Silly Disciple

After talking this week with Bux and Jordi Artal about the fact that I seem to be the only one in this forum who was NOT lucky/connected/illuminated enough to get a reservation for this year, and Bux mentioning that they originally had a reservation for four which they then changed, I will plead/pray and on my knees say the following: If you have a reservation bigger than your current party, and if you don't mind either one or two local foodies (yes, if there's only one I'll go alone, my wife will have to get over it ), please let me know and I will be more than please to join you at your 2005 elBulli experience. I live in Barcelona and can make it to Roses on a day's notice. pretty please? with sugar on top? SD

So? What's going on???? where's everyone's groceries / meal? SD

Elias Corner, (or as the sign on top of the restaurant says, "Elias Corner FOR FISH" ) 24-02 31st St. 718-932-1510 Fresh fish and seafood, several greek specialties as apetizers. it gets crowded, so be there early. SD

menu first, but had to adjust a few things on the way, mainly due to a. finding good/seasonal stuff at cheap enough prices (ie the morels) and b. things running out of budget (wanted to get one or two more types of greens, which I didn't). edited for more details: I first decided on the main ingredients, and then I looked around and discussed with my friend from cooking class about recipes and such. I knew I wanted mackerel because I simple love it and its a fairly cheap fish. I also knew I wanted duck magret, because while it is regarded as expensive, you can get away with small portions (not so small, about 120gr each, cooked, I think) ,it gives the whole meal a "wow, he did spend some money" look In a way, the rest of the meal was built around this dish. I also like sweetbreads a lot, and they are very popular back in my home town (Buenos Aires), and since they are cheap we went for that too. The week before cooking this meal I went to Paris with my family and we ate at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and one of the dishes we had were the eggs cocotte w/ morels, which I loved and when I saw the morels at the market I thought it would be a great idea to try to mimic this dish. Then asparagus are the seasonal ingredient (as are the morels), and the dessert was my friend's idea (i'm not into desserts that much). SD

Isn't Caballa = Spanish Mackerel? SD

Thanks for the comments Mar! morel = morilla / colmenilla (murgula in catalan, I think). sweetbreads = mollejas SD

We just finished dinner... we are all quite full. A friend of mine from cooking school came to help me cook, along with another friend, and my mother was visiting too, so we ended up being five people instead of the original two. Surprisingly, we only had to add one or two things to what we bought to be able to stretch all the courses. Here's what we originally bought: 100gr Morels - 4 EUR 450gr Duck Magret - 6.3 EUR 410gr sweetbreads - 3.1 EUR 1 big spanish mackerel, about 560gr - 2.20 eur Assorted produce, consisting of: - 3 tomatoes - 4 sweet onions - 2 zuchinnis - 1 cauliflower head - 1 pack green asparragus - 1 pack white asparragus - 1kg artichokes - 1 mango - 1/2 a pineapple - some ciboulette - 1 escarola (in english? chard?) head - all for 11.8 EUR 1/2 dozen fresh eggs - 1 EUR 50gr almonds - 1 EUR total: 29.4 EUR I later bought a bunch of spinach for .9 EUR, so I'm officially over budget . I also used 4 strawberries to garnish the dessert, lemon zest, olive oil, a bit of heavy cream, a bit of coffee, sugar, salt, etc., all of which I had at home. To feed the extra three people, I added another duck magret and used 3 extra eggs (I broke one of the ones I bought, and I needed 2 more for one of the courses). The menu: 1. Asparagus in three textures (served 5 people) 2. Egg Cocotte with morels and cream of spinach (served 5 people and we had a few morels left) 3. Sweetbreads salad with coffee vinagrette (served 4 1/2 people) 4. Maquerel papillote with sauted zuchinni and artichoke heads. (served 4 people) 5. Duck Magret with Cauliflower puree, sauted chard and spinach vinagrette. (served 5 people after I added an extra magret, and we had enough meat for a repeat). 6. pineaple ravioli with mango sorbet. (served 5 people + 1 repeat). As I said, I'm pretty surprised we were able to create six courses for five people for about 40 EUR... that's really cheap, 8 euros a head, 1.3 eur per course !!! We were really thinking things wouldn't be enough for two people. SD

Well, I just came back from the Boqueria, having spent EUR 29.4 . I will and let you guess what each thing is. Later on tonight I will break down what I've spent, and what each thing is, along with the menu and an overview of the recipes. We are planning a 6 course dinner tonight !!!! SD edited to add pics.

