Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Got no time to worry - oops breaching copyright here, so I'll just post this:

SO why did we have lazy Sunday afternoon? - cos we had lunch on the seafront and then a siesta for nearly two hours. Isn't life a blast!!

Lunch on the seafront was at:

Vila Tapa. Bar Taperia

Paseo Del Carme,13. Vilanova i la Geltru.

Tel: 938156559

 It's a small place right next door to Cafe de les Artes, our favourite place to relax on a Sunday morning, or any other time come to that! And here's Tony with a bottle of fizzy water, whilst I'm on my usual pre-lunch tipple of vermouth.

We weren't sure there would be much for us, but had been recommended, via Julie, by JanWillem -our 'Energy-healer vet friend.

The restaurant has a full tapas menu and a Free Buffet - now that doesn't mean you don't pay it means you just help yourself to what you want.

We checked out the buffet and had a selection of salad items, all nicely presented and tasty enough. The hot food, though, was almost exclusively fishy and meaty. We did manage to get some grilled mushrooms and some sauté potatoes, but sadly neither were very hot.  The chilled red wine, on the other hand, was well chilled and perfect for a Sunday lunch on the seafront.
The deserts on the buffet were pretty much generic, with a selection of fruits and sliced gateaux. Nice enough but not heart topping -and yes I did have two helpings!
The staff were a mixed bag to say the least. The first waiter we met was very pleasant, but made it plain that he thought we were tourists. The Chinese woman who appeared to own the place stood around with a face like thunder, and the waitress who appeared to be in charge needed a new pair of trousers -hers were quite inappropriate. 

Will we eat there again- unlikely - but I'm sure if you eat meat, or fish especially, it would be a good place to eat. One of my ex-students was there- so maybe that was a recommendation.
WE did enjoy our lunch sitting in the open, on the first cooler day we've had in an age, but felt a little short changed again -yep a 'veggie-whinge'.
The bill came to just under 40€, which wouldn't have been bad if the choice for us had been better. I was a tad annoyed though that the menu price did not include IVA (value added tax) so ended up paying more than we thought. At the end of this month IVA is being hiked by the government which will make this even less of a place we will plan to go back to.

New, new, new experiences...

As part of our regular 'trying out new restaurants' last night we went off, with the wonderful Julie, to the new Indian restaurant at the bottom of the Rambla - The Taj Mahal.

We started with another new experience with pre-dinner drinks in a bar we hadn't used before on the Passeo Maritim - Envy.

The Indian restaurant has only been open a short while, and when we arrived we noticed the manager (owner?) was the same as the Indian restaurant that used to be in the centre of town.

The restaurant has a varied menu including pizzas and Spanish style dishes with a rather limited Indian listing, which was a little disappointing.

We started with pakora and samosas, followed by vegetable biryani and cheese nan, with lentil dahl. Whilst we were eating the chef came out to chat with us, telling us that he likes cooking for English customers as we know what curry is all about.
The food was good and the service fair and the price excellent -the three of us were full, and had a good bottle of wine all for under €40. We will go back, but with the limited choice on the menu may not be super-regular visitors.

After dinner we tried yet another new place - Sa Caleta - a new cocktail bar on the seafront- and had cocktails before returning home. now this is a place we will be returning to. The cocktails were fun and scrummy and the service excellent.

Food, Take Two and 'Magic'

We’ve been having a relaxing day here in VnG.
After walking Cuddy and Xali a little later than normal and answering e-mails and other messages I did very little until we went off to catch the bus for the seafront and another restaurant adventure.
Today we had lunch in the sunshine in one of the many restaurants on the seafront.

 

Restaurante Cuckoos;  Passeig del Carme, 12 (Paseo marítimo) Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona 08800

 

Some of you may remember it as 'The Blue Room' where we adjourned for drinks after our wedding reception. Since then it has changed hands and attempted to go 'up-market'. 

We were pleased to see Toni, the waiter we know well as he has been working there since we have been living here (8 years and more) who took our order:

 

Mixed salad (no tuna)

Spaghetti Pomodoro for Tony 

Vegetable Lasagne for me

with a plate of chips 

and a bottle of Rioja chilled.

 

We asked for everything at the same time except the wine which we wanted 'tout suite' 

The wine arrived swiftly by the salad, the chips and two plates. We were pleased to see the chips were home-made and chunky. The salad was served with optional balsamic and oil. Nice touches. A few minutes later Tony's spaghetti arrived. But no sign of my lasagne for at least ten minutes. Then when it did arrive the plate was too hot to touch, but the lasagne was cold- Freezer to Microwave methinks! I called one of the waiters over and told him 'OK' he said and whisked it away- no apology or other comment. "I bet it comes back too scalding to eat next" I suggested to Tony and sure enough it did. 

Looking round the terrace I had noticed that the waiters were quite disorganised and at points three were serving one table while another table waited. The owner was working hands-on, but wasn't in control of the whole scene. 

Neither of us had the 'ganas' for desserts but decide to check out the dessert menu anyway. Now one of my 'bugbears' is restaurants that simply offer frozen desserts from a pre-bought menu in plastic tubs- an yes that is what the menu consisted of. There did appear to be a couple of home made dishes, but I was disappointed at the lack of imagination.  Which kind of sums up the meal- Two vegetarian options -both pasta, terrace laid out like a Butlins canteen and deserts pre-bought. 

The whole meal cost just under 35€ - which wouldn't normally have been a bad price, however I was a bit miffed to have been charged 2€ for two rolls that we hadn't ordered and didn't even want. So yes I did bring them home! 

Whatever let's end on a positive. The wine was really good and the company of course, and we did in fact enjoy our lunch out, something that we haven't been doing half enough!!  

 

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This week I've been dead busy with catching up with 'Take Two'. Each afternoon I sat down at the laptop and wrote or edited and am pleased to say that it is now finished. I have yet to re-edit it and add all the other texts 'acknowledgements, dedication etc' but hopefully will get all that done this week. I shall then upload it to the publishers, and hopefully get a proof copy within ten days. I shall check this carefully when it arrives - something I failed to do with 'Winner' and regret missing so many typos etc, eventually releasing it for sale soon-after.  Want a copy? watch this space....

 

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 In the next few days I am going to be announcing a 'The Magic of the Camino' competition. This is because I have now sold over 100 copies. Maybe not what Amazon best-seller list stuff is made of, but so many more than I ever dreamed of. When I set out I had hoped to sell around 50, I am thrilled to have doubled that. Promoting through Facebook and Twitter has clearly helped. My next Goal is to get 100 likes for my 'Magic of the Camino' Page on Facebook -so if you can help me do this I'll be most grateful. Many of the sales have been in the USA and Australia, and quite a few e-books as well as paperbacks.

Birthday dinner for my man

Last night we went out to dinner with our dearest friend Julie.  Tony wanted to try a restaurant that we'd only visited once before on the main Rambla here in VnG - Gilda. It's right next door to where the old Cocktail bar used to be for those of you that know our town.  

GILDA - Rambla Principal, 114-116. VNG 08800 SPAIN

Telf: 938935735

We each chose to try the 'Menu del dia'. All except one of the five starters was vegetarian, and for main course we could chose any Pizza from the main menu or one of the other choices, two of the others also being vegetarian.

To start we all had paparadella in a four cheese sauce. Thinking as it was the menu the portion would only be small we tucked into the home-made bread rolls before it arrived, only to find the portions were huge. We each followed this with pizzas of our choice- which again were huge.  There were five choices for dessert, but thinking that the ice-cream would be the smallest option we each went for that. It was chocolate ice-cream and had the delightful strong flavour of chocolate truffles. Coffee and Limoncello liqueur were also included in the menu del dia price of 12.50€ which I think you'll agree is amazing value for money.With a bottle of the house white wine, which was very drinkable -slightly fruity yet dry enough to please Julie the bill came to less than 45€ for the three of us!!

