Yesterday we went out to lunch with our friend Marc. We went to see good friends, Joan (pronounced John in English) and Anna, at the oldest of their family’s three restaurants, La Posada in Sant Pere Molanta. The restaurant is located in a village of 500 people which is surrounded by vineyards. This is traditional Catalan food and as is the case in Spain lunch is experienced rather than eaten. We arrived at 1pm and left just before 4pm. Unlike in America where we rush to eat lunch and often seek out the restaurants that we know will serve the food very quickly, people here will travel to find these small treasures in out of the way places. Friends back at my old job…think about the restaurant across the street where we pay about $12 for lunch that we bring back and eat at our desks as we continue to work.
We picked up Marc in Sitges and brought him to Viladellops so that he could see our home. On the way to lunch we stopped at Can Rafols dels Caus as Marc had not been there. Xavi had taken us there on one of our previous visits. Miquel was kind enough to show us around. I learned more about wine glasses and the incredible details of their shapes in 5 minutes from him than I have ever heard before. We saw a bit of the winery but did not have enough time to see it all so we will schedule a tour very soon. Stay tuned for that story.
And so to lunch. We park in their private parking garage in the next street and walk in the back door, passing the huge oak wood grill where most of the meat is cooked. The chef is protected from the heat by a large glass screen with the fire at the back from which he rakes the hot coals to grill with.
I did not take a photo of today’s menu at La Posada but Bob remembered it. Sorry it is not in Catalan.
First courses:
- Catalan Soup
- Green Salad
- Salad with potatoes and meat
- Broccoli au gratin (broccoli picked from Joan’s garden yesterday) (This was absolutely incredible)
Second courses:
- Roast chicken
- Salmon au gratin
- Lamb on the wood grill
- Chicken on the wood grill
- Sausages on the wood grill
Desserts:
- Creme Catalan
- Creme Catalan on apples (YUM)
- Fresh fruit
Three courses including the house wine for 13.5€ each. This also included Pan Con Tomate. Friends who have been to our house for dinner have enjoyed this easy but incredibly tasty starter. Lightly grill the bread, then you rub a clove of garlic over it and half of a tomato. The grilled bread works like a grater. Then drizzle some olive oil and voilà.
Joan loves sharing his vast knowledge of his homeland. He is always teaching us something every time we get together. Last September we spent a day with him which started at La Posada in this small village. We walked to the church which is 1 km away; he took us to his family home which they have inhabited for over 300 years. An educated tour of his vines and…well that really is another entire blog.
The Winery Woman 
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