Dar-El-Tajin

In the two plus months that I have been traveling, I've eaten a lot of meals. Some have been good, some okay, some not so good, and in general most eating out experiences have been mediocre to bad. Either I've had grumpy service, felt out of place being a lone diner in a busy place, or had someone blowing smoke in my face while I was eating. In general, the best meals I have had have been at home. Simple meals made with fresh local ingredients, my supreme culinary skills :) a good wine and nice music.

As luck would have it, I stumbled across the perfect place to finish the trip, this little Moroccan restaurant in my neighborhood called Dar-El-Tajin.

On the day I arrived, I got take-out from the Chinese place across the street because I had no idea where the supermarket was and I was really hungry. Little did I know that right next to it was this little gem of a place which has fed me incredible meals the past three days now, and will probably be where I have my last meal tomorrow.

On Monday I had lunch there. I ordered chicken tajin. A tajin is a kind of stew I guess, made in a special clay pot with a conical shaped lid. First I was served an appetizer of sauteed eggplant. The eggplant was chopped into small pieces and sauteed with onion, garlic, tomato and spiced. I got some warm, fresh, homemade pita along with it, and a small dish of lovely spiced olives. The chicken was tender and fell off the bones, and was gently spiced with hints of cinnamon, perhaps some garlic, cilantro and who knows what else. I was given the choice of fried potatoes or prunes in it, I got the prunes and they added a nice sweetness to the dish. I had two pots of mint tea with my lunch, one during, and one after. I just love the mint tea.

It was a very nice meal and only came to 9 euros. In Rome that would have been my total for a slice of pizza and a bottle of water.

Yesterday I went back, a little later, thinking I was too early for lunch on Monday, since the place was deserted and with such good food, how could it be?

The guys who served me on Monday were leaving and a slightly older (though younger than me) Moroccan guy took over. He seemed to be in charge.

He recommended the lamb tajin, but also said chicken cous cous. I was thinking I would try something different, not another tajin. He was very sweet and friendly. He offered me a salad with goat cheese to start. I was not sure if this was included or extra, but didn't care. He seemed very enthusiastic about it. The salad was huge and had a nice assortment of lettuce, walnuts, pine nuts, and was drizzled with orange flavored honey. I also had a basket of freshly baked, still quite warm (hot) pita.

The chicken cous cous was good, but I think I was full from the salad. It was too much food for me to eat. When he offered me desert, I told him I was too full. "Maybe tomorrow" I said.

The bill was only 7.50 euros. He said something about it being cheap. I told him it was very cheap and asked why. He said they wanted to encourage customers. This was my kind of place. Good food, nice service and cheap! I think perhaps there was a change of management or something. I asked if the restaurant was new and he said "socios" which I think is partner. So something changed recently, but I am not sure what.

I had planned to go there today for lunch but I ended up eating at Burger King (I know, I know, how could I?) I was hungry and thought I'd just have a small burger, but there were no small burgers, so I had a double cheeseburger with bacon. It was actually good. I thought I'd walk it off exploring, but didn't like being around all of the smoking tourists, jugglers, street musicians and general chaos of the Rambla, so I headed through El Raval to explore and before I knew it, I was back in my neighborhood. My oncoming cold encouraged me to come home and rest. By the time I started feeling hungry again it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner.

So at about 8 p.m. I decided to walk past Dar-El-Tajin and see what the situation looked like. The nice possible owner was working and two men were sitting drinking tea. Another guy who seems to hang out there a lot was sitting playing with the remote. I walked past, thinking I'd walk a little first, but then decided I just wanted to eat and went back.

The waiter came over and shook my hand and asked me how I was doing. He gave me a big smile and seemed very happy to see me again. This was the first time in all of my time here that I felt like someone recognized me and actually greeted me in a human, friendly way. No "diga" (speak), no feeling like I was interrupting his break, he was genuinely happy to have a customer. The way it should be.

He asked if I wanted the menu or if I wanted him to recommend something. I was thinking and he went and got the menu. When he came back, I asked what he recommended. First he recommended kebabs (pinchos). I remembered the dried out chicken kebab I had in Seville and kind of winced. He went on to mention a few other things and finally said "tajin de gambas" - shrimp tajin. I was thinking of trying the lamb, but shrimp sounded good.

He asked if I wanted a salad, I hesitated, he said "una sopita?" a little soup, I said, yes, soup. I really wanted soup.

He came back with the little dish of olives and my tea. The tea is served very cerimoniously. It comes out in this fancy little tray. A little silver pot and a glass with gold and other colors painted on it. The waiter puts it down, picks up the teapot and raises it up high, allowing the tea to stream down.

This time, he poured the tea in the glass, then opened the pot and poured it back in. Then he poured it out one more time. He told me they always do it that way. First once, then a second time.

I asked him if it was just mint. He said it was mint and other herbs. He came back with some dried herbs in his hand. He said they are very good for you and grabbed his chest.

Next came the soup. It was a tomatoey broth with some little white and brown things floating in it. Alongside came a plate with two halves of a lemon and some dates. I asked if I put them in the soup, meaning the dates, and he nodded.

I squeezed a little lemon in the soup and threw in a couple of dates. I wasn't sure about that but they were good in the soup. The soup was incredible. A wonderful mix of flavors and textures. There were some crunchy things, maybe dried lentils, garbanzos, pieces of egg, possibly some chicken. I don't know what was in it, but I savored every bite. I actually for the first time I can remember, ate slowly and mindfully because it was so good. This was not something to be rushed. It came with a basket of bread, this time it seemed to be made from corn. It had a rough texture and the taste of freshly milled corn. It was wonderful dipped in the soup.

When he came back and asked how it was, I told him it was very good. I asked what it was. He told me the name in Morocco. He said it was a soup they ate before Ramadan. It felt very special to me. If I go back tomorrow, I might ask for it again.

Then came the tajin with shrimp. The little conical hat did not come out with the dish, only the clay bottom. It seemed like not a lot of food, which was good. The shrimp were medium to small and they were swimming about in a bubbling tomato sauce with specks of herbs. It was wonderful. I wanted to wipe the plate clean with the bread, but was careful not to soak up the oil which had conveniently separated from the tomato sauce.

I was really enjoying the meal and felt really bad that there were no other customers. People would come and look in the window, read the menu and move on. I wanted to signal to them to come in, it was good!

I think perhaps the owner needs to think about what kind of restaurant he wants to have. Either it will be a local hangout for the neighborhod Arab men, kind of like the cafes I saw in Tangier where the men sit smoking and staring at a TV screen, or it will be a successful busy restaurant.

I think he needs to get his friends to sit outside or something because I think for some people, especially women, it is intimidating to enter a restaurant with all men, especially Arab men who are smoking. I felt they kind of added to the atmosphere, but I was imagining what the place would be like without them, perhaps some nice music, lights dimmed a little, candles, and the beautiful colored light from the lanterns reflecting on the walls. With such great, cheap food and attentive service, it really is a shame they don't do more business.

After my table was cleared, the waiter brought me two pieces of pineapple, cut in chunks in the skin and sprinkled with something that was kind of like brown sugar and wheat germ. I am not sure what it was, but it was a really nice way to finish a perfect meal. The bill today was 10.50 euros. Well worth it!

So, if you are ever in Barcelona and would like to check out the neighborhood of Sant Antoni and are looking for a wonderful place to eat, I highly recommend Dar-El-Tajin. It is located on Carrer de Parlament - two blocks from Poble Sec station, right past the corner of Carrer de Viladomat. I am hoping more people will find out about it and business will pick up.