Luis Gutiérrez

Not much luck with Portugal either. They have told me you could check with a shop in Porto, called Tio Pepe. Their site is here The guys from Zurich I was telling you about are Global Wine. Cheers, Luis

Why not a Niepoort? If you've had enough Niepoort 45s I offer to buy any bottles you don't want... Dirk is one of the guys I emailed... OK, so close to Zurich... Do you know the guys from Global Wine? Maybe they could help you... Cheers, Luis

Hello Ed, I've just received a mail from Pedro about this. I've emailed a few producers in Portugal about it, let's see what they say. However 1945 is one of the myhtical vintages, and therefore VERY expensive! Does it have to be a Vintage? There's also Colheita, which is normally cheaper than Vintage. Will get back to you when I have some news/ideas. Cheers, Luis PS: I sometimes travel to Lausanne. Where are you exactly?

Bux, I was not alone, but we were very thirsty anyway... I'm not sure about wines by the glass to go with the menu. Sometimes they bring you a glass of something when they think it goes really well with the dish. Other than that, riesling BAs ans eiswein usually come in half bottles, and we shared the Champagne with some more people including the sommelier until like three in the morning... As far as drinking local, I agree when you travel abroad. But, do you always drink american wines when you dine in the States with your friends? I just try to drink what interests me from the list, wherever it comes from... Cheers, Luis

Sorry for the delay and the poor English. I find it very difficult translating all this names (how the hell do you say 'crujiente' without sounding silly?), and I'm not used to doing it, so I've kept the Spanish too. I'm sure Pedro, Víctor and others will help me correcting it. Here it goes: The menu at Can Roca, end of February 2005 Snacks Black olives crunchy – Crujiente de aceitunas negas Parmesan cookie – Galleta de Parmesano Cod skin - Corteza de bacalao Tapas Carrot compote with corn ice cream – Compota de zanahoria con helado de maíz Bergamot musseline with baby kidney beans and citrics – Muselina de bergamota con habitas y cítricos Pigeon parfait with Bristol Cream gelatin – Parfait de pichón con gelatina de Bristol Cream Menu Anchovy, truffle and merlot – Anchoa, trufa y merlot Foie-gras nougat – Turrón de foie gras Scampi with orange smoke and pumpkin foam – Cigala al humo de naranja y espuma de calabaza Artichoke royale with truffle – Royal de alcachofa con trufa Smoked squid tartar – Tartar de sepia ahumada Sea crab velouté with baby onions in cocoa and mint – Velouté de buey de mar con cebollitas al cacao y menta Baby squid and onions – Pulpitos y cebollitas Rougettes stuffed with its liver, orange and cardamom – Salmonetes rellenos de su hígado con naranja y cardamomo Lamb carré with pigs trotter caneloni and peas – Carré de cordero con canelones de pies de cordero y guisantes Becada royale – Royal de becada Desserts Eternity by Calvin Klein – Eternity de Calvin Klein Frozen toffee biscuit, pain d’epices, dates compote, ginger and Venerable ice cream – Biscuit helado de toffe, pan de especies, compota de dátiles, jengibre y helado de Venerable Petit fours Semi sphere of orange liqueur – Media esfera de licor de naranja Pineapple and star aniseed bombon – Bombón de piña y anís estrellado Pain d’epices rock – Roca de pan de especies Crunchy white chocolate and raspberry – Crujiente de chocolate blanco y frambuesa Blood orange jelly – Gominola de naranja sanguina Wines Ca del Bosco Franciacorta Cuvée Annamaria Clementi Spumante Trimbach, Clos St Hune 1997 Bonnes Mares Grand cru 1999, Domaine Dujac Riesling Beerenauslese Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1995, Fritz Haag Riesling Eiswein Brucke 1998, H. Dönnhoff Bollinger RD 1990

It will take some time, the menu is similar to the one at El Bulli (20+ dishes, big or small), but I'll do my best to do it sooner rather than later. Cheers, Luis

Pedro, I'd say it was at the same level or even higher. You have to take into account that the knowledge and generosity of Josep Roca with the wines also helps a lot, at least for me. I'm lalready ooking forward to my next visit... Cheers, Luis

Well, it seems that at least price-wise Can Fabes and Santceloni are exactly the same! ← Yep!

