Marcos Boqueria

Though here I herald variety as paramount to the enjoyment of a menu (and subsequent meal), a place that does something well needn't offer too many paths from which curious diners might stray. Take 100 Montaditos, for instance- there, I am tempted to get the most ingredient-heavy sandwich in order to experience as many menu items as possible in one meal- not necessarily the point of their extensive offerings. In contrast, Marcos Boqueria gives few options, all showcasing their specialty: cured meat- and so it's tough to wander.

One of the more permanent side stalls in the Boqueria along Barcelona's Las Ramblas, Marcos Boqueria has variously cured sides of ham adorning the walls, many of them older than us, and some of them excitingly ancient (and pricey!). To be honest, we didn't even look at the menu before deciding upon the Jamon Iberico special, scribbled on a blackboard in the window, which offered a sandwich and drink for 4 Euros. Could the drink be a beer? Yes, it could. The cured pork was hand-hacked with a huge knife into amazingly thin slices and arranged on a fresh baguette smeared with the mystery tomato sauce so abundant on Spanish toasts. The sandwich was weighed as the meat was placed, a far cry from the sloppily (yet wonderful) high-piled NYC deli hoagies. This meat is like gold- and the simple sandwich was a revelation. Jamon iberico is a variation of it's more widely available serrano cousin; the meat comes from black Iberian pigs and is cured in much the same way, but is far more expensive because of the special treatment and diet of the piggies.