The problem with wine tasting is that the palate-cleansing oyster crackers they give out are short on flavor (which is probably the point). Wine lovers in Costa Mesa, however, have an option, at least Fridays in April.
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The Barcelona on the Go tapas truck will be parked at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in
Costa Mesa every Friday in April from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Hi-Time will be offering wines in their tasting cellar (at the back of the store and down a ramp).
It isn't quite the same as standing in a bar in the Barri Gòtic with a glass of excellent cava screwed into your hand and a plate of navalles (razor clams) on a tiny table in front of you while the room gripes about the latest foibles of the Generalitat, but it's as close as you're going to get in OC.
I haven't been back to Barcelona on the Go since their opening, but you
might want to order your food first, then ask to have it brought down
into the wine cellar as you do your wine tasting. Their croquettes are very good, their tortilla española (a room-temperature potato omelet called a truita in Catalan) is nicely done, and their excellent orange flan is a steal at $3.
Hi-Time Wine Cellars, 250 Ogle St., Costa Mesa; (949) 650-8463. Barcelona on the Go will be there from 4:30-8:30 p.m. on April 9, 16, 23 and 30.
