Worth a Thousand Posts

Literally.

This blog reached a milestone. This is the 1000th post. I will do a give-away contest when this blog reaches 5 years in July.

In a thousand posts, this blog didn't have as much food images in it. Not that I didn't eat out or cook. It's my failure to produce sensible blogworthy food images that hinder my posting of food images here.

Anyway, since I am celebrating the thousandth post, I will have some food here, sort of celebratory meal.

A week ago Tuesday, I met up with my husband and another couple after work to sample what they are serving at BarCeluna in Alameda. BarCeluna is a tapas place in the heart of Alameda.

On Tuesdays, they have a Green Hour (happy hour) deal of 2 for 1 all night through (they open from 5 till about 9:30 - according to the website), which is a great deal. And the pitcher of sangria is discounted to $15 from a regular of #20.

But we couldn't avail of the said deal as we were coming here with a coupon. You must all be well aware of many websites that give out deals - for travel, eating out, spa etc. Groupon is one of them. And my fave is Travelzoo. I sign up for the weekly newsletter and I get a lot of deals on my inbox. One of the deals that came in was a $60 worth of food from BarCeluna for $25. Now isn't that the best deal? You can have similar deals (although not as good as this one)on restaurantdotcom.

Anyway, we found the place easily as Alameda isn't that big. Parking is another concern. Yet on a Tuesday, we found parking a block away. We were cautious on where to park as we know from experience how tough the parking enforcement is in this town.

The facade wasn't anything at all. You'd even miss it, we almost did. As we entered the restaurant its looked big. It's longer than wider and seatings are on both sides with a long hallway in the middle. You can have a dancing night here with all the space. It has high ceilings, and a few tables on the second floor - which looks like balcony seating.

I leave work at 6 pm daily and I probably didn't leave on the dot, so we must have arrived a little before 7 pm and was immediately seated. It's Tuesday!

The seating arrangements are cozy and lighting subdued. The wait staff - I noted only one the whole time - was friendly and was there when you need him and not when you don't.
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A lousy shot. I had to ask my dining companion to take this as I am a little shy taking pics when eating out.

I love tapas. I love munching, snacking when I dine out. So this place was perfect for me.
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We started with a pitcher of sangria. My take? It's not bad, but I have had better.

With tapas you order a few dishes and share with companions. That's what we did. The pacing between plates was perfect. No wait and not rushed to finish the plate because the next one is coming on the table. Good job by the wait staff.
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Marin Triple Cream Brie ($7). What can I say I love cheese and I love brie.

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Fresh cut papas fritas ($6 for large plate). Seasoned properly with paprika aioli dip.

Most tapa places, they have the papas fritas cut thick. I didn't mind the thin cut here. It was a wonderful dish.

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Lamb tacos - 3 pieces per order ($7.5). We ordered two of these and they were excellent. So flavorful.

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Spicy Red Chard - not on the menu on the website, but was the hands down fave dish of the night. It was flavorful, a little tart and spicy. It most likely was cooked in white wine - so gooood. I wanted to eat it with plain steamed rice and fried fish :)

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I cannot NOT have a margherita pizza if it's in the menu ($14). The crust could use a little more crispy-ness.

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Steamed Mussels ($12). This dish is super flavorful, a tad salty to my taste but the rest of my companions didn't think so. The bread is so good dipped in the soup.

It was a great dining experience over all. I'd love to come here one summer evening and sit outside and people watch while I spread my bread with brie.

BARCELUNAmay not have reminded me of Barcelona, but it certainly awakened my taste buds.

Comments

  1. Congratulations for the 1000th post :).

    Oh, I'm so hungry just looking at the mussels. I love those when cooked in either beer or wine.

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  2. And you just awakened mine, even though I ate a mere 3 hours ago! :)

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  3. Oops, I drooled on my keyboard there :-) I have recently (about a year ago) discovered tapas as an eating style, although I have yet to do it sharing style. This all look so delicious.
    You mentioned that you don't take many food pictures, yet I have seen more food pictures on your blog than on any other one :-) Congratulations on the 1000th post. Something worth celebrating.

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  4. i'm glad i already had my lunch before reading this. haha those tapas look awesome! :)

    congratulations on your 1000th post. cheers! :)

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  5. What a record! I think I'm still on my 500th+ post. But I'm still working on fixing my site. Need to prioritize sleep and work. Nakakagutom yung photos.

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  6. A great series of this fabulous looking dishes. I want to try them all! ...Now I'm really hungry! :-) Fine post and description of the good times.

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  7. all of a sudden i'm so hungry and craving again for pizza! they are all drool worthy! :D

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  8. Congratulations on your 1000th post, they are a great many!
    I'd choose the margherita Pizza and of course some other good dishes.

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  9. totally drooling right now.....yummmmmy!

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  10. Congratulation for the 1000th post, and more power for more. That dinner looks so appetizing with your shots and now i am hungry.

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  11. Happy 1000th post! Here's to thousands more! :)

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  12. yum! nothing but mouth watering goodness! ^0^
    i could see that you did have a gr8 time and the ambiance looks good indeed.

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  13. Wow, you really like to make your visitors' mouths water, don't you? lol! What great looking food, shame I couldn't smell it all too. :D

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  14. I am so darned hungry now!! .... you should have a restaurant column in a newspaper Maria.... i loved it!! ♥●•Ù ·

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  15. Congratulations on your 1000 post! Now I'm hungry. :))

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  16. Mmmmmmm... The Spicy Red Chard and Mussels caught my attention! :-)

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  17. you almost made me want to quit my diet. haaaay. buti na lang almost lang.

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  18. Congratulations on your 1000th post! Nagutom ako while looking at the photos. Well done! ang ganda ng mga kuha.

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