Gourmet, gluten-free hamburgers in Barcelona – sí, they exist!

Gluten-free gourmet hamburger!

Sorry to post again about food, but this place is definitely a must-go! Personally, I never visit McDonalds, Burger King or any of those places – I just find the “food”, not to mention the atmosphere, simply disgusting. I also got an allergy for wheat and other cereals five years ago which has obviously had quite an influence to my diet, nowadays gluten-free with some special tricky additions. Because of that, I rarely have a chance to eat pizza, pasta, baguettes and especially hamburgers. Therefore I could not been happier about finding El Filete Ruso, which was love at first sight!

Retro atmosphere

 

This little restaurant, or Hamburgueseria as they call it, is on Calle Enric Granados in Eixample, a street famous for its great restaurants. El Filete Ruso’s idea is to offer gourmet hamburgers made of best ingredients with slow-food mentality. They do not mention it in the menu, but almost all the burgers are available gluten-free.

"normal" hamburger

 

The hamburgers come on a plain plate looking like little pieces of art, so if you’re a fan of french fries, they need to be ordered separately. Prices of hamburgers were 8-10 euros, starters 4-10 euros. In total we spend about 20 euros per person including starters, drinks and hamburgers. The dinner hours start at 20:30h,  they do take reservations but in case you don't have one it’s recommendable to come on time: at 21h it was already packed and people were waiting for tables(on Tuesday evening!)

Oven potatoes with roasted apple and mayonaise

 Check it out:

Enric Granados 95, 08008 Barcelona

Mon - Sun 1pm - 4pm and 8:30pm - 11:30pm

(Thu - Sat kitchen open till 00:00)

Metro Diagonal

www.elfileteruso.com

Cutest cupcakes in Barcelona: Lolita bakery

If you like cupcakes, I’ve found you the perfect place. Lolita Bakery is definitely one of the cutest little cafes in town and all the pastries look simply mouthwatering. They could have been taken directly from a scene in Sofia Coppola’s movie “Marie Antoinette”. I have been avoiding going there because of my wheat allergy, but after giving up and drinking a delicious cherry flower tea and tasting their homemade meringue on Sunday afternoon I see no reason of not going back (especially if they would, some day, develop a gluten-free cupcake)! If I didn’t have the allergy, I would probably pop in every day for a different cupcake as I live just around the corner.. All my non-allergic friends are crazy about them.

 

The cupcakes come in three different sizes and there’s a ridiculous amount of absolutely amazing combinations of flavors to choose. Apart from cupcakes, they bake normal cakes also in three different sizes, letting you select the fillings and topping. They also have a special selection of other pastries for different events e.g. weddings; cookies, truffles, meringues, mmm, you name it!

 

In case your friend couldn’t make it there with you, no worries: there’s a vast amount of irresistibly cute gift packaging options at hand. (+ Next time when I am running out of bday present ideas, I know exactly where to go!)

There are currently two Lolita Bakeries in Barcelona: the one that I visited in el Borne (Portal Nou,20) and the most recently opened in Eixample (Provenca 267). They are open every day,  Mon – Fri  9-21 and Sat – Sun 12.30-20.30. More: www.lolitabakery.com

Afterwards, let me know what was your favorite cupcake!

The Perfect Beach near Barcelona: Sant Pol de Mar

Barcelona beach

Among many other things, they say that Barcelona is famous for it's architecture, artsy vibe and beach.  I have never really understood the last point. It's of course nice to have the beach here, don't get me wrong; but how much do I actually enjoy swimming in the middle of the condoms, pee, beer cans and god knows what else? Not that much. Especially in August, when the towels and sun chairs are so close to each other that it's difficult to see the sand between them, I warmly recommend to get up an hour earlier and head upper to the North of Costa Brava: Sant Pol de Mar.

Sant Pol de Mar beach

Sant Pol de Mar is one of the many nice little towns along the coast. By taking the "beach train" from Plaza Catalunia and travelling from 30 mins up to one hour, you will see numerous absolutely stunning beaches with turquoise, transparent waters, natural sand and far less sun seekers than on Barcelona's crowded beaches. The journey to Sant Pol de Mar takes approximately one hour and costs 7 euros return.

When you arrive to the train station at Sant Pol de Mar, you need to walk further to the North in order to access the nicest little coves. After passing by the port on the right side, there's a wide beach ahead and by looking towards the end of it, you'll see big rocks coming out of the sea. That's where the picture above is taken. You can either decide to settle down on that beach or walk even further - the coves just get more beautiful.

Although, bear in mind that when Barcelona's beaches might be over crowded and artificial, they offer the full services package: toilets, restaurants, showers; even massage, sushi and mojitos if you wish. In Sant Pol de Mar, the restaurants are located mainly around the train station and there are no services on the beaches.

Anyhow, I consider them one of the must-see places around Barcelona. Now it's getting a bit too chilly for sunbathing, but bear this blog post in mind for 2012!

My favorite places in Barcelona pt.1: The Montjüic pool

I have had a hundred potential blog post topics in my head now for about a week. I have been fantasizing about this moment when we finally open the blog and I can just let my fingers fly on the keyboard. Now, when the moment is at hand, I don't not know what to write about!

Everyone who has visited Barcelona knows that there is never enough time to see everything. There are simply too many cool things around. I still discover new wonderful places every week! That's why, I thought it would be actually cool to share some of my all time favorite places here.

As the past week has been melting hot, I was really waiting for the weekend and total relaxation by the sea or a pool. In my opinion, one of the most wonderful places to sunbathe and chill is the Olympic outdoor pool up in Montjuic. It offers outstanding panoramic views over the city, and it's never too full. For some reason, most of the crowd heads to the packed beaches instead and ignores this amazing, unique oasis. It's far from being fancy or elegant, and has maybe seen its best days, but it sure has got a very special charm which makes me return over and over again.

The pool is open from June till September and costs 5-6 euros to enter. They don't offer any chairs for sunbathing, so bring a towel to lie on. In case of empty stomach, there's a small cafe on the spot where they sell tapas and drinks. The dressing rooms are equipped with showers, but there are no lockers so you need to take all the stuff to the pool area.

The easiest way to arrive is to take the green metro line to Paral-lel and continue with funicular up to the hill. When you come out from the funicular, cross the street and walk 15 meters to the right - and voilá, there you are!

BTW: Also Kylie Minogue is a fan of this pool; it offered a fantastic setting for her video "Slow" in 2003: