La Catalana
My soul sister, Teesha and I often enjoy afternoons together snacking and having wine. We both enjoy reading and decided one night over tapas that we should start our own book club. What are the rules of book club, anyway? We decided to keep it simple (1) pick a book (2) talk about it over great food and wine.
In just two weeks time, we, along with our buddy Elton, conducted our first round! Since the book we had picked mentioned empanadas, we decided to hit up La Catalana, a Spanish tapas restaurant that I hadn't been to in years!
Tapas style eating is literally my favorite way to enjoying a meal with friends. Why eat 1 entree when you can try 5?! Go get cultured, try all the things, thank me later when you find your favorite dish was the one you didn’t plan on ordering.
I arrived first, and even though there were several large parties happening, I was greeted warmly by the staff. They even pre-apologized for potential slow in service as they get everybody situated. I really appreciate how candid they were from the get-go and the fun music they were playing. They were putting out all the good vibes!
Once the 3 of us got situated and received a round of sangrias, we decided to share:
Gambas - Al Ajillo Sautéed shrimp, paprika, garlic. This is a Spanish staple, I had it almost daily when I was in Spain! Having it here brought back so many fond memories.
Botifarra Amb Tomaquet Catalan - Pork sausage with tomato sauce. Tomatoes and pork are used a lot in Spanish cooking, so no matter how it’s prepared, I promise you will enjoy iy!
Pulpo - Grilled Octopus with smoked paprika potato puree. I freaking love grilled octopus, and you could find it on pretty much every menu in Spain. That char is dynamite!
Mejillones Cremosos - Green mussels with a saffron white wine and butter-garlic sauce. This white wine sauce was so damn good, the touch of saffron really elevated the dish. We scooped up the broth with our mussel shells and then for extra bread to enjoy any leftover broth!
Arros Negre Spanish - Bomba rice, saffron with a combination of shrimp, clams, calamari, shrimp, squid ink & aioli. Whatever tapas you decide on must be paired with a paella! What I really appreciate about the black paella is the savory, briny flavor the squid ink brings! This seafood rice was like a dream. Perfectly seasoned and cooked, with just a hint of crispness at the bottom of the pan
You cannot go wrong with anything on the menu, they offer 30+ tapas 8 kinds of paella to share with your dinner party. It was both easy and difficult to place our order because everything sounded delicious. Since tapas are small in portion, it makes it a perfect pick for groups. Especially at La Catalana, they were so accommodating, they never rushed us. We felt so welcome, we opted for the bottle of Spanish wine after our sangria and closed the place down. I plan to continue to dine here with friends and rotate through all the tapas and paellas they have to offer, I hope you give it a try too!