Yes, sorry, I've been pretty busy and forgot to come back to you... We had dinner at Can Roca Saturday night, something that I try to avoid, but we were in the region for only a couple of days and it was the only chance. Saturday night is always busy, and we got a very small table for two. We paid 80 euros for a superb menu of new-ish or unusual dishes, includind a becada or a foie-gras and hazelnut turrón. We drank superbly. Bonnes Mares 1999 from Dujac was cosmic. The wine list is very good, and the prices very reasonable. Ended at 3:00 AM after a good chat with the sommelier and some wine-people that were dinning on another table. They print out a menu for you with all that you've eaten and and all that you've drunk. We tried to get a table at Carme Ruscalleda for Sunday luchtime, but it was fully booked. So we booked at Can Fabes. Sunday lunchtime is also something I try to avoid. And looks like others too... Santi Santamaría was not there. Nor was his wife or the sommelier. The menu was 140 euros. The food was good but not great. Service was 'good enough'. Wine wervice was poor... The whole experience was very disappointing, especially when we had to fork out 250 € per head, having ordered a total of 3 bottles of wine for 4 from an overpriced wine list. And they don't print a menu for you. After the disappointment I cannot really tell you any dish sticked to my memory... Sanceloni in Madrid is also very expensive, but I've eaten very well there. However, some have had better meals at Can Fabes, and I'm sure we were unlucky with the circumstances, but that's no excuse. We finished quite late, and they didn't let us look at the latest book Santi is selling there, claiming 'they were all sealed'. We wanted to look at it before buying. So we didn't buy it! Cheers! Luis

I will! For now, Can Roca superb, Can Fabes disappointing. But I've just returned and it's one o'clock in the morning for me so I'm going to bed. But will be back! Good night, Luis

That's about right, but since I'm going to Can Roca tonight and to Can Fabes tomorrow, I will be able to re-confirm, not that I want to make you envious...

Rogelio, if you liked Priorat you have to visit the Douro. It's like Priorat multiplied by ten! Cheers, Luis

If I only had one meal in Madrid I'd go to one of the restaurants in town, and wouldn't bother travelling (after all you have already travelled to Madrid...) Viridiana does have a tasting menu, it's called El Menú de Abraham and changes daily. It normally also include wines. Highly recommended, number of dishes and quantities are enoumous. You might not be able to eat everything! I think around 100 €, but not 100% sure. The other places could be Santceloni (prepare yourself to fork out 150+ per head), La Broche or La Terraza del Casino. I'd go to Viridiana myself. Let us know how it goes. Cheers, Luis Edited to correct spelling mistakes. Laying in the sofa Satuday night is not the best for typying!

I don't know about being the best in the world, but it's certainly one of the best, or at least one of my favourites, in Spain. Take a look at the nice site they have here. Enjoy, Luis

Omigod. ← Zapatero a tus zapatos*, me thinks! *This is a Spanish saying, literally 'shoemaker to your shoes'

OK, there's something I don't quite understand. Is this Camper hotel a 'theme' hotel about shoes or something? Or is it only that Camper happens to own the hotel? Many thanks in advance for your clarification. Cheers, Luis

Fully agree about Sant Celoni. The only problem I had about it was that the last time we were there if was a painful (at least for Spain) 250€ per head (and 180€ the one before WITHOUT WINE...) Cheers, Luis

David, the best three syrahs in Spain, IMHO, are Finca Sandoval (my favourite vintage so far, 2002), Duratón Syrah (from 2001, but be careful , there's a regular Duratón too) from Valtiendas in the province of Segovia, and Valtosca from Casa Castillo in Jumilla (I think 2002 was also the best vintage for this one, but I'm not 100% sure...). Cheers, Luis

I second Víctor's recommendation. Vila Viniteca is probably the best wine shop in Spain, let alone Barcelona. Cheers, Luis

Just in case anyone is looking for erizos in Madrid, here are nine suggestions from Metropoli as reported in Rogelio's DIGEST this week. ← When we talk about erizos I cannot help to think about La Gastroteca de Stéphane y Arturo, one of the places I really miss in Madrid. They used to grill them in the oven with some cayenne and a quail's egg. Together with an aged trocken riesling... it was heaven!

Just bring plenty of cash (or credit cards...)

Víctor, don't they have two different kinds? The regular and the selection (or 'gold' or whatever) that has darker packaging. I seem to remember the quality difference was quite big. I haven't had breakfast, and I'm getting hungry... \Luis

There's a place in Madrid called Comercial Salamanca (Menendez Pelayo 2) where you can find,in my opinion, the best anchovies coming from Cantabria (I guess it's Santoña but I'm not completely sure). They are “home made” and surely deserve a try. Even if you are not interested on anchovies, it’s a good place for food. Excellent meat, great embutidos and a good selection of canned seafood and vegetables. ← Eduardo, ¿was this called Comercial Narvaez before or is this a branch of it or something like that? Because I remember my mum used to shop there (I'm talking 20 years ago...) and buy some excellent stuff! I haven't been there for a very long time, but since you brought it back to my memory I'll try to have a look next time I'm in the city centre. Cheers, Luis

Yes, I think it makes sense even within the vintage category, for example. A bottle of Vintage 2000 should last longer than a bottle of say a 1977, which has spent a lot more time in glass. Cheers, Luis

You can find it at the Club del Gourmet from El Corte Inglés, and in most of the duty free shops in the airports (at least in Madrid...). You can buy it now it will still be very nice, and the 2003 has been the best so far (maybe due to the increase in koroneiki olives) , but the 2004 vintage should be available in January (depending on the shops and the stock they might have, of course...). If you read some Spanish you might want to take a look at this (I hope this is OK with the rules from the forum...):Dauro, los aceites de Roda Cheers, Luis