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Víctor, the chef himself says that the deal is almost completed, providing some details about the future location. However, perhaps "moving" is not the exact term. If it finally takes place, I think his idea is to open a second restaurant in Madrid without closing his other restaurant. Where will he stablish his headquarters, is another matter for which I don't have enough information.

Luis, if Can Roca was operating at the same level it was last summer, I can understand that in comparison, any other meal you had afterwards would seem a pale shadow of the former.

Even though Coque has been mentioned and discussed at some length in several threads here and there in the forum, it doesn't have a thread of its own. Certainly, it deserves it. As you already know, Coque is the restaurant lead by Mario Sandoval, the 27 years old chef already awarded with a Michelin star, something especially valuable in a country like Spain where Michelin seems to keep a tight fist in regard with their grades. Located in Humanes, a town south of Madrid which probably you wouldn't visit were it not for having Coque in it (according to Mario Sandoval, the taxi ride from will cost you around 70€ round trip). Coque, which opened its door back in 1949, has always been run by the Sandoval family, now in its third generation. A traditional asador which clearly flew under the radar, undeservedly so if we judge the exceptional quality of its cochinillo, known mainly by locals and which never made it to the press. All this changed with the arrival of Mario Sandoval to the kitchen 50 years later. A cooking style which in its best redemptions combines a brave use of avant garde techniques with references to local flavors, dishes and traditions. Definite and precise tastes, deep flavors which link the best of regional cooking from Madrid and La Mancha with contemporary avant garde Spanish cuisine: Alta Cocina. In this arena, Mario is a master. Dishes like the emulsion of squash and Dublin Bay prawn, where the emulsion is a stock where the iberic flavors give another meaning to the rest of the ingredients, or like the kid confit in smoked milk with migas (bread crumbs), pork belly and grapes. This work led Coque to its first appearance in a newspaper of nation wide coverage in June 2003: Fernando Point's article for Metropoli "A (very) great one in the South." From there, Coque starts gaining major recognition, appearing in the Campsa Guide and Michelin Guide in 2004 with a Sol and a star respectively, and in the media. Albeit, not everything is perfect in Coque's menu. Some dishes seem to be a pure display of the redoubtable technical skills of Mario. All in all, the slight sense of disorientation created by these is quickly replaced by the satisfaction of one of Mario's signature dishes. A while ago, Víctor and I had an amicable dispute about Coque in this thread. I'm happy to report that we both survived the duel, which instead of taking place at high noon took place at the much more civilized hour of 10pm. The menu was a success, with the unforgivable sin of Mario excluding the cochinillo from it. After that meal, let me answer a couple of rhetoric questions here: Is Coque, as Víctor wrote, "the most interesting, personal and talent-laden place in Madrid"? Most likely, it is. I would keep a close eye on Lucas González and his Amets in El Escorial, too. Is the best of Mario Sandoval yet to come? I think so, and I really hope he choses to continue with the line of work that we both think shows the best of his cuisine and doesn't get distracted by siren calls. He's already suffered the bitter outcome of paying attention to those.

Welcome to the eG Forums, helenah. Indeed Mas de Torrent is an amazing hotel in a wonderful setting. However, I don't think it's a 30 mins ride to Can Fabes, it's more like 70 mins or so. Perhaps you were thinking of Can Roca, in Girona, instead of Can Fabes? I'll try to come back later on to write about my view on Mas Torrent's restaurant.

We cooked a nice roast beef today for lunch, following the method described in the eGCI at Science in the kitchen. It's a slow method that takes a few hours, but you certainly control the degree of cooking that you get. I prefer it on the rare side, by the way. So, no overcooking problems at all, but I wonder if adding some kind of jus to it while it's in the oven would improve the flavor. Do you use any demi glace or similar to enhace flavor?

That's exactly what I was curious about. Whether the innovative style by Galician cooking standards that Toñi represented not that long ago would still be that innovative.

Víctor, have you recently been to Toñi Vicente? I'm curious to know how she's doing.

Some of our members visited Galicia last summer. At least one of them, Rogelio, went to Casa Marcelo. This is what he wrote about it: Casa Marcelo. If you still have some room for exploring a few more restaurants, not located in Santiago though, vserna wrote about Galicia on Best of both worlds, or: Galicia, clicking on all cylinders.

These type of things, like the ban of having game served in restaurants in NY, are simply shocking from a european point of view. Nature an unapproved source? Really, I can't put myself in a position where I can imagine what would happen in Spain if such a ban would be issued. I think of some chefs I know and their cooking simply doesn't make sense if you remove wild products, specifically wild mushrooms, from their cuisines. You'd have to listen to Santi Santamaría, the first chef in Catalonia who got three Michelin stars with his restaurant, Can Fabes, about wild mushrooms and how important they were. His passion would come through you and make you share his excitement. Not to mention Abraham García (Viridiana), Iñaki Camba (Arce), Lucas González, who hunts them himself for his restaurant Amets, or the wild mushroom broker par excellence in the country, Llorenç Petrás, with his incredible stall in La Boquería.

MobyP, this is likely a translation issue. He probably refers to free-range chicken as opposed to chiken raised in the so-called farms, confined in the least possible space and fed with who knows what..

It seems you didn't enjoy much Fonda Emilio. Would you please tell us a little bit more of your meal there? It's the first non positive comment I hear about them (I haven't been there) and I'm curious to know more about your experience.

