Prices are per person for a main course at dinner.

Over the last 30 years, Barcelona and Catalonia have undergone an important renaixença in all areas of cultural and artistic endeavor, the culinary arts perhaps foremost among them. Be prepared for mouthwatering and tongue-twisting specialties such as the minimandonguilles amb tomaquet concassé (mini-meatballs with crushed tomato) or the llom de xai al cardomom amb favetes a la menta (lamb with cardamom and broadbeans with mint).

The only problem with food and wine in this city is its abundance. Dining heartily twice a day and taking full advantage of the tapas hour requires some management. The Spanish breakfast on little more than coffee. A mid-morning snack might include a small tortilla de patata sandwich. Lunch, served between 2 and 4 in the afternoon -- preceded by an aperitivo -- is generally considered the main meal of the day. The workday lasts until at least 8, after which it's time for the itinerant tapeo. Finally, at 9:30 or 10, comes dinner, which is often festive and can last into the wee hours.

Restaurants usually serve lunch 1-4 and dinner 9-11; only a few places, including Botafumeiro, serve continuously from 1 PM to 1 AM. Tipping, though common, is not required; if you do tip, anywhere from 5% to 10% is perfectly acceptable.

Be aware that unscrupulous restaurateurs in Barcelona are paying taxi drivers and hotel concierges money for every tourist they steer to their restaurants. In some cases, taxi drivers will refuse to take you to a place where you have made reservations, claiming that the establishment is either too far out of town or closed. Be insistent, or get out and get another taxi.