Fenícia Restaurant
Where? Fenícia Restaurant (Sants-Montjuic, Barcelona, Spain) Map Menu
When? Tuesday March 19, 2024
Who With? Me
Food Style? Lebanese
I’ve spent the day walking the southern end of the hills where Tibidabo sits. I had a small and early lunch, so now I’m famished for dinner. I feel like something fresh, delicious and meaty, and there’s no better cuisine that delivers on all three than Lebanese. Fenicia is not too far from my Airbnb, and a stone’s throw from Placa de Sants, which is where I stayed in 2017. Their name of course is Phoenicia in Spanish, and the menu outside is only in Catalan and Español, but inside they’ve given me an English and French one.
Appetiser
Babaganoush: peeled grilled eggplant mixed with red and green bell pepper, mint, onion, tomato and parsley
This has a wonderful acidity and a hint of smokiness at the tail end. It’s refreshing and tastes delicious. The peppers add a nice crunchiness to the soft eggplant.
Mains
Fenician Shawarma Platter: shawarma meat served with grilled onion and tomato slices
I love home made hummus. You can really tell the difference, it doesn’t have the weird taste from preservatives like lemon juice and sugar. I’m not normally a fan of falafel, I find them too dry, but this one is okay, especially with a healthy helping of hummus. The outside is nice and crispy. The salad needs a bit of dressing but thankfully I’ve got some sauce from the babaganoush leftover so I just pour that on top. Perfect. I’m a big fan of the fried onions and the meat is well seasoned. I don’t know why but my greedy mouth involuntarily says “yes” when the waiter asked me if I wanted more pita bread, but I’ve managed to finish everything on the plate, save a few splotches of yogurt sauce and hummus. There’s no way I can handle dessert tonight, so it’ll be a leisurely stroll back in the cool Barcelona evening.
Posted by Jeremy at 7:32am on Saturday December 28, 2024 :: 0 comments :: 
Restaurante Figli del Vesuvio
Where? Restaurante Figli del Vesuvio (Les Corts, Barcelona, Spain) Map Menu
When? Monday March 18, 2024
Who With? Me
Food Style? Italian
It’s late - 10pm - even for Spanish standards, and I’m desperately hungry. This place is a stone’s throw from my Airbnb and they’re open until 11pm thankfully. They also don’t take card and pasta is unavailable at this time of day, but salads and pizzas are. Even if I over order, it’ll be easy to take home. I want something quick, fast, and simple.
Appetiser
Tropical Salad: spinach, mango, avocado, walnuts, balsamic vinegar dressing
Yum! Refreshing and well balanced. Love the acidity on the mangoes and balsamic combination. The walnuts add a great crunch. I remain convinced that chopsticks are the easiest way to eat leafy salads but I doubt I’d be able to ask for them here.
Mains
Diavola Pizza: tomato, mozzarella, spicy salami, basil, nduja
Piping hot out of the oven. The crust is thin and crispy, real Neapolitan style. The sauce is definitely homemade and delicious, and the pepperiness of the meat comes through. It’s fantastic.
To my surprise, I’ve managed to finish both the pizza and the salad. Definitely no dessert though, I’ve still got a huge slice of cake that Bea baked for me.
Posted by Jeremy at 7:21am on Saturday December 28, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Omelegg
Where? Omelegg (Centrum, Amsterdam, Netherlands) Map Menu
When? Monday March 4, 2024
Who With? Me
Food Style? Breakfast Eggs
Whenever I walk by this place, I always see a long line of people waiting to get in. So it must be good right? I figure a Monday morning at 8.30am would be a quiet time to drop by, and despite my best efforts to get there early, I’m still second in the queue. The wait isn’t too long though, and soon enough I’m sitting inside this very small and cozy cafe, on a table with a group of three strangers. 
I’ve gone with a farm boy without mushrooms, because mushrooms suck. The plates look very large, so this will probably tide me through until lunch. Their hot chocolate is very large but I’m okay with that. It’s no suizo but it’s thankfully not too sweet. I do like that every place gives a small little biscuit or stroopwaffel on the side, today’s selection is a Lotus biscoff, which is far sweeter than the drink it comes with.
