For Sant Jordi we went to Barnes and Noble in Lincoln Center and enjoyed some Catalan music and snacks, and of course, books and roses. We also met some new friends belonging to the Catalan-American dating network and had a late afternoon brunch at Cafe Mozart. (Stay away from the mimosas - they contain pulp! the horror!) Also, for anyone who hasn’t visited the uptown B&N, you really need to check it out. It’s five floors of heaven.

Although the Sant Jordi book-giving tradition starting as a marketing gimick, I have to say that I find it much more satisfying to exchange books than candy as we do on Valentine’s Day (also a marketing gimick).

In other news, Endy Chavez gets a gold star for the day.

Due to certain connections in the New York Catalan community, I was able to enjoy an incredible feast at Mercat on Sunday night. We braved the rain and were rewarded with a wide selection of tapas including:

• pa amb tomaquet (toasted bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil
• arbaquines (small Catalan olives)
• calamarcets (fried baby squid with lemon)
• rap amb romesco (monkfish with romesco)
• beef with eggplant (can’t remember what it’s called)
• fideus negres (noodles with squid in its own ink)
• crema catalana
• fried dough with chocolate
• espresso
• rose cava
• …all washed down with a Spanish rioja (okay, not Catalan but still nice)

Tell all your friends!