Pans & Company

We got a late start on our first full day in Barcelona because we were exhausted from traveling and still suffering from jet lag.  After our stop for coffee, we decided to get lunch (since it was already 2 pm).  A short walk from our hotel was the Urquinaona area where we found some sandwich shops including the chain Pans & Company.  The sandwiches looked good so we stopped.

We got one combo meal (sandwich plus drink and fries) and one sandwich.  All the menu boards were in Catalan (although they did have multilingual menus that you could look at elsewhere in the restaurant), so it took some time for us to get used to it.  M wanted to try to order in Catalan or in Spanish, but froze and ended up ordering in English. (Fail.)

A got the Provencal sandwich which was a baguette with gali dindi (turkey), formatge brie (brie cheese), enciam (lettuce), tomaquet (tomato) and alfabrega (basil).  M got the special Mitik sandwich which was also a baguette, but with pit de pollastre cruixent (crispy chicken breast), rodanxes de tomaquet (sliced tomato), enciam fresc (fresh lettuce) and maionesa (mayonnaise).

A's review of his Provencal sandwich - I don't really recall seeing or tasting any basil in this sandwich, but even without it this was tasty. The ingredients were so fresh, and the bread was perfect. It had the right amount of crisp to the crust while maintaining the chewy interior. Turkey and brie are a great combination, and the smoothness and creaminess of the brie was great. I really liked this sandwich and wish I could get it this fresh and cheap in the US.

M's review of her Mikit sandwich - The Mikit sandwich was a bit like the Burger King chicken sandwich but with better flavor and fresher/more natural ingredients.  The baguette wasn't too crusty or hard, which I appreciated.  Inside there was a chicken cutlet that had been cut into pieces, along with the shredded lettuce and some sliced tomato.  I prefer sandwiches without mayo, so I didn't love that aspect of it.  But it was a tasty sandwich and a good first lunch.

Conclusion: While this isn't one of those "must eat" types of places that we tend to try and visit on vacations, Pans & Company is certainly a great place to pick up a quick and cheap lunch. Very fresh ingredients coupled with well thought out combinations make for great sandwiches. All in all, A was left wondering why sandwich places like this don't exist in the US. Yes, there are chain sandwich shops, but nothing comes close to the overall freshness and flavor of these sandwiches.