Barcelona

Yes, Catalans have a real thing for paella, that rumor is true. (The plate above is from Can Kalav, a bar-restaurante-pizzeria along the paseo del mar in Tossa de Mar, along the Costa Brava, a few hours north of Barcelona.) But there is also a surprising amount of pizza bolognesa, just in case you need a breather from all that rice and seafood madness.

Southern France

Above, our favorite Tapas joint, in Perpignan, France, where they serve up chorizo and clams, potato-encrusted shrimp, Iberian ham on crostini, fried calamari and patatas bravas well into the night. Below, "assiette du terroir" (a pâté terrine) and a traditional duck and sausage cassoulet at Brasserie Pantagruel in Carcassonne, France.

NBW

I gave Cashion's Eat Place (1819 Columbia Road NW) a hard time recently for its awkward name (it sounds like it was "poorly translated from Japanese," I wrote). So it's only fair I mention two other marketing missteps I've also encountered around town: New Big Wong (610 H St. NW) in Chinatown, where the 5 a.m. closing time (on weekends) and the tasty $1.75 hot and sour soup do not begin to make up for the sexual innuendo; and Moby Dick's House of Kabob (1300 Connecticut Ave. NW) in Dupont Circle, which has 14 other locations that all carry the same inexplicable non sequitur.

Condiments, at the Bethesda Row Cinema

UPDATE: I do not get out much, so I thought this was a unique offering. Turns out, these seasonings are all the rage these days at American cinemas. But at least they're free in Bethesda, whereas at the nickel-and-diming Regal Gallery Place in Chinatown, a sprinkle of "nacho chedder" will set you back $1.50.

$9

I would have thought the Mainers behind Allagash White would have mandated that it never be sold for more than, say, $5 a bottle. Apparently, Perry's (1811 Columbia Rd. NW), in Adam's Morgan, did not get the memo. I mean, there are great views from the patio and tasteful (though energy inefficient) lighting. But seriously, Manhattan beer prices just a few doors down from the Blockbuster?

Waterworld

My fried, Naureen, ordered us the garlic naan ($3.50), raita ($3), the baingan bharta ($10) (grilled fresh eggplant sautéed with ginger, garlic, onion and tomatoes), and the kurkuri bhindi ($11) (fresh, crisp okra sautéed with onions, tomato, green pepper, dry mango powder and fresh herbs), all served with basmatic saffron rice. "I'll have the same," I joked. 30 minutes later, our waiter arrived and began serving two platters of everything we'd ordered.

So that was my bad. But you can't blame me that the eggplant tasted like apple sauce, the result of some kind of wild cardamon explosion in the kitchen. So I guess, Indian Ocean (4221 Connecticut Ave. NW, in Van Ness), we're even.

Lists

So far, Pipón has not posted nearly enough "Best Of" lists, that inescapable (but oddly still appealing) gimmick of American publishing. But I'm ready to say this (paraphrasing a friend who recently recommended a Barcelona restaurant by remarking that their txipirones, Basque squid with chick peas and a pomegranate glaze, was "the best thing I ate in 2005"), I had my favorite dish of 2010 the other day, the ragu of wild mushrooms with rosemary, Tuscan liver sauce and polenta ($9.50) at Cashion's Eat Place (1819 Columbia Road NW) in Adams Morgan. The rich, meaty mushrooms were so fresh and earthy I felt like I was grazing in New England woodlands, while the three types of liver (yes, three types of liver, rabbit, duck and quail, if I recall correctly) offered a juicy and unique protein medley and the bed of polenta made sure I did not miss an ounce of the sauce.

In general, I should note, the restaurant is a bit uneven given the prices, offering on the one hand inexplicably inattentive waitering (at least on my single visit), an inedibly bitter chilled watercress and potato soup and an ungrammatical name that sounds like it was poorly translated from Japanese, while also serving up, in addition to the aforementioned lively livers, remarkable Greek spreads including a smooth hummus, a roe paste and an eccentrically spiced yogurt dip.

Fare Share

My buddy Jeff Novich, a serial entrepreneur and Bobby Flay body double, has been getting some good press (in amNewYork and The Wall Street Journal) for his newest business, an iPhone app that offers economizing New Yorkers a digital ride board for taxi trips. Here's an ad for the app, featuring Jeff's foxy wife, Maddy, going gaga over the technology.