La Fonda
What's that you say - you're looking for a lively, but romantic place where you can share some sangria with your honey and savor some paella (a rice dish made with seafood or meat) or fidueà (similar to a paella, but with noodles instead of rice)? Well, there's this place, off the Rambla, not far from Plaça Reial, that may do the trick.

Although the main dining room is often packed with locals and visitors, La Fonda uses soft lighting draped in red lampshades and dark wood touches to create a warm, intimate atmosphere. A loft area and a downstairs room with fresco-like paintings on the ceiling give it a homey ambiance.

Fratelli La Bufala: Main dining area
On a quest for the perfect pizza? If you can't get to Naples, Italy - the unofficial world capital of great pizza, you'll get close enough with Fratelli La Bufala in the L'Eixample Dret neighborhood.

Made in the Neapolitan tradition with buffalo mozzarella and other products produced at small southern Italian farms, pizzas coming out the oven are sure to be a hit. And, to boot, ingredients and food products used in the menu items have D.O.C. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata/Controlled Designation of Origin) and D.O.P. (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta/Protected Designation of Origin) certifications verifying their authenticity. You can top your pizza with almost anything you want, but there's something pure and just downright good with the classic cheese Margherita pie. If pizza isn't your thing, order the pasta or grilled buffalo meat instead. Top it off with a limoncello, a lemon liqueur common in southern Italy, and a slice of cheesecake.

Granja Dulcinea: Restaurant interior
You can't leave Barcelona without trying some hot chocolate and churros (or xurros). Yeah, even if it's the middle of August and hot chocolate doesn't quite seem appropriate, you got to give this super thick chocolate concoction and sweet fried dough combo a go. And, if you're going to do it, do it right. Don't settle for the fast food street vendors you'll find scattered about the city. They're ok, but you should really head to a place that specializes in this kind of decadent delicacy.

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.

Buenas Migas: EntranceIf you're looking for a good cup of cappuccino or want a light snack before or after hitting the pavement, then Buenas Migas won't disappoint. The cozy café serves up fresh, homemade scones, pastries, Spanish tortillas, salads, pasta, sandwiches, and a variety of sweet and savory focaccia. It even sells its own branded jams, lemon curd and other items that make nice gifts. And, I dare you to leave without trying the Chocolate Bomb - it's a chocoholic's dream.

The story goes that owners Patrick and Clare, who hail respectively from Genoa, Italy and Cornwall, England, studied the art of focaccia bread making in Genoa, the city that brought the world delectable flat, oven-baked bread usually topped with olive oil, salt and an array of herbs. They settled in Barcelona and brought these traditional recipes with them. The first Buenas Migas opened in 1998, and now there are seven sites around the city, including ones near the Cathedral and MACBA (Barcelona's Museum of Contemporary Art); along the main drags of Passeig de Gràcia and Diagonal, and a stone's throw from Barceloneta's beach.

4Gats: Main dining room
There are places in Barcelona where the city's vibrant history oozes from nearly every wall, window and cup of coffee. One of those places is 4Gats in the old part of town. Tucked in a Barri Gòtic alley off Avinguda del Portal de l'Angel, the 4Gats (also written as Els Quatre Gats) was the place where artists, architects, musicians, poets and Bohemians ate, drank and exchanged ideas about the day's news, politics and the modernist art movement that swept through Barcelona in the early 20th Century.