Barcelona

Meals with Megan

Joined 4 years ago

When in Spain, the best part of any day is when the sun retreats and people fill the streets casually promenading from one eatery or café to another all the while embracing each other’s companionship. A touch of this lifestyle came to South Norwalk, Connecticut in 1995 in a small thirty seat wine bar when Sasa Mahr-Batuz and Andy Pforzheimer opened the first Barcelona Wine Bar. The demand for this slice of the good life had proven so successful that Barcelona Wine Bar expanded to other locations including Atlanta. Heading up the kitchen at the Inman Park location is Executive Chef Shane Devereaux whose unique hip cooking style brings an exciting flair to these time-honored Spanish and Latin classics. With the coming of Barcelona Wine Bar to Atlanta, a void was filled as the city now has a restaurant where both wine and food take center stage together as equals. One of the rock stars in making Spanish wines is Alvaro Palacios and his organically farmed “La Montesa” Crianza from Rioja hits all the notes with its deep black fruit flavors. This ultra-balanced elegant wine needs foods of substance like the Chorizo with Sweet and Sour Figs in a balsamic-sherry glaze or the savory Albondigas - meatballs in a sassy tomato sauce. My personal find was the 2009 Acústic, from Acústic Celler made in the rugged Montsant region of Spain. Using traditional techniques, winemaker Albert Jane has created a wine that’s loaded with character that’s a thrill to sip and goes nicely with the grilled-to-perfection Lamp Chops, or the succulent Guajillo Chile Pork Ribs, or even some carvings from the renown black Iberian pig, Jamón Ibérico – this is as close to culinary nirvana as one can get – the best part is you don’t have to spend a fortune to get there.