For the first stop of the trip, I went to Barcelona. Barcelona is a big bustling metropolitan city that has a fun party atmosphere around the clock. One reason why I think Barcelona is party city is because there seems to be a ton of small restaurants and bars spread around small streets on every neighbourhood (They also seem to be never closed).
Tagliatelle in a Bolognese Sauce and Spinach Tagliatelle in a cream sauce.
What do I eat when I first arrive in Spain? Italian Pasta of course! When I finally arrived in Barcelona, it was during their siesta and not that many restaurants were open. One of the few restaurants that were open was a pasta bar in Barcelona called "La Maquina."
"La Maquina" is a pasta bar that makes all of their pastas from scratch and uses nothing but fresh ingredients. "La Maquina" must like lumber because their walls are covered with wooden planks, which gives it a feeling of eating inside of a log cabin. The space was fairly large but still cozy enough for me to just have a few beers or a glass of wine (Vino as they say in Spain) and relax.
I decided to order the tagliatelle in a bolognese sauce. The pasta dough was made from scratch and the pasta was boiled to order, which was a very nice touch because I knew I would be getting the freshest pasta possible. The tagliatelle was cooked perfectly al dente and it could've rivalled any pasta that can be found in Italy. The bolognese sauce didn't contain a lot of meat in it like other bolognese sauces that I've had before but it still complimented the pasta and was avery nice pairing. The pasta dish tasted fresh and tasty, which was a pleasant surprise because I just flew half way around the world to eat pasta in Spain and was enjoying it.
My partner in crime decided to go a slightly different direction with her meal choice and chose to have spinach tagliatelle in a cream sauce. The pasta dish was cooked perfectly but I personally found the cream sauce a bit too heavy. This plate of pasta was difficult to finish because the portion size was quite large and the heavy cream sauce filled us up even faster.
If I was a local, I would definitely come to "La Maquina" and have a meal because they make everything from scratch and use nothing but fresh ingredients. However as a tourist I find it difficult to recommend an Italian restaurant in spain because you don't really get to experience spain's rich culinary culture at "La Maquina"(unless you count Barcelona craft beer).
For More Information
