Thanksgiving Dinner in Spain

Catalan Restaurant

In the States, November is Thanksgiving month. The whole month is characterized by that one day: Thanksgiving. The premise behind thanksgiving is to have a huge meal (with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, ect.) and give thanks for the things we all have and treasure but don’t normally say anything about. Usually American football makes an appearance sometime during the day too. So naturally I was feeling a little left out of this traditional American holiday here in Spain. I wanted to be with my family and friends on the one day of the year that is meant to be spent with the people closest to me. I knew I was thankful for being in Spain, but I felt like I was missing something back home. My roommate, Chelsea, had her dad come to visit for Thanksgiving. Our mutual friend, Doug, had both his parents and his brother and sister all come for Thanksgiving. They both invited me to have a Spanish-style Thanksgiving dinner to substitue the emptiness they were sure I was going to feel on Thanksgiving. Of course I accepted.

We went to Cerveceria Catalan, a traditional Catalan Restaurant on Gran Via. When we got there we were informed it was going to be a 45 minute wait. Doug’s family had heard about the restaurant and was told the wait is part of the fun of going. So we ordered a pitcher of white sangria and got to know each other better. (I have never heard of white sangria before but I highly recommend it) While we were talking I noticed the speedy waiters running back and forth with huge plates of shrimp and meat. I could tell tapas was this restaurant’s speciality. When we were finally seated they dubbed me to be the translator. They asked for veal steaks, shrimp, cheese dips, bacon-wrapped dates, and dessert. OH MY WORD! The veal steaks were perfectly cooked: tender and juicy. The shrimp were seasoned perfectly. The cheese dip was much better than I could describe. And who knew deep friend bacon-wrapped dates would be so delicious? It was tapas style so for the big items we ordered one for each and for the smaller items we just took what we wanted and put it on our plate. Tapas are like traditional Thanksgiving dinners: family style. So we took what we wanted and passed it to the next person. Our dinner was well over 2 hours, a typical Spanish meal. We talked, laughed, enjoyed excellent food, and took in the Catalan ambiance. It was honestly my favorite meal in Barcelona. The restaurant and the company was excellent. I will never forget the Thanksgiving dinner I had at Cerveceria Catalana.