Providing something simple, cheap and good to eat in Spain is easy – as long as there’s a proper fire exit and plumbing. Life is harder for street vendors and food trucks: Spanish law permits cooking and selling fresh (unpackaged) food in street stalls only during festivals or events or in markets run by an organization.
With the street food phenomenon at a fever pitch everywhere else in the world, the restrictions in Spain are proving to be a serious drag for itinerant chefs, urban culinary entrepreneurs and their would-be fans here. The growing demand among these groups has spurred a number of initiatives whose ultimate goal is to change Spanish law – but for now, the new projects operate within its confines. This means using private spaces, as with Michelin-starred chef Koldo Royo’s food truck El Perrito Cervecero, which serves gourmet burgers out of a supermarket parking lot in Palma de Mallorca. It also means street food markets, like MadrEAT in Madrid (date and location to be determined), and collaborative food festivals, such as EatStreet in Barcelona, inaugurated just this year and held every two months.
We just attended the summer edition of EatStreet, which is organized by the fresh, independent and trilingual (Catalan-Spanish-English) cultural magazine BCNMES. The third edition of the event was held in collaboration with Flea Market Bcn, mixing food, secondhand clothing and vintage objects with DJs and local craft and commercial beers – something for everyone on a sunny Sunday in a location next to the Museu Marítim and amidst sea breezes in the pleasant atmosphere of Raval.
The food vendors offered a huge range of international cuisines, with stands representing local restaurants Tonka and Mirilla (both Mediterranean), Tlaxcal (Mexican), Sri Lestari (Indonesian), La Vietnamita (Vietnamese), Funkychiken (Caribbean), Galanga Cooking Atelier (India), El Fogò and Café Mandacarú (both Catalan), as well as California street food specialist Eureka! and independent operators like Japanese chef Kentaro Terajima. Some offered dishes with precooked ingredients assembled without the use of a kitchen: ceviche, couscous, salads, rolls and cold soups, all for under €5, in just the right portions for tasting a little here and there.
We especially loved the dishes from the Fogò de la Terra stall, which was formerly installed in another great flea market – and a permanent one – Los Encants. It served traditional summer Catalan specialties made with local produce from direct suppliers. We had a cod esqueixada salad with arbequina olives, sun-dried tomatoes from Vall d’Arán and beans from La Segarra. There was also a lovely Japanese-influenced dish of Catalan spelt pasta with trout from the Tavascan River (located in the Pyrenees of Lleida province), dressed with rice vinegar. We washed it down with some Raval India Pale Ale from Barcino Brewers and ate in the company of old and new friends.
On the one hand, it’s certainly true that Spain has a strong sit-down dining culture (or at least we’ll find a way to anchor our elbows to a bar), and we like to take our time at the table and under a roof if we’re going to eat. But on the other hand, we’ve got great Mediterranean weather and a world-class roster of chefs, so it totally makes sense that we would welcome this street food phenomenon with open arms – and mouths. So while we wait for the law to change, at least we have the next EatStreet to look forward to.
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