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El Bulli and Arzak - the blinker effect


vserna

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I am often struck, when following this board, not by the fixation with El Bulli, Arzak or Mugaritz - these are great restaurants, and they logically center everyone's interest - but by the exclusion of everything outside these fabled, starred restaurants when planning trips to Spain. The itineraries I've seen include those, plus Can Fabes, Martin Berasategui, Akelarre, etc. - and no room or thought at all is given to traditional or regional places.

It's understandable that the cutting-edge places concentrate so much attention, but I think all those who only want to eat at these types of restaurants will miss culinary experiences that are as interesting and often more original, more 'different'. I can tell you this: if anyone is familiar with Pierre Gagnaire, he will be less surprised with El Bulli than with Rafa's modest bar-and-restaurant in Roses.

Outstanding raw materials are a Spanish specialty, and sometimes they can only be found in Spain, or are different in Spain (lamb, suckling pig) from what one would find under such names elsewhere. These products are best highlighted in simpler, 'terroir'-oriented restaurants than in the havens of refinement. The blinkered foodie will thus miss, if he/she only goes from three stars to two stars to three stars again, all these treats that really mark the soul of Spanish gastronomy:

- the Roses bay shrimp or the L'Escala anchovies at Rafa's, or perhaps the tiny springtime Maresme green peas (next March!) and delicate langoustines ('escamarlans', in Catalan) at Hispania, a few miles down the coast

- the classic menu at a down-home 'sidrería' in Guipúzcoa (these raucous, fun cider-making and cider-serving establishments' offer typically is a fresh-tuna omelet, a porterhouse steak with piquillo peppers and a 'pantxineta' cake)

- the unique texture and taste of a Castilian milk-fed lamb of the 'churra' breed, slowly roasted in a low-temperature baker's oven

- the opulence of a 'cazuela' (small earthenware pan) of sautéed baby eels followed by a grilled 'a la espalda' sea bream at Kaia, Elkano or Kaipe, the fine fish 'asadores' in Getaria near San Sebastián

- the real paella, a very wide, very shallow pan with the thinnest (less than a half-inch) layer of Calasparra short-grain rice, first fried and then cooked with a classic accompaniments of wild rabbit and small snails, at Paco Gandía's paella shrine in Pinoso (Alicante)

- the explosion of fresh Ribera del Ebro vegetables, perhaps under the guise of a palatable mixed 'menestra' with bits of serrano ham, at such Navarra restaurants as Maher in Cintruénigo: cardoons, artichokes, piquillo and cristal peppers, tiny 'cogollo' lettuces, asparagus, broad beans...

- the fastuous three courses (soup, vegetables, meats) drawn from a pot of 'cocido madrileño', the chickpea-dominated Madrid 'pot-au-feu' in one of the three nostalgic dining rooms of the capital's 165-year-old Lhardy restaurant...

...and many more such moments.

Take my word for it: a serious foodie trip to such countries as Spain or Italy should always include one 'moment' like those for each three-star meal enjoyed. Only the knowledge of both ends of the culinary spectrum will enable the 'gastronomad' (as Curnonsky used to call them... er, us) to understand the breadth of the food experience in these countries.

But of course you're free to go to Italy and spend a whole week not eating spaghetti even once... :wink:

Edited by vserna (log)

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

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I spent some time in Santiago de Compostela as a student, and I agree with you. I enjoy exploring what the locals do, eat, and shop for. There's a reason why people like the things they do, and we need to get past our prejudices to understand the complete experience.

When I suggest on these boards that travelers might enjoy the places I've been to, I'm told Galicia is too far from Barcelona or Viscaya.

Most Americans who travel are looking for the quintessential tourist experience. They go to a tourist town (the trendiest and most expensive they can afford) and "do" their list of required tourist experiences. There's little time for anything else, and things that aren't on the list of "what's hot" don't get considered.

Competitiveness is a major component of American culture, and competitive tourism and gastronomy are the logical extension of this.

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I think that is true, and the same holds true for London as well.

When people interested in food come to London they always try to catch the same "must have's" eg St John, New Tayyabb etc.

