Gresca Provisions: the delicatessen we'd all like to have near our house

BarcelonaIt's a classic delicatessen, the kind that can save a meal or elevate it to the next level. You'll find bread (from San José Bakery), cheeses (from Pinullet Quesería Urbana), wines, chocolates, and above all, all kinds of meat and sausages, handcrafted by the owner. Chef Rafa Peña, who has finally made his dream come true: to make them himself"For us, it will also be our restaurant's pantry, Gresca, which is why we've named it..." Gresca Provisions"Explains Rafa Peña, who guides us through the delicatessen while Mireia Navarro, the head waiter and his partner, attends to customers behind the counter.

Upon entering, we find vertical refrigerators on the right with cheeses on one side, and beef, chicken, and other meat burgers. "But we'll also have a strong Catalan presence; there will be half and half of each," says Peña, who mentions that customers can open the refrigerators and take what they like. The prices of each item are written on the doors in red marker.

Located at 209 Rosselló Street in Barcelona, ​​Provisions Gresca occupies a typical Eixample space: long and narrow. A few steps further in, you'll find the counters behind which stands Mireia Navarro, and a wicker basket laden with all kinds of bread from the Sant Josep bakery. Eggs and pork rinds are also displayed outside the refrigerated section, and inside the first display case are cured meats: smoked salmon, anchovies, pickles, olives, tripe, packaged and measured beef stock for a single serving, foie gras, and two types of... pate en croutduck and pigeon and a pigletThe typical Burgundy delicacy, which is cooked and set pork, flavored with fresh parsley. All made by Rafa, of course. Everything made with pork (from Solsona) and other meats is made in the same workshop. "And the sauces too; right now we have mustard, honey mustard, chili oil, and chimichurri, because those are the ones we use for the dishes at Gresca, but we'll change them as we update the menu," Peña points out.

Hot black sausage sandwich

We arrived at the second display case, the one with the sausages and blood sausages. "You have to try the black sausage sandwich; we prepare them to order, they're very good," says the cook, who adds that at Provisions Gresca you can order sandwiches with any bread and sausages you like. In fact, just like with Italian delicatessensMireia and Rafa mention that both at the beginning and end of the school day, families have already started coming in to ask them for things.

We go back to the black pudding sandwich, and she tells me that "it's very good if you heat the sausage up, and then put it between the two slices of bread." And for those who don't dare try the black pudding, there are many more: the pork jowl sausage, with a recipe from Ponts butcher shop (owned by the mother of stylist Laura Ponts); the egg sausage; the... Creole (typical Argentinian, with more diced meat and very spiced: oregano, garlic, paprika); chistorra sausage, and pastrami. We linger over the pastrami for a while. "I make it too, and I prepare it with the lower part of the beef brisket, which we marinate with spices and smoke. "Like smoked bacon, more or less, but with beef," Peña explains.

And in this second display case, there's still the mortadella, with pistachios (not olives), "which isn't in danger of extinction because I'd say it's one of the most requested sausages." We're intrigued by the mortadella because its color is surprising. "You've noticed it's not pink; and it isn't because the color, if it has any, is added with other ingredients, because otherwise, it should have that color, a lighter one."

Having looked at all the cured meats, everyone will notice one thing missing: salted ham. "I can't compete in this league, because we already have the best producers of Iberian ham, and I won't offer our traditional ham either, because it has an impossible curing process, so it's the only thing I've ruled out." On the other hand, sweet ham, both unsmoked and smoked, whipped sausage, and salchichón—yes, no problem. All of this breaks them out of the routine at the Gresca restaurant, say Mireia and Rafa, who add that "charcuterie is another area of food" that they enjoy.

We've reached the end of the charcuterie section, and now we turn around and look at the shelves full of wine bottles, from all the Catalan appellations of origin and from abroad, especially France. "Also some from Spain and Italy." Along with the wines, there are extra virgin olive oils from Jaén (Picual variety) and Catalonia (Arbequina)."I use Arbequina olives for cooking; I like to use Picual olives from Jaén to dress bread and salads because they have a more intense flavor," the chef explains. Finally, the latest surprise from Provisiones Gresca: dried pasta, also made by the chef. There are two types: macaroni and S-shaped rolled noodles, "which give dishes a fun texture because they're very gelatinous." In short, there's a little bit of everything at Provisiones Gresca, where they start working at seven in the morning in the workshop, making each item. Today, more than ever, many chefs have started making their own cured meats, not only to sell them but also to include them on their menus. The cooks at the Sartoria Panatieri pizzeria They've even changed the sign to indicate that they're also a delicatessen. It's a new trend, aiming to combine craftsmanship with quality. For chef Rafa Peña, it was a dream come true, one he says took two years to achieve.