Big Dinner

When you eat dinner or lunch in Spain it is common to have multiple courses. Lunch, for example, is usually three courses: first plate (generally salad, soup, pasta, something green, etc.), second plate (meat, fish or some heavier vegetable dish), and a dessert. All of this is accompanied by wine or water, ending with coffee or, if you're me, a cup of chamomile tea.

Tonight we had our final group dinner at an Italian restaurant called Da Greco. It is owned, I am told, by an Italian-American guy, which was confirmed when we left and he said "goodbye, thank you for coming" in perfect American English. The place looks a bit like an Italian palazzo on the inside even though it's located in the heart of Barcelona on the Passeig de Gracia. When you come upon it, big wooden doors greet you with an imposing handle. You must ring the bell to be admitted. Our group of thirty people was escorted upstairs to a private dining area overlooking the street. We started with some Italian cold cuts - mortadella and salami. This was followed by a caprese salad and then some of the biggest white asparagus I have ever seen. I thought, cool, next comes the fish. This is the perfect meal, with the exception of the disgusting white asparagus. I don't know why Spaniards like white asparagus so much. It's so mushy a baby could gum it, and it tastes canned. Anyway, the fish did not come out next. Instead, we were treated to three separate pasta dishes. First came cheese tortellini with a creamy cheese sauce. Next were mushroom ravioli with a creamy cheese sauce. Finally we were served chicken ravioli with a fresh tomato-basil sauce. Now, these were not huge plates of pasta. There were perhaps five, maybe six, of the bite-size pasta on each plate. But still, it added up to a lot of filled pasta. After the pasta came the fish. Then a perfect portion of tiramisu for dessert.

I think I'm a good eater most of the time, and I was raised to clear my plate, but I couldn't do it. The last plate of pasta and half the fish filet just wouldn't fit. I did save room for the tiramisu, though. I don't think I have ever eaten so much at one dinner. I do love lingering at the dinner table but this three and a half hour dinner needed less food or more time for digestion. The only thing missing was some sambuca to help it all digest. Whew!