We had a table in the courtyard at the back of the restaurant which was the perfect spot on such a hot night. The background music was mellow and not too loud to be invasive, and the service from the waiters and owners friendly and helpful.

To say we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves is an understatement. Julie is always great company and we chatted easily all evening before She jumped on her scooter bound for Cubelles and we walked back up the hill.

On arriving near our barrio I rushed ahead and got Cuddy and Xali for a run around in the park in the cool midnight air. They both loved the additional outing, which for us was the perfect end to a perfect evening.

Later today I am off to the airport to pick up Jane and the whole scene will be played out once more in a different restaurant -most probably Oganquit -but for those details I will keep you hanging on until tomorrow.

Lunch at Eguzki

Eguzki

Rambla Principal, 58, Vilanova I La Geltrú, 08800, Spain
Tel: 938939456

Today we had another meal in a 'new' restaurant. This time lunch.

AS you can see from above this one is right on the Rambla (the main street in town).

We were there around one o'clock- not normally a busy time in Spain where everyone  tends to have lunch later (3pm or so) but we still had to wait a while to be noticed. The waiter serving us was pleasant enough, but not overly so. I think he had us marked as a couple of tourist who he didn't want to invest too much time in. 

We ordered the goat's cheese Salad with Patatas Bravas (sautéed potatoes in a spicy/hot sauce) , Pimientos del Padron (peppers from Padron in northern Spain, cooked on the griddle- occasionally with a hot one hidden in the bunch)  and some tomato bread (no butter here- but rubbed with tomato and garlic an drizzled with olive oil), washed down with a Clara (beer shandy) for me and for Tony an Estrella beer.  All to share (drinks excepted)

 

The goat's cheese salad was delicious with a grain mustard dressing that added a delightful tartness. (Fnnaarr Mr Brennan). The sautéed potatoes were perfectly cooked and the Bravas sauce mouth burning hot- just right. The tomato bread was really good too. The Pimientos del Padron, however, were a little overcooked and a little 'slimy' - Padron is on the Portuguese Camino so I've been there (along with Janey and Sussi) and tasted the real thing -these didn't even come a close second!

The service was a little lackadaisical, we had to ask for knives! But the waiter was pleasant enough for a tapas place.Although when asked about vegetarian options he didn't supply much information.

 

As for Price, all the above cost us just under 25€ (twenty five euros) -so not too bad at all.

The big test -would we go again- Probably not -more because the vegetarian options were limited than for any other reason. The other tapas looked really varied and tasty!

 

Nuraghe, Vilanova

Nuraghe,

Calle Sant Gervasi, 86, 08800 Vilanova i la Geltrú, España. 

Tel: 938 144 504.

Last night we went into town for dinner, and on Julie's suggestion tried a different Italian restaurant- The Nuraghe (which is a Sardinian megalith 'building'. It is situated just north of the Town square, dead in the centre of town.  

We sat out side as it was a hot night and had excellent service from some of the friendly waitresses who interspersed their Spanish with the occasional words of English. THE service was excellent adn caring without being intrusive -just what we look for when dining out.

The menu is huge with a wide range of pasta dishes and pizzas. WE both went for Pizzas -I ha one with artichokes and other veggies on it, whilst Tony had a salami one. They were thin and crispy and topped with a goodly amount of cheese. 

We ordered a red whine (chilled) - and were asked whether we liked strong wines or wanted something lighter. With the waitress's help our choice was just what we were looking for. 

All in all an excellent dining experience, for just over fifteen euros each (15€) .  

There was even a French Bulldog at the next table that had us captivated, oh and a cute guy in shorts with the hairiest and chunkiest legs which just about rounded off the experience for us.

Like Arnie: We will be back!

Oh and BTW we have decided that this summer we are going to try and find a new restaurant each week to try out... sow watch this space for further reviews of the eateries in VnG.