Since it is Dine Originals Week here in Columbus, I found it appropriate to go out and see what all the fuss was about. So my tasting crew and I headed over to Barcelona. They were serving up a special Tapas Tasting Menu for March 9-15, 2009 consisting of several fine goodies:

Almond Gazpacho
Smokey Chickpea Hummus – grilled flatbread
Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella – basil oil
Sauteed Mushrooms and Chorizo
Chicken and Manchego Croquetas
Pan Seared Scallop – saffron alioli
Herb Roasted Salmon Salad – toasted sourdough
Beef Meatballs – sundried tomato alioli
Grilled Shrimp and Asparagus – garlic oil, shaved parmesan

And a glass of House-made Red Sangria all for $30.

The tapas were served in groups of three and in the order listed above. And at $30 it seemed like a nice bargain at about $3 a tapa plus $3 for the Sangria.

I would rank them as follows:

1. Almond Gazpacho was divine – very smooth and creamy with a little acetic kick.
2. Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella – one of my favorites, great presentation and basil oil made it just right.
3. Chicken and Manchego Croquetas – I really enjoyed the taste and texture of these little morsels.
4. Smokey Chickpea Hummus with grilled flatbread – definitely a unique hummus flavor and “smokey” hit that flavor right on the head.
5. Herb Roasted Salmon Salad – I should probably move this up in the ranking. Very well done.
6. Pan Seared Scallop – not bad but not a whole lot of flavor.
7. Sauteed Mushrooms and Chorizo – I thought this would pack a little more punch and was surprised when it fizzled.
8. Grilled Shrimp and Asparagus – You can’t hit a home run with every one of these and the grilled shrimp just seemed a little bland.
9. Beef Meatballs – The sundried tomato alioli was nice but couldn’t wake up the tired meatballs.

Overall, Barcelona’s addition to the Dine Originals Week was a good experience; however, most of their entrees are under $30 so I debated quite a while between an entree and the special tapas menu. I would go with a glass of red wine over Sangria any day as well. I enjoyed the variety of the tapas menu. Monday is half price tapas anyway although I doubt I could’ve put together a similarly priced variation of tapas from their regular menu. Sunday is retail me not on the wines at Barcelona, fyi. You may face a similar dilemma (special tapas menu vs. regular entree) if you visit Barcelona. It sure was hard to pass up their different paella dishes.

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