Kat's 9 Lives

A quick peek into my adventures in Europe this year.  We started off in Paris, France and went to Barcelona, Spain to Seville, Spain and back to Paris, France in just under 2 weeks.  Yes, Ms. Lin Guide and I are crazy travelers that fill our calendars to the brim full of yummy food.  O=)
I had a few goals on my trip to Europe this time.  First and foremost is to eat as much foie gras as I can because California is retarded for banning foie gras.  Second, I LOVE jamón ibérico.  My goal was to stuff my belly full of this yummy cured meat whenever I can in Spain!
Mercat de La Boqueria in Barcelona is incomparable and definitely on the to do list for anyone.  Visa Signature named it one of the top places to visit before you die.  It definitely should be on your bucket list if you have never been! I was trying to find a similar place in Seville and found the Mercado de Triana.  It's a much smaller gathering of vendors, but still worth a visit.  We went later in the day so many of the shops were already closed, but I was able to find the beautiful glistening giant legs of jamón ibérico!
It does help that I speak some Spanish and the guy there was very friendly.  He kept only speaking to me in Spanish and I was so nervous about conjugating my verbs! lol His in-laws actually live in San Diego and he spoke English very well.
I only bought 100 grams of my favorite jamón ibérico de bellota, which is where the pig only eats acorns.  The meat is more tender and sweeter in my opinion.  I wanted the two top brands.  Of course this can be arguable, but as many know that my palette is quite costly and picky.  Still, ANY jamón ibérico in Spain is delicious compared to what you can get in the US.
The two brands I wanted were Cinco Jotas (5J) and Joselito.  For those who are in the know, most top restaurants serve these brands and needless to say that it may cost an arm and a leg! The only good part is that getting it in Spain is probably the best price you will get since it comes from there.  Sadly they only had fresh cut jamón ibérico for the Cinco Jotas and none for the Joselito.  They did have the Joselitos sealed.
I think only 200 grams of meat cost 34 euros, which is quite expensive but totally worth it and much cheaper than what you pay in the US! If you ever go, definitely speak with people there as they are friendly and I think because the guy was very interested to know where I was from and that I spoke Spanish, he cut more slices for me! ^_-
When he was slicing, we gave him the hungry puppy-dog eyes look and he gave both Ms. Lin Guide and I a piece to sample.  YUM! I love Spain!
The vision of all the jamón ibérico hanging from wall to wall still haunts my dreams! **drool drool**

Jamonería Jose Luis Romero
Plaza Altozano, Mercado de Triana, Módulo 58 Sevilla, 41010 Seville, Spain
+34 954 34 35 22