"People would start the day eating like this," he said. "It's like a continental breakfast."
Next, he strolled a couple of blocks to the Jofama cafe for a cap i pota — Catalan for "head and feet" — a salad made with calf bits along with black olives and slivers of red and green peppers. Served chilled, it's surprisingly refreshing in warmer weather.
Finally, he pulled into Alaska Bar and Restaurant for morros — deep fried bits of pork snout served at room temperature and doused with rock salt.
"It's like popcorn! No wait! It's like pork-corn!" he howled.
Ca l'Isidre is one of Barcelona's best-known restaurants and a classic destination for lovers of dishes like tripe and brains. "We've had them both on the menu for 38 years," said head chef Nuria Girones.
"When money started coming into the region, people wanted to eat other stuff," said her father, Isidre Girones.
"It was part of the new wave of cooking, but now, people want to go back to their roots and to find authentic products."
"It's not important whether it's showing up in new wave kitchens or not, but it's very important that it's cooked right," he added.
"Tripe needs one day of cooking and one day of resting before we serve it," he said, "otherwise, it's rubbery."
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