Catalan Grilled Artichokes

La Tomaquera is a one-room chop house in a working-class neighborhood in Barcelona. It’s the sort of place that takes pride in not serving Coca-Cola; the sort of place that closes early when there’s a soccer game on TV. For about $30, you could eat yourself into oblivion in this lively restaurant. For me that meant feasting on snails in a rich gravy, followed by an assortment of grilled beef, lamb, and other meats.

What most captivated me was an unusual vegetable dish, grilled artic