Fat Guy

Okay so we're coming up on 4:30am here and I've been going pretty much nonstop since Thursday so the process of posting about tonight's meal is going to have to wait until morning. Well, it is morning but you know what I mean.

We saw Andrew at the baggage claim and chatted a bit. I can't believe he's not a little kid anymore.

We rolled into our hotel around 3:30am. I'm guessing we had one of the larger meals Can Roca ever serves -- 31 courses -- and we also did kitchen and wine-cellar tours and such. I came equipped to do some live blogging but unfortunately there was no wifi in the dining room.

There wasn't a lot of shade and it was about 80F in the sun, but Nathan is pretty sneaky and found us a place under what turned out to be a pedestrian drawbridge. It was all fine until two guys in yellow jumpsuits appeared and started operating the bridge, which made a loud alarm-type noise that drove us away. But we were done. Johnny ate the leftovers during the van ride to dinner. There's a refrigeration problem. When you leave the hotel room, all the electricity cuts out and the room gets very warm. I'm trying to figure out candy logistics, like whether it's possible to get some Sunday morning on the way out of town.

Walking around the market, the hams looked so good that Nathan declared: "Let's get 100 grams of a really good ham and eat it outside." Max quickly took this idea down the slippery slope. He navigated us through the painstaking purchase of three types of ham and a bunch of other stuff: sopressata, idiazabal cheese, three types of almonds, strawberries, wild berries, Diet Coke. Let's eat it down by the water, he suggested. I don't know the city, but I quickly learned that the waterfront is in the opposite direction of our hotels. After our picnic/tasting, Max left us and Nathan and I walked for what seemed like about an hour back to the hotel. Along the way we stopped in at the Santa Caterina Market but I was too fried to take any photos. At this point I feel I may be operating at a caloric deficit for the day, though I'm sure dinner will change that.

We then took a walk through the market and saw, among other things, Silly Disciple and Pedro's pasta shop. If you haven't read the chronicle of its founding, please check out the topic they've maintained. Here's the place: We also walked around the whole joint and I took some more photos, as did Nathan M. And then we decided to have a little picnic. I'll try to get those photos up before we head out for dinner. Then there may be a long period of silence because connectivity other than in the hotel has not been fabulous and we have a long drive to dinner, a long dinner, and a long drive back.

After the exhausting outing with Johnny and Dr. Ryan, during which I was continually made to feel inadequate for feeling the slightest bit fatigued, we returned to our hotel and checked into our rooms. There was email from Nathan M. waiting: he and Max would be back at the hotel in 45 minutes and were planning to go to La Boqueria. Dr. Ryan declared a siesta for himself and repaired to his room. Johnny claimed to be indefatigable. But when the time came to rendezvous with Nathan and Max, Johnny was nowhere to be found. I called up to his room. "Hey dude, I think I'm just gonna catch a shower and rest a bit and get with you later." Which just goes to show you that people who live in pork-chop sideburns shouldn't throw stones at fish pants. So, Nathan, Max and I walked over to La Boqueria. On the way I indicated that I thought it was a little strange that on my first-ever day in Barcelona I'd be dining at Pinotxo twice. Oh no, said Max, we're not going to Pinotxo. We're going to this other place in the market, Kiosko Universal, that's better. Now I won't say that this Universal place was categorically better than Pinotxo. Both types of clams were better at Pinotxo. The gambas were better at Universal. The single best dish of the day was the octopus at Universal. Both places are great. I'm glad I got to try both and Johnny didn't.

The images may not be coming through on your handheld. First two photos are baby clams and razor clams, respectively.

Next, a walk around the amazing Boqueria market.

I thought for sure the plan would be to go to the hotel, get showered, rest up and then, maybe around noon, go for a stroll and a light snack. But somehow by about 8:30am Johnny Iuzzini had us death-marching toward La Boqueria, where we (Johnny, Dr. Ryan, and I) ate a disgustingly huge dinner (at 9am) at Pinotxo.

Quick diary of Delta flight 94 - JFK to BCN 6:23pm (NY time) We've taken off and reached cruising altitude but at the moment the promised wifi does not appear to exist. We'll see if that situation evolves. 6:44pm (NY time) Johnny has been relentless in his criticism of my fish pants, however several bystanders have stepped in to defend the fish pants. 6:58pm (NY time) It's too easy to make fun of airline food, but I just couldn't resist taking a photo of my dinner. The pasta was inedible, as was the refrigerator-temperature roll and "buttery spread." The gummy salad dressing represented a complete misunderstanding of modernist thickening techniques, and the tomatoes in the salad were reminiscent of the worst supermarket tomatoes of the 1970s. There was, buried among the other items, a 3/4-ounce piece of Tillamook cheese. Not quite enough to sustain life, but I guess I can withstand a few days of subsisting on my own body fat. Still, at the moment I'm really regretting that I didn't accept the two granola bars my mother offered along with those 70 Euros. I foolishly took only the cash. Usually I'm a little better prepared, food-wise, for airline flights. But this was all so last-minute and rushed I just couldn't find the time to attend to matters culinary. 8:10pm (NY time) We have ascertained with certainty that there is no wifi on this flight. 8:33pm (NY time) Johnny and I compared notes and discovered that we were both last-minute additions to the group after other people had to drop out. Nonetheless, we believe ourselves to be the two finest human beings on the trip. Tim Ryan, who was a genuine original invitee, is also on this flight. 8:50pm (NY time) Just before I left I got a request from a newspaper editor for a short opinion piece. I'm going to take a crack at writing it, but without internet connectivity the most I can really do is create a framework. The piece is too fact- and news-dependent to write totally from within my mind. 9:14pm (NY time) Got some thoughts down "on paper." Used the power of the fish pants to score two extra pieces of cheese from a winsome flight attendant. Going to take some heavy medication and try to catch a few hours of sleep. 6:01am (BCN time, just under 3 hours have elapsed) My shoulder is killing me. it's not clear to me that I slept at all. I think I just sat in an in-between state for three hours while the person in two seats behind me coughed for three hours and the baby two seats in front of me cried for three hours. This is the moment when I think elBulli better be worth it. The outside air temperature, according to the flight status update channel, is -58C. That's cold. Although, the weather in Barcelona is supposed to be very nice the whole weekend. 6:20am (BCN time) Breakfast! The less said about this the better. I confess the coffee is not bad. 7:06am Time to shut off electronic devices, though I can't imagine there's actually a good reason for this rule. I hope to be able to connect and post when we reach the hotel.

