BCN, named after Barcelona's airport call-sign, is now soft serving pressed bikini sandwiches at the former Bossy Wife cottage along Santa Monica Blvd. It's the kind of approachable, everyday Spanish spot that we could certainly use more of in Los Angeles. Chef Paul Barbosa, formerly sous chef at underground dining spot Oxalis, helms a menu of affordable lunch-time bocatas, or baguette sandwiches, filled with braised short rib, cured tuna, or artichoke hearts. Those bikinis (not the swimwear, mind you), come with jamoon serrano, smoked trout, or roast turkey. And flatbreads, which go by the moniker coques, come topped with either serrano or portobello at lunchtime.
The dinner offerings for those flatbreads expand to whipped ricotta or saltwater prawns. And to mix it up, Spanish-style tortillas, which are more akin to frittatas than any flattened masa. With Paul Priutt's New School Consulting providing the conceptual basis and Love & Salt designer Ana Henton doing the overall look, it's a fresh approach to the neighborhood. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, and until 11 p.m. on weekends.
BCN West Hollywood
8719 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA