Gerry Dawes

Craig, could you back up and elaborate on this whole paragraph? And, by the way, many regions in Calfornia are "just too hot and dry." They just irrigate.

"Without a label." Obviously the house wine, perhaps made by the owner or a relative or bought in bulk from a co-op and bottled. "Milk cups." It is a tradition in Galicia to drink some wines in tipico places from those little saucer-like vessels, from which they also drink orujo, Galician grappa. There are back-country tipicio restaurants in Cataluña, where groups of friends still drink from a needle-nosed porró and, at fiestas in La Rioja and Navarra (and in many other places), people still take botas to the bullfights, but these are folk customs and not indicative of the state of modern Spanish wine. "I drunk (sic) a red wine (Crianza) with poor alcool, maybe 9%." Unless it was watered down, it did not have 9% alcohol. There is no region in Spain that I know that would allow a crianza wine with alcohol that low. It was probably at least 12-12.5%. "I drunk two different Crianza Rioja with the same powerful taste but one with good bouquet and a bottle with a poor one, same vintage, same winery, same restaurant" Same wine? Was one a reserva and the other a crianza? Hard to tell from your post. If it was exactly the same wine, one bottle could have been stored in too warm a place, the other kept in a cooler spot. In really inexpensive places and many that cater to tourists, restaurants all over the world often buy wines at the lowest price possible, which includes closeouts. Who knows what these wines were?

First off, the characterization of Spain as "too hot" to produce great wines is not to be believed. There are any number of high altitude, old vines, terroir-driven vineyards in the Mediterranean parts of Spain capable of producing excellent wines in such places as Priorato, Montsant, Alicante, and even La Mancha. In the cooler, more temperate Atlantic Ocean-influenced regions of Spain (half the country), there are excellent wines being made in La Rioja, Navarra, Ribera del Duero, Toro, Bierzo and, yes, Galicia, where great Albariños are truly great white wines, some godellos show incredible, terroir-driven potential, and the mencía grape in Ribeira Sacra makes one of the great red wine discoveries of Spain. As to the characterization of Riojas as "dirty and faded," name them, please. You really cannot judge the wines of any country or region by drinking the lowest common denominator--although some of those can be quite good in Spain--you have to taste some of the best efforts to recognize what a region can really achieve. Low-end Bordeaux is generally not very good wine, there are any number of truly awful, over-priced Burgundies and oceans of German and Italian plonk out there, but you cannot judge those regions or countries by that criteria. In this lineup of posts, I cannot believe the mis-information that is being passed about Spanish wines. "Dirty?" "Bland?" We obviously have not been drinking the same things.

Zuberoa, Akelarre and Arzak are all "lucky" to have Michelin stars? That will come as a big surprise to almost anyone who has eaten in those three places. I had better get back to San Sebastian quick and find out how all three of these guys have fallen from grace.

"I would agree with Mr. Ripert's point of view about the first couple episodes." Of course, Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain both appeared in cameos as guests on The Restaurant.

Money!!!

Yes, the Ibores often is rubbed with pimentón de Vera, that superb paprika that I let everyone have a whiff off the other night.

Because of this, it can be immensely rewarding to travel across Spain eating the great regional restaurants, which I have been doing for more than three decades. This place has great suckling pig, roast lechazo, phenomenal turbot, superb seafood, or any number of perfectly executed regional dishes. If you end up spending a month in the Ribera del Duero, you may get tired of lamb, cheese, etc. but there are restaurants like one I know in Roa, that have all kinds of regional dishes--cangrejos del rio, rabbit and other dishes - - from the kitchen of a great home-style cook and down in Tudela del Duero, there is one of my favorite regional restaurants, which always has excellent dishes drawn from a range of local products. I don't get tired of eating in Sanlucar de Barrameda, either. The wonderful Bigote is one of the best restaurants in Spain and both Bigote and Balbino are two of the greatest tapas bars. Then there are a half a dozen restaurants alongside Bigote on Bajo de Guia beach. I can name a dozen dishes in these restaurants that are worthy of a detour on their own. In Barcelona, I hear about all the upscale, modern cuisine restaurants, but little about the Catalan regional places. Though I greatly appreciate the cooking of Ferran, Santi Santamaria, Carles Gaig, Xavier Pellicer and others, don't offer me the choice between eating at one of their places and digging into a plate of calcots with romesco in Tarragona or eating navajas a la plancha followed by arros negre with allioli at Can Majo. I could go on across Spain.