I'd say that the cuisine of Navarra has a personality of its own. One of the best pantrys in the country and influences from the areas which surround it, mainly Aragón, the Basque Country and, how not, France. Powerful and rich dishes, like trucha a la Navarra (trout Navarrian style, coated in flour and stuffed with ham), or the cochifrito, dish of fried lamb which Néstor Luján and Juan Perucho mention in their book El Libro de la cocina española as one of the emblematic dishes of the region.

Another area I enthusiastically recommend is the Empordà. Close to the sea but rural just a few miles from the coast. Villages like Torrent, Fontanilles and many others offer a wide range of lodging options. I don't know if you consider that area as the environs of Girona, but certainly meets your requirements.

Hi, Koen, welcome to the site. There's plenty of references to El Celler de Can Roca in this forum, some of them with quite detailed descriptions. Among the results you can find using the Search capability, you'll get: Can Roca -- desserts, wine, Girona Restaurants in Catalonia Best restaurant in the world? I don't know, but last summer I had there the best meal of all that I had in the area, meals that include the two three stars restaurants of Catalonia, Can Fabes and elBulli. Those were fabulous, each one in its own and different style, but I think that the whole tasting menu at Can Roca was particularly balanced, achieving the not so common state (actually quite rare) where the menu ends up being more than the combination of the individuals dishes.

Santi Santamaría, chef and owner of the three star Can Fabes, enthusiastically recommended Shunka last summer. He mentioned the use of great products, the simplicity of their cuisine and the good service provided to everyone. The whole fried eggplant that he had at Shunka inspired him to create a similar dish, where he replaced the original miso sauce with some smoked cod fish mouse,

Indeed, papas 'arrugás' (wrinkled potatoes) are served with mojo rojo, also called mojo picón (hot mojo) and mojo verde. The former is usually used when you're having a meat dish along with the potatoes and the latter for fish dishes. Both sauces are used for dishes other than potatoes, usually with grilled fish or meat. You can take a look to: More info on mojos. More info on papas (Canary potatoes.) Coming back to the use of sea water in cooking, in Spain this has always been the recommended method to boil marisco (seafood.)

Derek, thanks very much for joining us and giving us the opportunity to ask you some questions. What's your view on the fact that the number of star restaurants in Spain is always slightly over 100 for the last 15 year (practically constant in these years)? Hasn't Spanish cuisine experimented enough improvement in these years to deserve a larger number of stars (i.e. Germany doubles Spain in number of star restaurants)? Thanks very much for your answer.

Just for the record, the white anchovies are called in Spain boquerones en vinagre, literally anchovies in vinegar. The white color is the effect of marinating them in vinegar. The origin of this preparation probably has arabic roots, being a variation over the escabeche (pickling) techniques introduced by the moors to Spain centuries ago. It's a dish that's not hard to cook and is done at home a fair number of times. Boquerones is the name of anchovies in Southern Spain, commonly used to refer to the fresh fish, that is, when it's not preserved in oil and salt like the other anchovies. In the latter case, we use the name anchoas, which is the Northern Spain term for the fish.

Igles and Pia, thanks very much for joining us. We have a few hard-core lovers of becaccia (Scolopax Rusticola, woodcock, becada in Spain, becasse in France) in the site. What could you tell us about cooking this bird? Do you favor long periods of faisandage?

Fruit is a living and evolving thing which has an optimum time for consumption, that is, when it's ripe. If you're going to ship it far away, you'll have to pick it well before it's ripe. And I can tell you, there's a difference between a fruit which has ripened in the tree and a fruit which has ripened in the dark humid hold of a ship.

Well, this is what Rafael García Santos, the Spanish critic whose main and almost exclusive focus is avant-garde contemporary cuisine, has to say about WD-50: Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía on WD - 50 I visited WD-50 a year ago. Wylie, his father Dewey told me, was attending to Madrid Fusión, the annual gastronomy summit. In fact, Wylie was dining at La Broche the same night I visited WD-50. In a way, the food I had at WD-50 probably was the most interesting of the trip. Sure, the worse dishes of the trip were some from the tasting menu of WD-50, but so were the best. And the latter were worth the visit.

Really? I mean, really?

Any ideas of the whereabouts of Sergio López? I read that he retired due to stress, but I wonder if he's come back to the kitchen . . .

That's the commonest way of cooking percebes (goose barnacles), which adheres to the principle of "don't mess with the product!", principle that is The Law in many marisquerías (seafood restaurants.) Being Galicia considered by many the epitome of these products and their associated cuisine, for many years Galician cuisine has neglected, even rejected, change and innovation. Things are changing, while preserving tradition: Best of both worlds, or Galicia clicking on all cylinders. Casa Marcelo Judith, remember that angulas de Aguinaga (baby eels from Aguinaga) are among the most renowned in the country, and Aguinaga is just a few miles from San Sebastián. I'm not sure if there's still a significant angulas fishing activity in Aguinaga, but my point is that the Basque Country is one of the best places, if not the best, to sample angulas. Rekondo, which has appeared in this forum a number of times, is a terrific restaurant with a more than terrific wine list.

That's an easy one, Judith: Combarro's thread Combarro's site Depending on the number of meals around seafood you want to have, you may also want to consider Rafa, O'Pazo, El Pescador and quite possibly Casa d'a Troya.