Let's go back in time a little bit. Specifically back to August 10th 2009. Mike and I were on a plane heading to San Francisco and I was going through an entire season of Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali's travel show
Spain On The Road Again (it was a long flight). Prior to watching this show, Spain was not that high on my list of places to visit. Don't get me wrong, it certainly appealed to me but I didn't know that much about everything it had to offer. However, all that changed after watching
Spain On The Road Again. I'm actually not a big Gwyneth Paltrow fan but the show was brilliantly shot and Mario Batali's enthusiasm for Spain and its culnary offerings got me completely hooked. There was one episode in particular that made me exclaim to Mike "we're going to Spain" and that was the episode where Gwynnie, Mario Batali and Michael Stipe (I know, random) eat at an "authentic" tapas bar in downtown Barcelona. That bar is
Inopia and it's owned by
Ferran Adria's brother, Albert Adria, who once worked as
El Bulli's pastry chef. The atmosphere and the food were so interesting and unpretentious and I thought Mike and I would love it all. Little did I know that I would be sitting in that very tapas bar less than 7 months later staring at a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batalli and Michael Stype on the wall by our table. Life is funny.
Inopia is one of the more happening tapas bars in Barcelona but you wouldn't know it by the small inviting space, blackboard walls and charming staff. Although there is a red rope on the outside, it's mostly there to control the line up that inevitably builds up outside on most nights. We loved waiting outside with our glass of wine, watching locals stream in and hug the owner. By the time we got out table, I was starving and unable to make a choice about what to eat so we ordered all the specialties including
patatas bravas, marinated chicken skewers, ham croquettes and grilled cheese with honey. Everything was delectable and affordable. The atmosphere is lively, especially after 10pm, and you can tell that Inopia is something special. The celebrities who have eaten here share in our sentiment because they're autographed the tiles that adorn the walls including - to our surprise - Les Cowboys Fringants, a famous Quebec band.

We loved our meal so much that we might return tonight...