Each city has its customs, but some of these suddenly surprise like an unexpected revelation. It is the case of the love story between Catalans and hot dogs, a relationship that catches visitors to any Catalan city deprived. There is no town without its frankfurt.
This phenomenon has its own expressions, such as the make a frankfurter as a social act, of friendship and trust, that describes a meeting around a frankfurt (these sandwiches are usually enjoyed semi-sitting on high stools). This is the equivalent of having a few beers in any other population of Spain.
Thus, in each locality, regardless of the number of inhabitants, there is a place for the preparation of hot dogs ready to satisfy children, young and old, there is also an offer of frankfurters in important events: in football stadiums, in shopping malls, around concerts, near theaters and next to cinemas. The frankfurt is also a fast, cheap and agile solution to not go around the world empty.
A frankfurt is the sausage, but so is the establishment. In its preparation, all you need is a good open-cut bread and a ketchup or mustard dressing or both, and then the famous sausage with such acclaimed varieties as cervela.
This snack is usually available gluten-free, lactose-free and even vegan, and apart from being an eminently take-away format, it can also be found abundantly in supermarkets for make it a friday night plan between friends, as a couple or as a family. Frankfurt is always a versatile option.
A tradition of the last century
But where does such a fondness for frankfurters come from? Most establishments that serve these sausages in Catalonia are houses founded at the beginning of the last century. For example, the Leo Boeck producers began in 1927 by the German citizen Leonard Bock who created a small workshop in the Barcelona town of Montcada i Reixac.
“I made York ham and German-style sausages, initially for the German colony of the Vallès region”, they explain from the company. The success of this establishment made this model take root and spread throughout Catalonia, giving rise to new openings to which other professionals were added.
With two stores in Barcelona and one in Girona, the company currently has more than 2,000 loyal customers for its sausages, which are also distributed in large stores for those who prefer to make their frankfurter at home. As they explain, in the 1960s Isidre Valles (father of the owner of Leo Boeck, Rosa Vallés) “created the concept of a local frankfurter as it is known today”.
As they defend, the concept of a frankfurter premises “is something very Catalan”, and even within the same community not all counties have the same amount of establishments.
One of the most emblematic in this sense is the Barcelona city of terracehometown of Isidre Valles, and where many locals gather around the famous sausage. Also in the province of Barcelona and in the Maresme.
Outside of Catalonia the presence of frankfurters is testimonial if it is compared with the offer in this community: “Very often when you find frankfurters in other communities they are people from here who have gone to live abroad or from people who, being here, have liked the concept”.
An iconic aesthetic
Almost all of these restaurants have a particular image based on “Gothic letters and lions”in addition to an offer based on characteristic products such as frankfurters, cervela, bratwurst, pikantwurst, malagueña and an assortment of hamburgers.
However, this centuries-old tradition has not remained intact since its inception. Since its popularization in the sixties, the concept of frankfurt has also evolved and incorporated new perspectives.
For example, as explained by Leo Boeck, the classic sausage “has gone down a bit”, although in some establishments it continues to work very well. The trend now is for places that offer a wide variety of sandwiches with different ingredients and in combination with tapas. “In some towns in Catalonia, especially in Tarragona and Lleida, where years ago there was a frankfurt, now there is a kebab”, they lament.
The public of the premises of frankfurt is very heterogeneous, albeit with variables. For example, the classic sandwich with tomato sauce and or mustard has many followers among diners aged 40 or over, while younger customers “tend to ask for more and more elaborate proposals and with more ingredients.” “It is a trend that has already passed in the world of hamburger restaurants, and we will have to wait to see where the trend goes,” they say.
Regarding the organoleptic of the snack in question, these sandwiches are not perceived as a low-quality snack because the products that can be found in these establishments are very careful.
“They really like good, quality frankfurters”, they defend, and detail that these are made with 100% fresh pork, so that they do not carry lactose, gluten, milk protein or additives unnecessary such as glutamate, “which make no sense in a quality product”.
The best frankfurters in Catalonia
To get to know this Germanic tradition of Catalan adoption well, it is essential to visit the most emblematic places.
1. Frankfurt-Pedralbes
the most emblematic of Catalonia with a lot of difference. Located in the university area and surrounded by faculties, this Frankfurt brings together young customers by day, older adults by night (especially on football days) and brown cats by night. Its sausages are famous throughout Catalonia and you should not miss a visit.
C. Jordi Girona, 2-4, 08034, Barcelona. T. 932 05 27 17
2. Leo Boeck
This frankfurter house is above all a sausage maker, but it also sells them to a lucky few at its physical store in Barcelona (also in Girona). Apart from the classics, it has amazing options for those who have already seen everything like the zip line, the super cervela and the krakoski.
C.Alfambra, 20, Barcelona. T. 933 607 021
3. Robert’s
In Castelldefels, about twenty kilometers from Barcelona, this place opened its doors in 1985 and has been a beachside classic. Their sandwiches are responsible for the long lines that are generated on the town’s seafront promenade every weekend.
Paseo Marítimo, 218-220, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona. T. 931 423 412
4. Frankfurt Sant Jaume
This place is pure tradition and serves the same sandwiches as 30 years ago. Located in the heart of the Gothic quarter, it is always crowded by its loyal fans. Besides the intact quality of its sandwiches and respect for its flavors of yesteryearone of the secrets is maintaining prices in one of the most touristic areas of Barcelona.
Plaza Sant Jaume, 2, 08002, Barcelona. T. 933 190 854
5. Frankfurt Rogent
This establishment is run by Núria Moreno, whose fondness for hot dogs made her spend from client to owner of the establishment when he learned that the owners were retiring after 45 years in charge of the irons. Its offer is based on the classics but also has room for innovation.
C. Rogent 28, Barcelona. T. 932 452 176
Pictures | Frankfurt Pedralbes/Polina Tankilevitch/Mali Maeder/Luis Quintero
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