Viena

On the first evening of our most recent trip to Barcelona, we wandered, in a jet lag induced haze, to La Rambla, hoping the hyper activity of the area would help us to stay awake until a normal bedtime. Not wanting a heavy meal, we opted for a simple sandwich at Viena. As we walked into the Modernista era space and sat at the long, U shaped counter, we noticed that there were few patrons in the restaurant. Though that made it easy for taking photos,  for such a busy area, this seemed a negative indication of the quality we might expect. Even so we held our ground. In truth, we were too exhausted to give up our seats.

The service couldn't have been swifter and when I looked up, after taking my first bite of the Iberico entrapan, that was literally melting in my mouth, the place was so crowded, it wasn't entirely clear that we could get to the exit, which was less than ten feet away. An entrapan is unlike a bocadillo in the respect that it's bread is a baguette.

This particular sandwich was made with several types of Iberian ham including "jamon" made from pigs that had been fed acorns. This pork product had a characteristically sweet taste and a lush, velvety mouth feel that melted on the tongue. It was also riddled with streaks of fat. We spent the next few days looking for this same kind of Jamon Iberico  designated at Ballota, because it was so delicious and made sense of the Spanish fervor for "jamon".