"I'm glad you mentioned rushed service however. We've felt that in the past in Spain, but on our last trip to Madrid and Andalucia, it was particularly annoying. In two weeks there seemed to be only one or two meals that weren't rushed." I am surprised to hear this. This is something I have rarely experienced in Spain, especially since Spanish restaurants don't usually turn tables (something that would drive a New York restaurateur crazy). I certainly don't remember experiencing it in finer restaurants.

"Sopa de ajo 2002 caliente. Garlic soup that seemed quite traditional, at least in origins if not in execution. Garlic bread croutons, Serrano ham and poached egg were brought in a bowl and the waiter added a chorizo and tomato flavored broth at the table. This was a dish whose success was dependent on the depth of flavor of the broth. The simplicity of the dish and it's arrival at this point in the meal was a key factor in it's effectiveness as well." Unless, it was a departure from the recipe as Manolo usually does it, there is no chorizo in his Sopa de Ajo. That "chorizo" flavor comes from excellent Spanish pimentón, or paprika, which of course is one of the flavors (and the coloring agent) in chorizo. Smoked pimentón de Vera from Cáceres province is one of the best paprikas in the world.

Good article, Jason. Here are a few notes on your article and the subsequent posts. Although the simplest way to explain the solera system is to describe the process as having the oldest sherries or brandies on the bottom and the young ones on top, etc., in practice there are several rows of barrels in descending order of age. Also, hardly of drop of the wine distilled into Brandies de Jerez Solera Gran Reserva comes from the sherry district. Except for the Oloroso and PX flavoring, the distillate comes from La Mancha, where the white Airén (Spain's Ugni Blanc) Years ago, I used to think that Larios 1866, which I am sure is made by the solera process, was one of the greatest brandies of Spain. Now, I do not. I don't know if it has slipped in quality or that I just began paying a lot more attention to other options. Besides the Brandies de Jerez, there are a number of very good cognac-style brandies from Cataluña and even some good brandies emerging from the grape source, La Mancha. In Tomelloso, Bodegas Centro-Españolas, producers of very good and reazonably priced Allozo La Mancha wines, has a good brandy, whose origin was in some old solera stocks held by a family in Casajuanas. Tomelloso, but the way, has a co-operative whose members harvest more grapes each year than the entire Ribera del Duero. Osborne Magno is a real sleeper brandy. It is excellent for the price.

vserna wrote: "Michelin is stingy and unfair in many parts of Spain" Victor is right on. If fact, if the Michelin Guide was Spanish, there would be Spain were doing the ratings, there would probably be a dozen restaurants in Spain with three rosettes. And, if some of the great, traditional regional cuisine restaurants got their due, there would be a slew more of one- and two-star places. In fact, the greatest places to eat in Spain are not the modern cuisines places, although I do appreciate many of those, they are the wonderful restaurants that have perfected traditional Spanish food and have evolved, just as Spain has evolved.

Bux wrote "Santceloni in Madrid is also in a hotel and just a block away from La Broche. It didn't leave anywhere near the same impression on us that Santamaria's primary restaurant, Can Fabes, in Sant Celoni did, but it was certainly a restaurant worthy of notice. I don't know enough about fine restaurants in Madrid to place in any ranking. Santceloni seemed to be a part of the Hotel Hesperia far more than La Broche was a part of its hotel, whose name I can't remember. Santceloni's address, in the Michelin, is at the hotel and the e-mail address is at the hesperia-madrid.com domain." I had a terrific lunch at Sant Celoni and, while it may not yet be quite as good as Can Fabes, I thought it was damned good. So did Len Pickell, Charlie Trotter, the Batterberrys and Roger Yaseen.