Johnny has already been mobbed by adoring fans at the airport. Curiously, nobody has recognized me. Posted from my handheld using the Tapatalk app. Want to use eG Forums on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry? Get started at http://egullet.org/tapatalk

I just was able to swing an aisle seat. A testament to the power of the fish pants. Johnny Iuzzini quote #2: "How can you have one of the most highly rated food blogs and you've never been to Spain?" Posted from my handheld using the Tapatalk app. Want to use eG Forums on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry? Get started at http://egullet.org/tapatalk

First Johnny Iuzzini quote of the trip: "Don't sit near me with those pants." (Referring to my signature fish pants.) Posted from my handheld using the Tapatalk app. Want to use eG Forums on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry? Get started at http://egullet.org/tapatalk

(This was written about an hour ago.) I'm not sure when I'll be able to connect and post this but I am beginning my journey to JFK airport via 3 and E subway followed by the Airtrain. Traveling by crowded subway (I should add that at present I'm booked in a horrible middle seat on my Delta flight) to dine at elBulli reminds me of many a black-tie event, four-star dinner, cruise, etc. that we've traveled to via public transportation. The contrast is always a little weird. I can guarantee you the guy next to me reading about Lady Gaga in AM New York (the lowest common denominator of all newspapers on our planet) is neither bound for nor familiar with elBulli. He probably also earns more money than I do. I'm hoping to get a newer plane with wifi. Online it seemed that my flight would be thusly equipped. We'll see... Posted from my handheld using the Tapatalk app. Want to use eG Forums on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry? Get started at http://egullet.org/tapatalk

Great idea. Time for recess. Posted from my handheld using the Tapatalk app. Want to use eG Forums on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry? Get started at http://egullet.org/tapatalk

Maybe it's not too late for an elBulli-a-thon at a thousand bucks a course. Posted from my handheld using the Tapatalk app. Want to use eG Forums on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry? Get started at http://egullet.org/tapatalk

What about the place on Lex near Kalustyans? Over the years a couple of people have told me it's better. Posted from my handheld using the Tapatalk app. Want to use eG Forums on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry? Get started at http://egullet.org/tapatalk

Is where? Posted from my handheld using the Tapatalk app. Want to use eG Forums on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry? Get started at http://egullet.org/tapatalk

JB, my schedule today is pretty rigid. I can't leave Manhattan before 3. I'll hope it doesn't actually take me 90 minutes to get to JFK. Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Person 6 is a French chef from out west. I don't want to use his name until he clears it. Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

The scale of Harlem apartments is pretty impressive. It's not a huge kitchen, but by NYC non-billionaire standards it's really quite expansive.

I also have an older GSM-capable smartphone (Samsung Saga) that I could probably get activated for this trip, but I shudder to think what it will cost. I've already exceeded my budget for the trip, even accounting for the 70 Euros my mother had in her desk from her last trip to Europe. Schedule for today: 6a-6:50a Wake up, make lunch for PJ 6:50a-7a eG time 7a-7:45a Wake PJ, make breakfast, get ready for school 7:45a-8:25a Transit to school 8:45a-9:10a Transit home 9:10a-9:45a eG time and packing, check in for flight and print documents 10a-11a Physical therapy 11a-12:30p Go to Astor Place, get haircut, return home 12:30p-1:30p eG time and packing 1:30p-1:55p Transit back to PJ's school 2p-2:45p Monitor kindergarten recess 2:55p School pickup time, say goodbye to family 3p-4:30p Transit to JFK airport 6p Flight departs

How much to buy is a real internal tug-of-war for me. I like to minimize trips to the store but I also like stuff to be fresh. Ideally I'd buy, for example, spices a fraction of an ounce at a time and grind everything myself. But then I'd always be running out of things in the middle of projects, and I'd get very slowed down on some dishes. It doesn't help that the new kitchen will have a beast of a refrigerator and a lot more storage cabinets than the old one.

It occurs to me that I've never really done this sort of self analysis. I also wonder if the new digs will present an opportunity for change. Certainly the new kitchen layout will be more conducive to doing things like actually taking out and using the KitchenAid.