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Their phone number is: +34 972 22 21 57. Their fax number is: +34 972 48 52 59

Influences are a difficult matter. One thing is clear, it's not that copy of Abraham's cuisine that the now defunct "i" was. No single recipe in the menu came from Viridiana. The closest, I'd say, would be the gazpacho with salmon: not that I've ever been served this dish in Viridiana, but it reminds of some gazpachos prepared by Abraham, though the texture and taste of César's was quite different. For instance, César is using techniques like sous vide that Abraham would never think of using (at least in the foreseeable future). And then the overall style could be categorized as fusion, which is the category we usually place Viridiana lacking of a better one. But to me that's not necessarily the same as influence. Anyway, upcoming visits will clarify the issue. Or maybe not.

Thanks for sharing the menu you had at elBulli and welcome to the eG Forums. We don't have any problems at all with long posts. In fact, we prefer them to one liners! I assume it was your first visit to elBulli, wasn't it? Which dishes did you enjoy the most? I see some of them that were there last year.

César Rodríguez, who spent a large part of his career with Abraham García (Viridiana), but who has worked also with Juan Mari Arzak (Arzak), has opened his own restaurant, Antojo, at the Calle Ferraz in Madrid. This young chef has conceived the restaurant as a two people show: just him in the kitchen and his wife Cristina managing the dining room. When the trend seems to call for grandiloquent settings and expensive operations, is comforting to find people who have a clear picture about how to start a restaurant which they can control and develop their own ideas. As you can imagine, the capacity of the dining room is not large: no more than 20 seats, I'd say, in a nice and clear setting with remarkable lightning. César's cuisine has a personality of its own. Perhaps it could be ascribed to that style that, lacking of a better term, we call fusion cooking. A few dishes showed Asian influences: the gazpacho with salmon in a slightly hot sauce or the carrillera in a galanga sauce. Others, like the grilled foie with a cabbage pastela introduced themes from our North African neighbors. A cuisine which treats ingredients with respect, escaping from the display of technique with no other reason than showing the abilities of the chef. The only issue we had in the long menu César prepared for us was a cod fish dish, where the cod didn't live up to the quality of the rest of the meal, something that I knew later had to do with an issue with the package of pre-desalted cod used. Nonetheless, it was a minor issue in a very consistent meal. A chef and a restaurant to keep a close eye to, I'd say.

Hi, would you please explain some details about the dishes you mention? I've never heard of them.

Nimzo, you and I are talking about the same dishes at Can Fabes, I'd say. I was in Can Fabes late in July 04 and I experienced the same high level I've always enjoyed there.

As far as wine suggestions go, follow this one at Can Roca: ask for Josep Roca aka Pitu Roca and follow his advice. And while we're at Can Roca, I believe that in their menu they have a section where they feature their signature dishes. A carpaccio of pork trotters and crayfish immediately comes to my mind, as also does a dish inspired in the traditional escudella i carn d'olla which replaces the traditional ingredients with cod fish in different preparations. At Can Fabes, there are a number of wonderful dishes. The best kid that I've ever had, roasted with sage, the luscious pork jowl with caviar over the lightest parmentier you can have, the ravioli of shrimp and porcini (boletus edulis), spiny lobster with just a hint of curry, . . . Let us know of your final choices!

Welcome to the eG Forums, Corinna. Let me bring to your attention some posts that may be relevant for you: Short post on Bonay Bonay's cuisine is Empordà's cuisine: powerful, rustic dishes with that imaginative twist that you can find in this regional cooking as with its fondness for mar i muntanya, dishes that combine products coming from the country and the sea. On snails I used some quotes from Josep Pla when I started this thread, which probably was what caused Jesus Barquin to make that reference to me and Pla. Quite flattering, but unfortunately for me, quite unlikely. Anyway, I mentioned there a handful of restaurants which I absolutely recommend even if you're not going to taste the snails. Something that I absolutely don't recommend. Recs in Girona Some more restaurants around Girona appear in this thread. Regarding the linguistic issue, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Catalonia is a tourisy region and hardly you'll find yourself in a situation which you can't handle with English, rusty French and gestures.

I believe that Ferran's answer is open to misinterpretation. One of the customary questions he has to answer is about the contrast between his cuisine and the dining room. He was surprised that none of our members asked that question during the eG Forums Q&A with Ferran Adrià. Then, he added the comment "Now it's an avant-garde dining room.". My interpretation of that is not that they have redesigned elbulli's dining room, something that I can positively say that they haven't, but that now, given the condition of dining rooms in gastronomic restaurants all over the world, the odd looking dining room of elbulli could be considered as avant-garde.

Let's see if I can get Luis Gutiérrez, an expert in Portuguese wines (including Porto), to take a look at this thread. In the meantime, why don't you get in touch directly with the producers? In that way, you have more certainty about cellar issues.

