Tapas tonight! And I mentioned to one of the Brits at work and they said, “You’re going to a topless bar with your wife??” Nice to know that the English use the same stale jokes we do.

Anyway, we went to a tapas place called Barcelona, which apparently has multiple locations, but we didn’t know that at the time. We went to the original, which is on Bell Lane not terribly far from Brick Lane (Indian central). From the outside, you would think it was a total dive. And from the inside it has the most uncomfortable bar stools ever. But the decor is still very bright and lively. And for what it lacked in decor, it made up for in quality. On the whole, some of the best tapas I’ve ever had. Everything we sampled was delicious… the Mejillones con Sofrito (mussels) were absolutely fantastic and the patatas bravas were just the right balance of flavor and spice. I could go on-and-on about the menu, but since we had so many dishes, it would take forever. Just go check out the menu on their website.

I was speaking with another co-worker about Spain–I’ve never been. He was saying how great it was to walk out of work at 9:30-10:00PM into the warm night air as restaurants are just beginning their first seatings and to feel the cool Mediterranean breeze. He did a great sales job; Spain has moved way up on my “must visit” lists. Any place that believes that dinner shouldn’t start until 10pm and that thinks mid-day naps are an important part of life gets a huge thumbs up from me.

The work days have been very long this week, since it’s the new opening of the facility. Students are now here, and we’re still behind schedule, so we’re working all day, trying to squeeze in little bits here and there, and arriving early/staying late in order to work when they are not around.

So no time to do much, including eat out. However, at Mooregate Station I discovered (thanks to a co-worker) fast food that is pretty damn cool: Tiffinbites. It’s a fast-food Indian place. So they have your standard Indian dishes, lamb rogan josh, briyani, various tandori, etc. in these little takeaway dishes (plastic tiffin, actually). You pick out what you want and they heat it up, make you some fresh naan, and you are good to go. Or you can pick from a selection of “snacks” like samosa, aloo, poppadums, etc. three for two pounds.

It’s a damn good deal for London and tasty to boot.

Speaking of London pricing… everything here is numerically equivalent… so a t-shirt at the Gap that would be 9.99 dollars in the states is still 9.99 pounds here. Which sucks. With an exchange rate hovering around 1.75, it makes London a pretty expensive city, even if it is really world class.