Mains
Farm Boy: bacon, sausage, salami, onion, spinach, bell pepper, tomato, farmer cheese, thyme and rosemary
Mmm that’s good. The sausage is super tasty and the egg is seasoned well. I do wish they would toast that bread though, it would have really brought out the aroma of the grains. They’ve been very generous with the meat and the onions, the tomatoes are sweet and juicy. I’m pretty happy with my choice. The salad is dressed with something slightly sweet, and I wish it was more citrusy to give it that zestiness and freshness. All in all, a solid, hearty breakfast for a decent price.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:29am on Saturday March 9, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Loetje
Where? Loetje (Centrum, Amsterdam, Netherlands) Map Menu
When? Sunday March 3, 2024
Who With? Me
Food Style? Steak
This lovely restaurant overlooks the water right outside Amsterdam Centraal, the main transit hub for the city. I’m a bit wary that it’ll be touristy, but the pictures of their famous beef tenderloin look too good to pass up on my final night in the city of canals and bridges. You don’t even get to choose how you want your steak, it comes medium rare - the best temperature. I’ve gone for “de roode waard”, which Google tells me means “worth the red”.
Their house lemonade is a refreshing citrus drink with a hint of mango.
Mains
Loetje Beef Tenderloin 'De Roode Waard': with Loetje gravy, onions, chicken livers and bacon
I love chicken livers and bacon, and I think having these with a steak is going to be excellent. There’s a lot on this plate and it looks like a mess but I’m having a good time. The sauce is rich and tasty, perhaps a tad oily, the livers are cooked perfectly and the bacon balances everything out with its saltiness. The tenderloin gets a bit lost in everything but it’s cooked a beautiful medium rare as promised, and it’s soft and juicy. There’s so much flavour on the plate and I’m really digging it. The only odd thing is the plain white bread - not even toasted - a roll would have been much better. I love the livers and there’s a very generous portion on the plate. This is definitely a memorable dish, the combination of all the elements is fantastic. I honestly wasn’t expecting something of this quality from a restaurant so close to the main tourist area. I should have probably ordered a salad to go with all the meat, but it's too late for that now.
I took a look at the dessert menu and given all the extremely heavy foods I’ve had recently, my heart isn’t in it to have something chocolatey or rich like cheesecakes, mousse, crème brûlée or lava cake. I still have some stroopwaffels back at my hostel…those will probably do.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:26am on Saturday March 9, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Quartier Putain
Where? Quartier Putain (Centrum, Amsterdam, Netherlands) Map
When? Sunday March 3, 2024
Who With? Me
Food Style? Cafe
The name of this cafe amuses me and of course it’s in Amsterdam’s famous red light district. I'm actually really pleased with myself that my French is advanced enough to know what it means without having to look it up. The name comes from a Dutch song made by the artist Drs P, which is about the neighbourhood and the ladies that work behind the windows. Sure enough, there’s a few workers next door, separate to the cafe, of course.
I’m kinda sick of sweet things, and Dutch cuisine has a lot of it, so I want something savoury, especially after the apple pie from this morning. My first choice was the “Amsterdam toast”, which has beef sausage slices and pickled onion and mustard, but the waitress informs me that this is actually raw beef, and given I got food poisoning the last time I was in Amsterdam, I’m not going to chance that today. I’ve gone with something a bit safer, something that's cooked.
Mains
Chorizo and Cheddar Toastie
It’s pretty decent, lots of cheese, and the chorizo oil helps to flavour the bread, which is nicely toasted. It helps to bring out the aroma of the nuts and grains on the crust. That hit the spot and wasn't too bloating. There's a nice view of Oude Kerk from the window, and a small crowd has gathered outside the cafe to take pictures of a blow-up doll in a rubbish bin. Classic Amsterdam.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:14am on Saturday March 9, 2024 :: 0 comments ::