Unless you're playing some risky game of foamy deconstruction not to be tried at home, there's no way that mashed potatoes could replace fried potatoes in a tortilla de patatas.

Jack, are you referring to the English edition or to the book itself? I mean, there's so much novel in the English edition vs the French one or in the Grand Livre?

While talking to Manuel de la Osa, chef and owner of Las Rejas, during the fantastic meal we had at FM in Granada, in the context of the Jerez / Alta Cocina / Sherry course arranged by the University of Granada, he told me that the best chuletón he's had found it in Fuenmayor, at the restaurant Alameda. They age their pieces by themselves, it seems. With that endorsement, I'd give it a try were I nearby Fuenmayor.

Indeed they are, Víctor. Usually, I'm on the side of those who debate them.

For the sake of debate: according to RGS, Can Roca 9, Moo 6.5 (in Spanish, already featured in Rogelio's digest).

Agreed, Víctor. However, my impression, and I'm not talking of anything more than that, was based on first hand reports from people in the business and in the media.

IMHO, the snifter is not the best glass to drink cognac, neither is a good idea to heat it with your palm. Cognac, as other distilled drinks like armagnac, calvados or whisky, has enough content of alcohol. If you heat it, you'll only get alcohol in the nose losing other nuances of flavor. Just swirl it gently in one of those glasses that has a tulip shape. Coming back to temperature, Michel Couvreur recommends sipping a glass of very cold water (with lots of ice in the american way) before sipping the licquor. It compensates very nicely the sensation of heat brought by the licquor and avoids the need to put ice or water in it. Give it a try. I did and it worked for me.

When I met him in July, he indicated that he would continue his relationship with Hesperia, the hotel chain. He was going to support (gastronomic director is the title given to his relationship with Hesperia) two restaurants: one more casual, turning tables especially at lunch time, at the Hotel Presidente, named Sant Esteve. The second one, at the new Hesperia Tower, would be conceived as a gastronomic destination. Regarding the first one, I don't know which is the current state of the project. Hesperia doesn't seem to publicize Santi Santamaría as being behind Sant Esteve, hotel Presidente's restaurant, something that would be difficult to understand if Santi is indeed playing some kind of role there. The only info I found is this: Hesperia acquiring hotel Presidente (mention of Santi Santamaría). I do really hope that Santi doesn't spread too thin among too many ventures.

The dress code at elBulli is casual. You'll see people in a number of attires, ranging from tie and jacket (the less numerous group), to people with T-shirts. Last summer, I hardly recall seeing anyone with tie and even with a jacket. The lack of wine tasting selections is a common one among Spanish restaurants, even the top ones. elBulli is one of the offenders too. Service is not included on the final bill, nor there's a legal obligation to tip. A tip is expected, but you have much more freedom about it than in the States. There's no minimum percentage established and the final amount is much closer related, I'd say, to the quality of service you receive. Leaving a 15% tip after some service I've experienced in the States or the UK should be forbidden by law. Coming back to Spain and elBulli, a tip of 10% would be a very good one by Spanish standards.

It well can be my own perception, but it looks to me that the last wave of hotel restaurants opened in Barcelona aren't getting a positive welcome. More specifically, Roca's bross Moo and Sergi Arola's Arola. I imagine that Carles Gaig's cuisine, which left his centenary location at Passeig Maragall to find a new home in a hotel whose name eludes me, is above good and evil and won't suffer an inch in the moving. Let's see how Santi Santamaría does in his two new restaurants, both in hotels, one in Barcelona and the other, the one intended to serve to gastronomes alike, in L'Hospitalet.

Thinking of taking an extended sabbatical is more accurate than will be taking an extended sabbatical, John. It looked like an idea that has been around their minds for some time and they haven't found the proper time to do it. Who knows if 2006 will be that year, or if there will be such year.

I guess the observatory of El Roque de los Muchachos is not the place with the most comprehensive gastronomic offer. Some smoked cheese from La Palma (typically goat cheese), put on the grill for a few seconds and with some mojo verde on top is a simple yet delightful dish. Not to mention the papas arrugás with the more powerful mojo picón.

If they keep their 2006 season as it's been for some years now, have in mind that they will close the restaurant by mid October.

baw, it is the appropiate thread for your post. A week of jamón y queso? Either you didn't spend time looking for other options, of which you'd have found plenty, or you're a lover of jamón y queso.

Jason, what do you mean by "fresh"? Longaniza is a type of cured sausage which excludes pimentón in its seasoning, therefore being quite different from chorizo. I recently visited Zaragoza in Aragón, where longanizas are one of its traditional embutidos. You can take a look at: Longanizas from Graus (Graus is a small village located in Huesca, northern Aragón. Longaniza from Aragón