I actually had the same problem in Beijing - every time people came to visit we kept on having to take them to the same bloody Beijing duck restaurant - a "must-have" for them, a little blah for us.

Why does this happen? I agree with Katherine there is an element of trying to seek the "tourist experience". However I also think part of it is the wish to get something they can't get elsewhere. eg in the case of London four-star french stuff is something americans can get back home. St John is not. Ergo another round of bone marrow and parsley salad...

cheerio

J

More Cookbooks than Sense - my new Cookbook blog!
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I agree, Victor, that the traditional places offering food with centuries of honing and history shouldn't be missed. As much as I love places like Alkimia and would love to get to El Bulli, places like Universal Kiosk in the Boqueria and Hispania shouldn't be missed on a trip to Catalunya. One of the best dishes I had on a recent trip to Catalunya wa a roast lamb shoulder in a small restaurant in rural Andorra.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

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Victor, this is a great topic and another one where eGullet has the chance to lead the way regarding English language information on Spanish food. I've been clear in my posts that although I was seduced to take a better look at Spanish food by the offer of a free room in Donostia and the chance to try Arzak, a Michelin three star restaurant some years back, what solidified my interest in Spain as place to travel on my stomach, were the "inbetween" meals and snacks I've had at unstarred restaurants both expensive and inexpensive.

I could say the threads on the France forum are parallel, although I'm not sure they are entirely. France has held a gastronomic interest for Americans and, I suspect for the British, for longer than Spain. There are reasons that would be a suitable topic of discussion in another thread and which have already been discussed here. Traditional French food is nore familiar to Anglos than is Spanish food and it takes some greater exploration to seek our information about regional Spanish food. The search for regional food is likely to be more rewarding in Spain as it's not disappearing as fast as it is in France. We've had some good threads on traditional food and some good threads that had nothing to do with restaurants at all. We need more.

Robert Buxbaum

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Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

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That's easy, Bruce. As I've mentioned, Rafa in Roses and Hispania in Arenys de Mar. For the modern, 'starred' experience, two more, truly great restaurants: Sant Pau in Sant Pol de Mar and El Celler de Can Roca in Girona. To add a third regional restaurant, there's the classic Hostal de la Granota (the Frog's Inn) in Sils. Yes, they serve good frogs' legs. (And other stuff...)

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

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Bruce, you should actually skip El Bulli. Let me know your date and I will call and cancel for you. :laugh:

Victor, I was going to say that even in this thread, you can't help but mention the multi-starred restaurants in the area, but you've tipped the scales in favor of traditional and you did say one for one in your opening post. I'll repeat my favorite one-two punch of Spanish food. It was lunch at El Bulli, when they were serving lunch followed by lunch at Can Majo in Barcelona the next day. Can Majo is right off the beach in Barcelona and has outdoor tables which should be reserved in advance. Some simple seafood followed by more seafood with rice with a simple but nice rose or white wine is lovely.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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Not all Americans are hypercompetitive, or perhaps it is just that we (Himself and myself) cannot afford to be, food wise. So we love Spain because while we cannot afford El Bulli, we eat very well indeed at a huge range of places.

Andalucia is particularly underrepresented on this board, so I will add to vserna's list the classic Urta a la Rotena, merluza practically anywhere that has a competant cook at the stove, and pork products most anywhere, certainly prueba de la cerda in the fall in Extremadura is something you can try at different restaurants and really get a peek into the nuances of paprika. Likewise caldereta de cordero, which I had several different cooks, from family restaurants upwards, explain in great detail to me while I took notes.

One of the things that makes Spain so delightful on a budget is how easy it is to "follow your nose." On our first visit, I walked into a small grocery with a few tables in a room behind the store, anticipating buying some bread and juice to go with some ham and cheese and olives we already had in the car. It smelled so good we changed our plans and ate lunch there with the family, a lovely stew. This in El Puente de Arcobispo, not exactly on the beaten path. But the quality of the ingredients and the total grounding of the cook made for fabulous eating. And if nothing looks or smells appetizing, a coffee or beer or wine, or even free use of los servicios, and you're on your way, no hurt feelings.

