Bar Basque: Worth it for the drinks and view, but not for the food

(la versión en español está abajo)
I was really looking forward to sampling the fare at Bar Basque, a tapas restaurant on the second floor of the swanky new Eventi hotel between 29th and 30th on 6th Avenue in Chelsea. I ventured there after work with my friend Danny, a former Barcelona, Spain resident as well.

As we approached the hotel, there were no signs indicating BB's existence. When we stepped off the elevator on the second floor we were confronted by a red wall with plastic computer chip replicas embedded into it. We were confused. The decor was deranged, with a sci-fi meets coastal Mediterranean fine dining restaurant weirdness.

Barcelona, Spain: FULL DISCLOSURE

view from Barceloneta (Barcelona) beach apartment 

This photo features my good friend Anna and I relaxing on a couch after an afternoon BBQ at a friend of a friend's Barceloneta Beach apartment. It is, I believe, the perfect photographic representation of Barcelona: a spectacular seaside city filled with great people, great food and fantastic views.

After bouncing back and forth between the US and Spain for 10 years and working as an English teacher and later as a staff writer and editor at a cultural magazine in Barcelona, I've compiled a comprehensive list of places to shop and eat at, as well as visit in the city I consider my other home.