Lenski

I also had lunch there last week. I have become a fan of "Roast Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad" a very good dish. We also had the "grilled sardines," which were fine, the "Peas in the pod" were ok, a tad boring. This was followed by a delicious "Roast Middlewhite and Braised Carrots" and the "Braised Rabbit and Onions." Both were superb. And although both waiters recommended the "Gooseberry Jelly and Shortbread" it was just ok for me and a not very imaginative "Strawberry, Meringue and Cream" was very good indeed. After having so-so experiences at "AD," "Maze," "River Café" and others, "St. John" has become my favorite restaurant in London, bar none.

I will be a little blunt. Barcelona might be baby-friendly, but I do not think a nine-month baby would be welcome in the restaurants that you mention. First, I think that you will not enjoy your meal as you should and, secondly, if I am sitting in the restaurant the mere presence of a baby already (fill in the blank and preposition, multiple possibilities) my experience. You will get tons of devil eyes. And in Barcelona--and I think Europe, in general--good restaurants are for adults only, nothing ruins a meal faster than a baby behaving like a baby. Not his fault. Besides, Gresca and Saüc are smoker-friendly... Sorry, and I am glad that you ask, but customers and restaurant people really dislike babies in good restaurants and with good reason. I, honestly, find parents who take babies to good restaurants extremely selfish. Something's got to give, the baby or the good food. Scrooge

Last year I had the pleasure to dine in all the restaurants that you have mentioned. I would choose Mugaritz, Can Roca and Etxebarri. You cannot go wrong with either. My last meals at Akelarre and Arzak were disappointing and just ok, respectively. ←

Here's the Website for ROUTA.

Very good news indeed. The new restaurant will open at the end of this year or beginning of 2010. According to the press, the restaurant will serve New Catalan cuisine. This was the space that, for a long time, was rumored to be for the new Ducasse restaurant. I am a huge fan of Ruscalleda and I have always thought that she does not get enough credit outside of Catalunya. l Information here And here.

I was wrong. I just checked and both Mugaritz and Arzak are open in August.

Check if the restaurants are open during August. I doubt it since August is the month when Europe shuts down.

People have their favorites so I am sure that you might get a long list. However, for me, not eating at Pinotxo at least twice in a week is as close to sacrilege as I get.

Yep, that's the time we'll be there as well. Googling around, it seems that this is a constant problem at Arzak -- I'm not sure that a non-smoking section actually exists at all! I've now decided that I'm going to cancel, and I probably won't even bother replacing Arzak with any of the other big-hitters. San Sebastian has so much good food that I don't think I'll feel cheated. ← I really hate smoking in restaurants and, for a top restaurant, it is a shame. How can I enjoy my meal when someone is smoking next to me, breaking all the olfactory qualities of the dish and compromising my sense of smell? That is one of the reasons why I have problems enjoying pintxos in the Basque Country....too much smoke in those bars for me to enjoy. And it only gets worse in the winter months. However, Mugaritz is non-smoking.

If interested in desserts, this is a must http://www.oriolbalaguer.com/

L'Angle is inside a Hotel and the prices are relatively cheap. I honestly think that you can skip Berasategui and Espai Sucre and try something different.

As an architect, it reminds me of some of the less successful "Neoclassical Post-Modern" work of folks like Bob Venturi were doing in the 80's. ← Absolutely. And I agree with you. It does not make sense from any point of view. As you mentioned in your last paragraph, we already know that he can cook, let alone copy a recipe. Both as a postmodern experiment and as an homage, it falls flat....and cannot be compared to Achatz's own creations.

And I would gladly switch their places. If I had to compare my last two meals at both "Alinea" and "per Se," the former wins by a landslide. IMHO.

I am very happy about "Celler" also....hopefully, they will get their third star soon.

It missed the mark for me, but others might enjoy it. It did not do anything for me. And, to answer Ulterior Epicure's question, I think that any of Chef Achatz's creation is a lot better than the "Supremes de Pigeonneaux Saint Clair." I am not a culinary historian, and I am sure that Escoffier's creation was groundbreaking at the time, but would I expect Pollock to paint Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte?" I would not. I prefer Chef Achatz's dazzling creativity and I go to Alinea to be dazzled and surprised, and this was just an attempt to show that he can pull off a classic? I have the feeling that Ecoffier would have loved Chef Achatz's creations, and he would have added "putain, c'est bon." I think the most offensive aspect was the wine glass, ugly, ugly. I was expecting a matronly lady telling me to be careful with that glass...It was very "Babette's Feast" all of a sudden. Now, it would be interesting to trace an ingredient, or a dish throughout the ages or across borders.