Ciudad Condal: Busy lunch time
Strolling the main shopping areas along Passeig de Gràcia and Rambla de Catalunya can build up an appetite. The best way to quell the hunger pains is with some tapas at Ciudad Condal (also called Ciutat Comtal, its Catalan equivalent). The place gets swamped with business folks during lunchtime and it's often difficult to get a table outside, but its worth the wait.

The baked goat cheese with roasted red peppers and eggplant and the Russian salad will get your mouth watering for the mushroom and asparagus or the Serrano ham plates. There are also some "comfort food" stand-bys available like hamburgers and cold sandwiches if you're not in a tapas mood. By the way, this is a cervecería, which means it has lots of beer options, too. You can throw back the local brew, Estrella Damm, or a clara, which is like a shandy with beer with lemon soda, or go for the more exotic international ales from Belgium, Germany, Japan or Australia.

Cafe Laie: Snacks
Need some down time after criss-crossing the city? Take a breather at Cafe Laie, and pick up a book while you're at it.

The café-bookstore combo is the perfect place to kick back, sip a cafe con leche (coffee with milk), have a hearty lunch, read the local papers or grab that novel you'll need for the plane ride home. Downstairs is a book shop, stocked mostly with Spanish and Catalan titles, but you'll find a small, decent selection of English tomes on the front shelves. Upstairs, you can hang out in the café section or chat with the bartender at the bar. In the back, there are more tables and a outside terrace for a longer sit-down affair. If you're staying for lunch, check out the better-value Menu of the Day, which often includes a first and second course with dessert. In the evenings, you may stumble on some local music performances or "Jazz with Dinner" events. The Web site should have some more information, although it's currently only Spanish or Catalan.