Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/599676
1 0 2 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t Barcelona may be home to a plethora of historic sites, but today the city is most notably regarded as one of the culinary capitals of the world. From its Michelin-starred dining establishments to the rustic street-market vendors, the bustling metropolis is home to some of the hottest emerging food and drink trends on the planet. A recent trip through all this Catalan splendor put us face-to-face with what is currently hap- pening within Barcelona's dining scene and its localities. A vendor in the Mercado de La Boqueria hold- ing a Montserrat tomato. BIG BEAUTIFUL TOMATOES TOURING SPAIN'S CULINARY CENTER, BITE BY BITE by Nicole Pajer photos by Dustin Downing TOURING SPAIN'S CULINARY CENTER, BITE BY BITE TOURING SPAIN'S CULINARY A TASTE OF CREATE YOUR OWN CAVA COOKING PAELLA WITH LOCALS COOKING PAELLA WITH LOCALS: One of the hottest trends to hit the Catalan cook- ing scene is tourists signing up to take classes with local foodies, using services like Eatwith.com. "You're going to leave the house today knowing how to make a good paella. Not a paella, a good paella," says Marta Perez Portoles, who teaches a hands-on cooking class out of her modest Spanish apartment. Small groups of ten to twelve gather around a table to dice cuttlefish, steam rice, and toss spices into a pan before toasting a glass of chilled rosé and sampling their creation. CREATE YOUR OWN CAVA: You can't visit Catalonia without sampling the local bub- bly. And to get the full experience requires hopping on a train for a day trip outside of the city and heading to the Penedés wine region. Here you'll find Artcava, a vine- yard that offers patrons the experience of tasting several varieties of cava, as well as disgorging, corking, and labeling their own souvenir bottles. CLEVER TRAVELER