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I'll repeat my favorite one-two punch of Spanish food. It was lunch at El Bulli, when they were serving lunch followed by lunch at Can Majo in Barcelona the next day. Can Majo is right off the beach in Barcelona and has outdoor tables which should be reserved in advance. Some simple seafood followed by more seafood with rice with a simple but nice rose or white wine is lovely.

Can Majò is really the place in Barcelona for seafood paellas. It's in the Barceloneta quarter - the former fishermen's quarter, a small peninsula alongside the Port Vell (Old Harbor) of Barcelona. But there are other similar, extremely worthy fish and seafood places in the area which are just as recommendable, although perhaps less well-known. Note these names: Can Ramonet, Can Costa, Cal Pinxo, El Suquet de l'Almirall, and (in the nearby Moll de la Fusta) El Merendero de la Mari.

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

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For the modern, 'starred' experience, two more, truly great restaurants: Sant Pau in Sant Pol de Mar and El Celler de Can Roca in Girona.

These two restaurants I visited a fortnight ago. But I must say that I found them quite different.

Sant Pau was to me quite difficult: many ingredients and in a way: too little concentration on the main one. Difficult to taste though. Not in the el Bulli style, but not in the Santi Santamaria style of Can Fabes either.

On the other hand, Can Roca I found much more in the Santi Santamaria style. The kitchen was to me as elaborate as that of Sant Pau but for me at the same time more 'simple' and balanced. I asked the chef Joan, one of the three brothers Roca i Fontané, whether there was any el Bulli influence. He hesitated to admit that in one single dish (of the 21 I had) there was one technique derived from Adrià.

(By the way, Can Fabes is so far my best meal this year.)

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Of course they're all pretty different. That's what makes them interesting. Carbon copies is something we can do without! I'm a lot more sanguine about Sant Pau than you are, though. I think Carme Ruscalleda is a huge talent. It's impressionist cooking, yes, but so delicate...

http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/fish/shrimp/santpau.htm

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

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Okay; you've convinced me.  I have an El Bulli reservation in June.  What other restaurants should I eat at while in the area?

Bruce

Bruce, let me add some more recommendations for traditional and product based restaurants in the area: La Xicra (Palafrugell), Can Bech (Fontanilles) and Bonay (Peratallada). Pork trotters with snails, goose with turnip, snails and all i oli, pidgeon over foie au calvados, game and mushrooms during season, fishballs, ...

Quite solid stuff.

PedroEspinosa (aka pedro)

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I'm plan on travelling to Spain in April for 7 or 8 days (I would go longer if I had more money :) ). I would like to have the best food experience for the least amount of money. What would you recommend? I would be coming into Madrid and would like to visit one or two other regions of Spain. I think I could trust eGullet's recommendations more than generic Spain guidebooks.

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Bruce, as little traveled as I am in the Catalunya, I ended up driving back for second helpings at Rafa's and Hispania. (Of course, I believe Victor knows what he is talking about.) I do have to say that we were underwhelmed by the two paellas we had at Can Majo. We even like more the Valenciana-style ones at the one-dish Chez Miraille in Nice, even though theirs lacks the "crust" that the Can Majo ones had.

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You really had a lot of bad luck at Can Majò, Robert. I've had very decent paellas there, although their best rice dishes are a bit soupier than paella, much in the Catalan style: their 'arroz al caldero', rice with lobster, and the 'arroz a la cazuela estilo pescador', with a mix of fish and shellfish; their 'suquet de peix' (fish stew in a rich broth) is also delightful. Catalan comfort food, essentially.

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

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Yes it does. It's one of their dishes. And you can choose rice or vermicelli as the base: this second version is called 'fideuà' and is an increasingly popular alternative to rice in paella-type dishes since someone (no earlier than the 1950s) had the idea to substitute pasta for rice.

Edited by vserna (log)

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

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I'm plan on travelling to Spain in April for 7 or 8 days (I would go longer if I had more money :) ). I would like to have the best food experience for the least amount of money. What would you recommend? I would be coming into Madrid and would like to visit one or two other regions of Spain. I think I could trust eGullet's recommendations more than generic Spain guidebooks.

