The pleasures of tapas and Spanish dishes at Bar Celona – Pasadena Star
While it may seem as if all of Spain is dining nightly at temples of molecular gastronomy like El Bulli, Arzak and Mugaritz, the truth be told that large numbers do their dining standing up at multi-story tapas markets, where there are dozens of stands, each doing a singular item.
Here in Los Angeles, we’ve flirted with tapas for years. It can be argued that the current small dish craze (and the grazing craze of the `70s and `80s) are and were tapas redefined. It can be argued that sushi (and izakaya) are Japanese tapas; and dim sum Chinese tapas. All of which is true, more or less. But in Spain, tapas are tapas, no matter how we try to redefine them.
Though there’s an undeniable eclecticism to the tapas (and other dish) menu at Bar Celona in the heart of Old Pasadena, they do try hard to hew close to the defining quality of tapas.
This sibling of Villa Sorriso and Ixtapa Cantina rambles through a number of spaces on the south side of Colorado Boulevard, halfway between Raymond and Fair Oaks. It’s about two-third bar, and one-third restaurant, with a bar, and then another bar, at which to bend an elbow, and watch whatever game is being shown on the forest of overhead big screens. (There’s a fine energy when a local team is playing: lots of cheers and shrieks and the sort of sports spirit Los Angelenos famously lack.)
The menu is divided both vertically and horizontally. The smaller dishes are indicated in black ink; the “medium size” dishes are in red. (Some of the black dishes are large enough for a meal; the four paellas, for example, are all in black, and they’re definitely substantial.) The menu is also divided into appetizers, soups and salads, empanadas and croquetas, flatbreads, pasta, vegetables, paellas, fish and shellfish, and meat.
This means you’ve got to think in two directions at once. If you want the allspice and tomato-flavored meatballs (albondigas), you may need two orders for your table. If you want the crispy pork belly topped with a fried egg, one order should do. And if you want to pretend that you’re in Barcelona, there are enough classic tapas dishes to cover your table.
The basics begin with the “Daly Selection of Dips, Olives, Spanish Cheeses and Cured Meats, Housemade Conservas” – a heading that covers a lot of bases. Certainly, order the small plate of olives – olives are a touchstone of Spanish food in general, and tapas in particular.
Get the trio of Spanish cheeses (though really, all I need is manchego, which is the most ubiquitous of tapas cheeses). Get the aged serrano ham, which melts in your mouth. If you feel the need, order the garbanzo bean dip or the feta cheese dip. Dips are not a constant in tapas bars in Spain, but for a meal of small dishes, they work well.
They have a Spanish tuna salad here, as well as salads of arugula and tomatoes, and of beets and green beans. Empanadas are more Argentinean than Spanish. But what the heck! The empanada filled with rib meat tastes just fine. I liked the flatbread topped with roasted peppers and manchego cheese, though I’m not sure why there was apple on top.
Those peppers reappear with goat cheese – a very good dish. There’s thick, peasanty bread that’s charred and topped with garlic, tomato and manchego. And, as I said, there are four paellas to choose from: vegetable, beef, pork and chicken; seafood; and both meat and seafood.
Perhaps even better were a pair of Spanish pastas – made using the short vermicelli called fideus – one with meatballs, the other with shrimp. The shortness of the pasta makes it look a bit messy on the plate. But it’s hard to stop eating it. And it goes very good with Spanish wines. But then, in a tapas bar, doesn’t everything?
BAR CELONA
46 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. 626-793-2233.
Lunch and dinner, every day
The Food: There are many wines, many tapas, and many paellas to be found at this taste of Spain in the heart of Old Pasadena, a restaurant that sprawls across several spaces along Colorado Boulevard, with a number of rooms in which to bend an elbow, and outdoor dining as well.
About $30 per person. MC, V.
Full bar.
Reservations: Important.
Rating: Two and a half stars
paella Recipes with Bill & Sheila>/b>(click on the graphic for more information)
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