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Claire Kwon

Food wasn’t just food in Barcelona, but it was the whole experience. Every meal felt like something worth slowing down for.

Over spring break, I spent about four days in Barcelona with my family, and during that time, one of the main things we focused on was trying different kinds of foods. Barcelona is known for its food culture, and even though I had heard that before, I didn’t fully understand what it meant until I experienced it myself. Throughout the trip, it became clear that food is not just something people eat there, but something that is closely connected to daily life and social interactions.

One of the first things I first noticed was how late everything happens in Barcelona compared to the United States. People eat dinner really late, usually around 9 or even 10 at night, and restaurants stay open and busy until much later than what I was used to. It felt strange at first, but after a few days it started to make sense because the whole city seems to move on a later schedule. Even after meals, people would stay at restaurants talking for a long time, so dinner didn’t feel rushed or limited to a set time. To add on, another thing I noticed was that they don’t really give you sauces like ketchup, mustard, or ranch automatically. If you want something like that, you have to ask for it, which made me realize how different their approach to food is compared to what I’m used to in the United States.

Throughout the trip, I tried a variety of foods, including some that I had never heard of before. One of these was calcot, which is a type of grilled green onion that is dipped into sauce. At first, it seemed unusual, but it ended up tasting really good. It was also messy to eat, which made it feel more interactive and different from what I was used to eating at home. Trying new foods like this made me realize that part of experiencing a new culture is being open to unfamiliar things.

Since I already like seafood, some of the dishes I tried ended up being my favorites. Paella, which is a rice dish mixed with seafood and spices, stood out the most to me. I had been looking forward to trying it, and it lived up to my expectations. The seafood tasted fresh, and the flavor was stronger than I expected in a good way. At Yorba Linda High School, Ryan Kwon (9), who also visited Barcelona during spring break, commented, “Paellas were probably the best thing I’ve had in Barcelona,” and I agreed because it was the most memorable dish from the trip.

In addition to paellas, I also tried other seafood dishes like merluza con miel, which is cod with a sweet honey flavor. Even though the combination sounded unusual at first, it actually worked really well. We also had navajas a la plancha, which are grilled razor clams, and pulpo a la gallega, which is octopus with seasoning. Both of these dishes were new to me, and even though I wasn’t completely sure what to expect, they ended up tasting really fresh and flavorful. Trying foods like navajas and pulpo made me realize how important seafood is in Barcelona and how it is prepared in simple but effective ways.

We also tried steaks while we were there, especially ibérico steak, which is really popular in Spain. It stood out to me because the meat tasted noticeably different from steak at home, as it was more rich and flavorful. Ibérico comes from a specific type of pig that is well known in Spain, and it is often considered high quality because of how the animals are raised and what they are fed. The steak was simple in how it was served, without a lot of extra sauces or sides, but that actually made the flavor stand out more. It made sense why it is such a well-known dish there, because it focuses more on the quality of the meat itself rather than adding a lot of extra ingredients.

At the end of the trip, we decided to try tapas, but instead of going to just one place, we went to three different tapas restaurants to compare them. In one neighborhood we visited, there were about five different tapas restaurants all on the same block, which made it feel like food was a huge part of that area. It also made it easier to try multiple places in one night and see how each one was different. Taylor Saint-Onge (11) from YLHS, who went to Spain last summer, said, “Trying multiple places is the best way to actually understand the food culture,” and after trying it out, I think that is true.

Another part of the trip that stood out was how often we had desserts. We ended up getting churros with chocolate about five different times, and even though they were simple, they were consistently good and became something we looked forward to after walking around all day. We also tried multiple different gelato places while exploring the city, which was refreshing and easy to eat while moving between places. At one point, a couple we met while waiting in line exclaimed, “You can’t come here and only have gelato once,” which reflected how popular they are.

Overall, the food culture in Barcelona is about more than just the food itself. It is about taking time to enjoy meals, trying new things, and sharing experiences with others. Even though I was only there for a few days, I was able to see how important food is to everyday life. The trip showed me that food can be a way to understand a place better, and it made the experience more meaningful.