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Hamburgers can no longer be called America's pride, for the youthful city of Barcelona has quite rapidly caught up. It seems as if burger joints are opening day in and day out in this city. The Catalans have taken this American classic and turned it into a gourmet delight for you, me, my great aunt and my little brother...in fact, I believe "evolve" (rather than "turn into") would be a more suitable term for the phenomena.

It feels as if just yesterday I was complaining that Barcelona lacked a juicy, grade A burger to anyone who was willing to listen. It appears my prayers have been answered. Over the last month or so, I (to the dismay of my arteries) have been on a BBB Hunt, a.k.a. Barcelona's Best Burger Hunt.

The following list includes photos and my personal critique of the hamburgueserías/restuarantes I graced with my noble appetite (in no particular order):

1. La Burg (Sarrià/Sant Gervasi)

La Burg is a small hamburguesería tucked away in the district of Sarrià, Barcelona's uptown. Its cozy interiors do not boast and almost give off a Manhattan café vibe. Cooked to your liking (I like my meat medium-rare), La Burg's hamburgers are incredibly tender, though the outer part of the meat is slightly burnt, which suits my personal taste. One can assume they use incredibly hot grills. Juicy hamburgers aside, this restaurant also offers the spiciest Patatas Bravas in town, which is quite noteworthy in this country, since the Spanish aren't very fond of comida picante!

2. La Royale (Sarrià/Sant Gervasi)

La Royale is one of Sant Gervasi's best kept secrets. This local hit is filled to the brim every evening throughout the work week. In fact, a lot of the time, you need to reserve way ahead of time to make sure you get a bite of their high end burgers! The burgers in La Royale are heavenly, and they have a rather extensive variety of hamburguesas - ranging from not-too-dry tuna burgers to bison meat! Part of La Royale's space is a pretty fancy gin tonic bar. The perfect "in drink" to get with your gourmet hamburger. What more could you possibly ask for?

3. Kiosko Burger (Born)

Kiosko Burger's clientele is slightly younger and more urban than that of La Burg and La Royale. It's retro-inspired locale is home to some of the best fastfood burgers in town. The hamburgers at this restaurant are tasty, though I would recommend you to check in the "para llevar" ("take away") box on your burger form as the available tables aren't what one would call comfortable. Kiosko tends to get filled up with all sorts of youngsters, hipsters and the like. I would recommend these burgers if you're in the area and looking for something quick, affordable and worth your moolah!

4. Tapaç 24 (L'Eixample)

Though not a hamburger joint, I thought this restaurant-bar was worth mentioning. Tapaç 24, owned by the renowned Carles Abellán, offers its clients a small but flavorful foie gras burger. Called the McFoie Burger, its buns are surprisingly crunchy (in a good way). The closest comparison to the way the bread is toasted would be panini perhaps. The McFoie Burger in a few words is an explosion of flavor. The burger's perfectly red beef is slipped underneath a moist slice foie gras which is topped with what I like to call heaven. In reality, "heaven" is a wonderful terrine made out of - surprise, surprise - even more foie gras.

Galetes amb xips de xocolata, commonly referred to as chocolate chip cookies in English, are a rarity in the Catalan capital of Barcelona. Sightings of the semi-precious drop cookies are indeed scarce, and as you might imagine, anyone whose palate isn't satiated by Nabisco's Chips Ahoy must often revert to baking at home. 

Just the other day, as a result of stress, the anticipation of a new company and a very serious craving for a chewy-on-the-inside, slightly-crisp-on-the-outside chocolate cookie, I decided to gallivant around the ancient district of Gràcia in search of the "perfect" cookie. A task I would later out to be rather unendurable.

To say the very least, the results were dismal, and on account of that, I have decided to leave the establishments I visited anonymous...for now. (That sounds a little ominous, doesn't it? I have no doubt their cocas and empanadas are tasty!) Not only did I manage to make my way to about five different bakeries on different ends of hilly Gràcia, I also did a very thorough taste test of the available cookies. I believe I had about ten palm-sized "galetes" which were either far too dry or had eerily similar knob-of-butter taste.

On a brighter note, I've decided to showcase a couple of worthwhile "bakeries" in different areas of Barcelona:

1. Pasterlería Hofmann (Born)

Opened in 2008 by the revered teacher/chef Mey Hofmann, the Born-based Pasterlería Hofmann is one of the best of its kind for all sorts of sweet delights. I highly recommend their classic croissants (the best I've ever had in fact), and if you're looking for decent macarons, I would skip the other places and head directly to this cozy little bakery right next to Passeig del Born.

2. Bubo (Born)

While Bubo's actually a chocolaterie, I have had the wonderful opportunity to try Carles Mampel's famous Xabina cake which is a chocolate mousse, sponge-cake with vanilla, crispy praline and a hint of olive oil - yum...no, llume! All of that heavenly goodness for about 4€!

3. L'Obrador del Molí (Sarrià/Sant Gervasi)

I've often times found it quite difficult to find a consistent, quality bakery in Spain. I find that a lot of the local places sell baguettes that very harshly scrape the top of my mouth. I don't know if I have sensitive gums (TMI?) or the crusts of most bread here are just too darn hard! Anyhow, L'Obrador sells a variety of different kinds of bread - from rye bread to pa de pagès. 

This section of the Llume website is a small homage to the flourishing gourmet scene of Barcelona and its surroundings. In this blog, expect to encounter restaurant reviews, personal kitchen moments and other tips/experiences related to all that is edible.

Buon appetito, buen provecho, bon appétit, bon profit, guten appetit!