An afternoon at Les Piques in Olivella

With Dani here we decided to take in a long leisurely and sure to be delicious lunch at Les Piques in Olivella. We first enjoyed this restaurant with our friend Marc a couple of years ago on vacation. This is one of three restaurants that the same family own. I told you about one of their other restaurants, La Posada, here.

Les Piques is nestled in the trees. It was a gorgeous afternoon so we sat out on the terrace.

When we arrived Joan (John in English) the owner greeted us with his warm smile and passionate excitement as he showed us two of the private dining rooms that were reserved for special parties. One for a 60th wedding anniversary and the other one for a ‘old car’ club group. He then showed us the kitchen and explained to Dani that they cook with oak and that the hot stones are 300°C (572°F) when they are brought to the table.

When we visited a couple of years ago Joan surprised us at the end of the meal with two stones for us to take back to the States with us. We were thrilled although we looked a bit funny trying not to show anyone in the airport how heavy our carry on bag was.

The meal started with olives and thinly sliced sausage and pan con tomate (tomato bread). This is one of our favorites. The bread is lightly toasted. You then take a clove of garlic and rub it on the bread. A ripe tomato sliced in half is then rubbed on the toasted bread which works as a grater. It is finished by drizzling a bit of olive oil and a light sprinkle of salt. YUM! For years we have shared this with our friends when the came to our home for dinner in the States.

Dani thought we should start with the cheeses on the hot stone. Great choice! This was five different local cheeses and three jams. With the hot stone you cut a thin slice of whatever you are eating and place it on the hot stone for about three seconds on each side. With the cheeses you then dipped it in the jam. It was incredible!!

We also started with a plate of local mushrooms that were very lightly fried.

Somehow we were supposed to have room for the main course(s). We had two different meats. Veal and pork. Dani posted photos of the veal on Facebook and her friends were commenting on how it wasn’t cooked. Again, you cut a thin slice and then lay it on the hot stone for about three seconds each side. The pork was pre-cooked by baking in the oven for awhile and then we cut it into thin slices and cooked it on the hot stone which made it crispy and yummy!

This was all enjoyed with a lovely bottle of pink cava which Joan recommended.

As if this wasn’t all quite enough…we had to have the Baked Apples with Crema Catalana. We had this when we first visited Les Piques and knew it we were not leaving without having it again. Sorry, the photos are not great. The sun and shade were competing and I really just wanted to eat my dessert.

As is common here, this is accompanied by a luscious late harvest wine in a Porron. We bought one of these on Amazon last September at the end of our vacation as we wanted to practice at home. We need to practice a bit more.

Joan also brought out another delectable treat. As if we needed something more.

This was all enjoyed over a four hour period. What a fabulous way to spend an afternoon.