Marc Ribas opens a second delicatessen: "I'm a punk, and I don't have Iberian ham"

BarcelonaJust a few months after opening Pamb (c. Valencia 203), the delicatessen and sandwich shop that Marc Ribas opened at the end of last year with his partner Franxa Tomàs, the chef is already announcing a second, larger location, which will be on Verdi Street in Barcelona, ​​near the well-known cinemas of the same name. "The Gràcia location will have seating at tables, as it can accommodate fifty people," says Marc Ribas at the Pamb on Valencia Street, where he has successfully tested his idea: to offer high-quality sandwiches made with real, moist bread, tomato, and artisanal cured meats—sauce to be eaten, eaten, eaten, eaten, eaten, eaten, eaten, eaten, eaten. In fact, at Pamb, you can enjoy a variety of sandwiches, always with creativity as the guiding principle. To start, there are the cold sandwiches, which you can choose with either a flatbread or a slice of rustic bread, and any cured meats you like from their selection. Next up are the hot options, which might include the bikini made with rustic bread; the flatbread; or the baker's cake with sugar and anise, filled with medieval sausages. Finally, there's the clotxa, a bread roll closed at the sides and filled with stews. These last sandwiches can be eaten with a fork, as they are provided for spearing the filling. Prices range from 12 to 18 euros. If we've all been advocating for a hearty breakfast, chef Marc Ribas proposes the "fork sandwich," made with fricandó (a Catalan stew), roast chicken, meatballs, or squid in a casserole.

The TV3 presenter has explanations for each of the sandwiches, and he elaborates on the one made with baker's cake, sugar, and anise, along with cured meats like the Organyà donja (a cooked sausage that might remind you of a bishop's sausage, but more compact and spongy) and cheese. "The combination of sweet and savory is very much ours and old-fashioned, especially from a time when we didn't eat meals the way we do now, with a first course, a second course, and dessert, but rather everything was eaten at once," he says. He prepares the baker's cake for Pamb. Ton Cortés, from the Suca'l bakery, which won the best panettone in the world in 2024.

Longanizas from four different producers

In the case of the flatbreads with coca bread, priced at 7 euros, the options can also be creative, such as Duroc pork bayona from the artisan Can Corominas with Girona chili pepper and confit of El Pilós cooked-curd, washed-rind cow's milk cheese. Or the liver bread, made with pork jowl and liver ("A sausage I find that people don't know about," says Ribas) and confit Girona chili pepper with Bauma matured goat cheese.

Those who want salchichón will find it at Pamb from several producers: Riera Ordeix, Casa Sendra, Fermí Coromines, and cholís del Pallars from Cal Tomàs. "In addition, everything that snacks "You can take it home, so both the breads and cakes, as well as all the cured meats, are also for sale," says Ribas, who maintains that at Pamb they're not against anything, but rather in favor of it. "I'm a punk, and I don't have Iberian ham, but not because I'm against it, just as I'm in favor of other cured meats from different producers," he comments.

The chef assures that he has spent three months tasting various cured meats, meaning that the concept of a charcuterie-sandwich shop is well thought out. "As is the care taken when dipping the bread, with a hanging tomato and a good extra virgin olive oil," he notes. "It's difficult to find; tomato pâté for dipping bread is more common."

According to the TV3 presenter, "we're living in a good time for sandwiches," because food is expensive, eating out is a drain on resources, and sandwiches like the ones they offer are affordable. In this sense, the chef's idea connects Italian delicatessens, which have always offered sandwiches in addition to selling sausages and cheesesAnd also with a trend that many chefs have joined in parallel, as is the case of Rafa Peña and Mireia Navarro, from Gresca, who opened Provisiones Gresca at the end of last year, or the head of the room Joan Juncà, from Ca l'Enric, who also makes the sausages served at the Michelin-starred restaurant in the Bianya Valley

Pamb's opening hours also include Saturdays and Sundays, and they anticipate that on weekends people will want to take their sandwiches home in lunchboxes, which they've taken into account. That's why they also sell sparkling wines from the Llopart brand, and other beverages, mostly non-alcoholic. "Our idea was to have everything non-alcoholic, but we realized that alcoholic drinks might be popular on weekends. Hence the Llopart sparkling wines, but we also have grape juice from the same producer," the chef explains.

Finally, and getting back to the topic of tomatoes, anyone who wants to can also buy them at Pamb. jars of tomato sauce to take home"It's just one of the dishes we'll have for sale. We prepare it ourselves with Figueres onions, very well sautéed, as is my signature," he says. He adds that another of his projects, the move of his Terrassa restaurant, El Ciri, to a larger space, is being delayed due to bureaucratic issues. But it will be one of the new projects this year.