Let me preface this blog by telling you how my saga of the churro began. The first time I ever had a churro, believe it or not, was in Belgium, in a market. There was this old man there who had a little churro cart, and from it he created the most delicious donughty delights, and they were covered in cinnamon sugar. Oh, they were devine. So, when I knew I was coming to Barcelona, my second brain (and the stronger of the two), known as Belly, was creating churro castles in the sky.
Barcelona Churro Experience 1: My first Barcelona churro experience was at this popular ice cream parlour called Fraggi. Hubby made sure with the counter guy that the churros would be fresh. And they were, Hubby says that he even saw the guy making them. Taste: Uhhhg! Not good. It tasted a bit like a stale Belgian waffle. So disappointing. I didn’t even bother finishing them, and let me
tell you, that NEVER happens!
Barcelona Churro Experience 2: From my pre-Barcelona churro research, I came upon the name of Dulcinea. Founded in 1803 this little cafe is tucked into one of the side streets of Barcelona, and was quite highly lauded for its churro making abilities. I think we were the first customers of the day… no surprise there! When it comes to food, I am the type of girly to stand
with my nose pressed against the glass making stupid faces until my desires are met. Lucky for Hubby dearest, I did not start doing the “blowfish”! My churros were ordered with chocolate topped with whipped cream. Okay, so taste? Well, they were way better than the ones from Fraggi, but culinary masterpiece ? Uh… no. At this point was getting a bit flustered, and began to ask myself, “What am I missing here?”
Barcelona Churro Experience 3: Often the churros that you see in Barcelona are not fresh. They are most normally found sitting on the counters, after being pre fried, and are often served at room temperature (just in the same way you would find donuts in England or in the US). So, in the third place we went, a very authentic looking hole in the wall place called Bar Churreria Layetana, Hubby asked the lady if there were any fresh ones (isn’t it cool how Hubby does all the work?) and she said there would be fresh churros at 4:30. So we hung around the general vicinity for a half an hour and came back. Yes, poor Hubby, always having to tolerate my manias and whims!
I want to point out that this was a place where the locals eat churros. How do I know? Well there was a little old Spanish speaking lady whom the vendor seemed to know, who was placing her order as well. She also seemed to know when the fresh churros were a’comin.
Again I got some churros and hot chocolate. Of my three churro experiences, this was the most tasty, but I want to tell you guys the truth, these churros were not the churros of my Belgian love affair. The lady behind the counter explained to us that churros, in fact, are not really supposed to be sweet. It is the sugar sprinkled on top that gives them their sweetness (and some people don’t even bother with the sugar, they just dip them in chocolate). Rather, churros are more like big fries made out of dough. Likewise, as you would dip your fries in ketchup, here you dip your churros in very thick hot chocolate which tastes so much like the chocolate Jell-O pudding of my childhood, and its texture is just as thick.
Things I learned: Churros don’t come with cinnamon (those delicious “churros” from Belgium, were not the authentic delicacy I beleived them to be and led me to false expectations). Churros, in themselves, are not actually sweet. Churros are not as yummy as Krispy Kremes.
And thus ends the quest for churros. I feel satisfied that I have achieved the churro experience, and though I did not get the result I wanted, there is no reason to distend my poor little (or not so little at the moment) Belly any further. Right now she feels stretched to the max! No worries my lovelies, there are many more donut-like delights to be found, and I vow that I shall find them!!!
Poor Belly! Though I was amazed to read that Belgium was the place you had the best churros ever. I always think of these as Mexican. I’ve had good ones across the border in Tijuana from street vendors. You’re right, thay’re not exactly sweet beyond the powdered sugar topping. Actually I like that about them.
I have only had churros in CA and Mexico, some good some not so good. If the dough if fresh I have enjoyed both savory as well as sweet. Sorry you did not end up finding your true churro love, but hey a trip to Barcelona
I have so enjoyed visiting an early post of yours, if I had been blogging earlier, would still have loved every one