Bux: "Queso fresco de pastor, trufas, hierbas y frutos secos. Manchego cheese soup with nuts, apple, tomato confit and chopped truffles suspended in olive oil. The dominant flavor was of a sharp cheese in combination with the complementary flavors. We found this to be a unique dish and a tour de force." This is a brilliant dish, one of the best deconstruction type dishes I have encountered in Spain. "One of de la Osa's most memorable creations is an inspired twist on the classic Manchego cheese, fruit or membrillo (quince paste)-and-nuts theme. It incorporates Manchego cheeses into a creamy sheep's milk base onto which hazelnuts, diced green apples, Spanish black truffle slices, a dollop of tomato compote and herbs have been artfully arranged. The dish retains all the flavors of the simple original, but refines them to a level that would be standout in any great restaurant in the world." - - from an article by Gerry Dawes

Doesn't count, she's in the Goddess category.

Oh, please! This ain't the Holocaust Museum. If you want to experience Cafe Atlantico without trying 34 dishes, do the Latino dim-sum brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. It is sit down and not at the mini-bar. I had a blast. It was great fun, whimsical, delicious and a wonderful way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon. I would go back in a minute and though I agree with my friend DonRocks that it is not something you want to do everyday, I would certainly go back a few times. The Ferran Adria experience and DonRocks's experience at the mini-bar has to do with a surfeit of these "tapas with attitude," but if you sample a dozen of these dishes with some of Cafe Atlantico's wonderful Latino cocktails, it is a blast.

Cafe Atlantico's dim-sum brunch on Saturdays and Sundays is a gas. And at just $35. The best Adria-influenced food I have tasted on this side of the pond. And a barrel of fun. Drink their super Latin cocktails and stop worrying about which wine goes with this food. Now, you guys have me wanting to get back to D.C.

"Come to think of it going tapeando might be somewhat awkward by yourself as it's such a social activity . . . " Hardly, if bondgirl walks into a lively tapas bar, she will probably find herself very much a part of the action and if a group of Spaniards, many of whom speak excellent English, decides to take her under their wing, she will be in for some great food and a great adventure. If you are alone, go to Madrid or go to the south, where there are a multitude of tapas bars and great ones and you will never really feel alone.

All three are listed as closed on Monday nights. I would also go to Getaria to Kaia for some of the best turbot on the planet and a wonderful wine list with old wines that are perfectly stored.

"Unfortunately, I can't agree whith what's been said here about Akelare. My experience there was quite a dissapointment from a purely food perspective. I don't know a more pleasant place with such wonderful views, but the food lacked both taste and flavor. Albeit, I must say that was my first and only visit, so either me or them could have had a bad night." I have been there in two years and I have to give it another chance, but I was memorably under-whelmed and do not understand why some sources are placing Akelarre above Arzak and Martin. I was also turned off by the fact that they allowed a group of some six young cooks (??), dressed like they had come off a all-night disco crawl, to occupy a prominent table in the dining room. I am not all that formal a person and I don't expect to see a jacket and tie everywhere, but I also don't expect to see a somewhat rowdy group dressed like refugees from a playground occupying center stage in a two-star Michelin restaurant. The person I was with emphatically nixed any possibility of coming back there with a very well-heeled group of people we were planning to take around Spain.

Robert Brown wrote: "I suspect that Adria's cuisine is more Catalan-based than it appears to the layman and that there are subtleties that escaped people like me." If you really want to taste great Catalan-based modern cuisine, Santi Santamaria at El Raco de Can Fabes is your guy.

QUOTE (bkosto @ Aug 12 2003, 07:57 AM) We will be in San Sebastian on Monday night September 15, when all of the restaurants mentioned in the NYT article will be closed. Any suggestions. ? Urepel Bernard On Monday nights in San Sebastián, I love Rekondo with its excellent typical food (great Basque steaks) and great wine cellar. One-stars Urepel and Panier Fleuri (downtown, near the Maria Cristina) are open on Monday nights; Casa Nicolasa (great chipirones de anzuelo en su tinta, alubias de Tolosa, etc.) is open for lunch on Mondays, I believe; Casa Urbano, a very nice old quarter bistro-like restaurant is a favorite of mine and open on Mondays; and you will find plenty of pinchos (tapas) available in the casco viejo.