How will you be visiting the other region? Will you have a car or will you be using public transportation? I should think that might make a big difference. Seven or eight days will only leave you a couple of days in each region as well as no more than three days in Madrid if we assume even a half day to travel between regions. The best food for the least money is yet another problem. A hundred euro tasting menu in a fine restaurant (as opposed to a similar meal in France that might cost as much as twice that) will meet that definition, but it may be more than someone might want to spend. I like Donastia a lot. I might run out of other things to do, but I could survive gastronomically eating all my meals in tapas bars three times a day for a week there.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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I thought I'd missed something when Victor recommeded Can Majo for its paella. I'm sure it's good, but both times we were there, our main course was a rice and seafood dish. Rice and lobster was the one I remember. The best description I can give for this "wet" rice, is that it's wetter than a rissotto but considerably drier than a Puerto Rican asopao. This is a dish I crave, at least when it's well done, and I've have had elsewhere in Cataluyna, including an intensely flavored one at the rather chef driven Sant Pau. Rice with lobster, or other seafood is what I'd recommend at Can Majo, although I haven't had the paella and look forward to trying it someday.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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How will you be visiting the other region? Will you have a car or will you be using public transportation? I should think that might make a big difference. Seven or eight days will only leave you a couple of days in each region as well as no more than three days in Madrid if we assume even a half day to travel between regions. The best food for the least money is yet another problem. A hundred euro tasting menu in a fine restaurant (as opposed to a similar meal in France that might cost as much as twice that) will meet that definition, but it may be more than someone might want to spend. I like Donastia a lot. I might run out of other things to do, but I could survive gastronomically eating all my meals in tapas bars three times a day for a week there.

I forgot to mention that I would be taking the bus between places. 100 euro tasting menu would be out of price range. I only have about 1k USD outside of plane ticket cost to spend, so I'll probably be just squeezing by. I was thinking of one place to splurge, and by splurge I mean 30 something euros. I was thinking of either visiting Basque area, Seville, or Barcalona. I'm trying to do a european tripbefore attending culinary school in the fall. :cool:

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How will you be visiting the other region? Will you have a car or will you be using public transportation? I should think that might make a big difference. Seven or eight days will only leave you a couple of days in each region as well as no more than three days in Madrid if we assume even a half day to travel between regions. The best food for the least money is yet another problem. A hundred euro tasting menu in a fine restaurant (as opposed to a similar meal in France that might cost as much as twice that) will meet that definition, but it may be more than someone might want to spend. I like Donastia a lot. I might run out of other things to do, but I could survive gastronomically eating all my meals in tapas bars three times a day for a week there.

I forgot to mention that I would be taking the bus between places. 100 euro tasting menu would be out of price range. I only have about 1k USD outside of plane ticket cost to spend, so I'll probably be just squeezing by. I was thinking of one place to splurge, and by splurge I mean 30 something euros. I was thinking of either visiting Basque area, Seville, or Barcalona. I'm trying to do a european tripbefore attending culinary school in the fall. :cool:

A great place to eat well, varied and relatively inexpensively is the Boqueria Market in Barcelona. Two places I can recommend from personal experience are Bar Pinotxa for wonderful Catalan cooking and Kiosk Universal for fresh seafood. I believe these are only available for lunch, but I might be mistaken.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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Without a car, it's going to be difficult to tour an area and you might be better off concentrating on several cities. If you can find inexpensive accommodations, I'd recommend Barcelona highly. It's an interesting city with much to offer a visitor and it has good food, although one needs to be judicious in choosing where to eat in any city that caters to tourism as much as Barcelona does.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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  • 1 year later...
But there are other similar, extremely worthy fish and seafood places in the area which are just as recommendable, although perhaps less well-known. Note these names: Can Ramonet, Can Costa, Cal Pinxo, El Suquet de l'Almirall, and (in the nearby Moll de la Fusta) El Merendero de la Mari.

Which of these would you rate as best for seafood (not specifically paella), and how would it compare with Botafumeiro from a food standpoint (leaving aside the obvious differences in atmosphere and price).

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