Delatorres/La Bodega

I have always been of the opinion that you can never get the same quality/flavor of foods outside of the indigenous region in which they originated. For instance, I have read on the forum about how you can't expect a good Hot Brown outside of Louisville or good Cajun/Creole outside of NOLA. For the record, I would like to say that Delatorres/La Bodega is the exception to this rule. My husband and I, in planning for our trip to Spain, visited the restaurants a few times just to get a taste of the food and to compare once we got to Spain. Well, we just returned from Spain after a few days in Barcelona and a few days in Seville (the reputed birthplace of tapas) and I will say that our lovely restaurant in the Highlands matched the indigenous foods flavor for flavor. As a matter of fact, we went to a top Barcelona table and after a meal in excess of 200 Euros, I was disappointed in that I felt we could have gotten the same quality of food for a much much lower price in Louisville (I will have to say some of it could be attributed to Barcelona being a Catalan city whereas Delatorres has more Castillian flavors). In addition, the tapas in Seville, even in the locals joints, could have come out of the kitchen at La Bodega. La Bodega may not have had the wide range of tapas as Seville, but the ones they do have are the same in flavor. I guess this is just a long winded kudos to the brother/sister restaurants in this fine city. I am telling you guys, for a true Spanish experience, I recommend a visit. Unfortunately, it will be a while for us because we totally overdosed on Spanish food and I don't think I will be able to eat jamon iberico for a long long time.

I was about to add, De La Torre's isn't a place where one should expect Catalonian food, but you've got that covered. All of Spain's regions have indigenous dishes and flavors, so it's a bit of a misnomer to call anything "Spanish food" per se, but yes, De La Torre's does a fine job of representing a few of them. DLT has been consistently good for a long, long time. I need to get back there soon myself.

Joel,
Funny story about that. On our first night in Barcelona, we went to a restaurant whre my husband wanted to try a Rioja or a wine from Basque country. He asked why there weren't any of these on the wine list. The response from the waiter, and I quote, "Because you in Catalunya, bro." We learned very quickly of the passion each region has for its identity - and it's way more than Lonely Planet or Frommer's describe in their books. We got a huge kick out of the slightly different dialect of Castillian Spanish the Andalucians spoke. For instance, they seem to drop the "s" in Andalusia. As in "gracia" rather than "gracias" and "tre" rather than "tres." When asked about it, one Andalusian said, "Because we smoother than others. We cooler."

There's a pretty significant independence movement in Catalonia, so I'm not surprised that you'd find a restaurant with no other Spanish wines on the menu. That's probably pretty common.

Weirdly enough though, the best meal I've ever had in Barcelona was actually a Senegalese place in the Barrio Goti. No idea if it's still there, but it was like eating in a family's living room. This was back in 2001, so it might be gone.

Andalucia is definitely my favorite region to visit, that I've been to anyways. Did you get anywhere besides Sevilla? Sevilla's my favorite city, but Grenada and Cordoba (among others) are great cities to visit as well.

My wife & I ate at De La Torres a few weeks back, and their dinner 'entree' menu is no more...

...both sides are now serving the Tapas menu only, which I found to be disappointing.

they seem to drop the "s" in Andalusia. As in "gracia" rather than "gracias" and "tre" rather than "tres."

Ditto on the menus with somewhat different language, Castillian & Catalan. A friendly local also fluent in English explained Barcelona & the region, because of the proximity to France, has a French influence in the local language. That would make sense with your observation of the silent "s" at the end of words.
La Bodega / De La Torres rocks. If we could get a plaza (or placa in Catalan) for them to relocate to we'd really get some Old World atmosphere!

Miguel de la Torres makes the best calamari, ever, anywhere. That guy is a genius with squid!

Just got back from a lovely visit with Maggie and Miguel - look for the interview in the October issue of the Highlander. You'll be happy to know that pretty much everything that was on the big De la Torres menu is available in tapas form, including the paella and the lamb. They've had great response to the new approach so far, are seeing fuller tables and new faces, all of which is good. And Miguel is having a blast now that he's not tied to such a static menu - he's able to do some experimentation again, which has been rejuvenating for him.