, aka the king of markets

so by way of many recomendations, we mapped out our first breakfast to the mercat la boqueria.  we were told that it was

This place is like Granville Island public market x 20032098948039, food heaven

…expectations were high.  we started the pilgrimage into the city and the market is right outside the *x* station.

DSCF85091

it was sensory overload.  the scents.  the colours.  the fruit.  the bread.  all the thoughts of culture shock from being in asia for long culminated in this one moment.  i might be understating this but the scents in asian wet markets are a little more, uh, pungent 🙂

so in our attempt to get breakfast, our battle plan was to do a lap and scope out our options.  about half of the vendors were still stocking their storefronts but many of the eating stalls already had patrons huddled around them.  we opted for one called la quim, it was towards the beginning/middle of the market and what drew me in was seeing their cubed potatoes sitting on top of the counter

DSCF85231
the light at the end of the rainbow in potato form

so our breakfast…

DSCF85251
haha got her first cafe con leche and an egg & ham sandwich
DSCF85271
pork loin, asparagus, fried egg and balsamic reduction sandwich for me
DSCF85241
and patatas bravas. we had much fewer of these in barcelona than i was hoping but these ended up being my favourite

as for the rest of the market… lovely

 

DSCF85201
sangria mixes
DSCF85191
fruit jellies/candies
DSCF85171
iberian ham
DSCF85161
free range chicken
DSCF85151
bread. oh the bread……
DSCF85141
muffintops. i could be in this photo as well
DSCF85131
danish twists. regular icing, chocolate and mango. i got mango and it was my first poor decision of europe
DSCF85121
ham montaditos (sandwiches)
DSCF85111
artichoke hearts
DSCF85101
my nemesis. one day, i will conquer you…
DSCF85551
ham & cheese cones to eat on the go
DSCF85521
CANDYYYY
DSCF85311
honey in churro form
DSCF85301
the one that didn’t run fast enough

all in all, a beautifully laid out market.  we walked through at least half a dozen other markets and boqueria remained our favourite even with the tourist-heavy crowd.  the selection of goods and energy of the market contributed a lot to the overall ambience, for me.

Leave a Reply