Elie, make sure you get there early, it tends to get crowded, particularly as the weekend gets closer. SD

If you're looking for a higher end meal within this area as well, I just remembered that Alkimia (c Industria and Sicilia) is within walking distance from Sagrada Familia. SD edited 'cause I can't spell.

wow, that hotel is literally 3 blocks from my place. mmm, close to your hotel, there's a chocolate and churros place almost accross from the Mercat del Ninot, I *think* on the corner of Mallorca and Villaroel. I've never had breakfast there though. In my experience people usually have some coffee at home early, and then go "esmorçar", which is like a late 10:30/11ish breakfast, consisting of pretty much anything you can think of . A usual fare is a bocata (sandwich) of bread w/tomate (pa amb tomaquet) and a range of cured meats (chorizo, fuet, iberico, lomo, etc), tortilla and other few options. You could go into one of the two markets closer to your hotel, Ninot (Mallorca and Villarroel) or Sant Antoni (Urgell and Floridablanca) and try any of the several bars located inside. Again, close to your hotel you can try the traditional basque Taktika Berri or the more modern Cata 1.81, both on Carrer Valencia. Cata 181 is, as it name implies, on number 181, while Taktika Berri is on number 169. This would be Valencia between Muntaner and Aribau, if I'm not mistaken. SD

Go ahead and suggest any rules you want to add, Slacker... as long as it makes it more fun, I think we are all in. And I think I already have my menu.... oh yes... i will keep things under veil for now SD

As a customer, I think I would choose to eat a steak at a place where the guy in the grill has been grilling steaks for a while, rather than by someone who was serving tables last week and prepping veggies last month. I just don't see how a great server can make my steak better than a great griller would. What I'm trying to say is that from the point of view of the consumer (not only in the hospitality industry, but as a general idea), specialization brings experience, and experience brings confidence. Plus, on a more personal note and without much experience on the subject, I would tend to agree with the opinion that FOH and BOH have different motivations, and thus you would need to find people who can be passionate about both. SD

works for me. so, each of us has to produce the following: 1. pictures of produce 2. detailed expenses 3. menu (did we agree on at least 4 courses?) 4. recipes? 5. pics of the meal. agreed? sd

I would recommend going tuesdays and fridays as early in the morning as you can. That way you get fresh stuff and avoid turists. sd

I recently heard someone working at Comerç 24 talk about how several current dishes come from Ferran Adria's work in the mid to late 90's. It wouldn't be surprising, since Abella used to work with Adria. This was part of a conversation I was only half into, so I couldn't get more details. Anyone having dined at Abella's restaurant and with good knowledge of the ElBulli books can comment on this? Unfortunately I don't have the books. SD

I can start next week I think. how do we go about it? sd

Mar, 30 is a lot, indeed. In fact, I've been thinking about the idea and I think I can even get as far as a 4-5 course meal for 2 people with that money. Adding wine might be a bit tricky, so I suggest we set a minimum number of courses instead, what do you think? Not sure how many other BCN residents are in this forum: asola, who's not always around, and then amelia and jordi (artal and bcnchef), both very busy with their restaurant. So it might be just us to start with. Silly.

Doc, one good strategy in the low season is to give Rafa a call during the morning and ask him what the day's catch is like. I remember the first time we went there we called two days ahead and his wife suggested we call the same day to make sure he had "something good to offer". However, this might not work at all during the summer, since the place is a bit small (he does have a second room which he opens during the summer) and he must be getting lots of reservation requests (particularly from this forum!! ). In any case, I would still give him a call and see what he says. SD

If you're OK with bringing some Jamon in your suitcase, don't miss Jamonisimo, on the corner of Viladomat and Provença. They are allegedly one of the best ham purveyors in Spain, and will vacuum-pack as much of it as you can afford (it goes for about 135 EUR x kg). Try some, and then let us know who's "poor brother" this ham is.... One other item I would bring back are some boquerones back as docsconz suggests. If you are interested in oil, search this forum, i think it was vserna or pedro who published a list of "best spanish oils" or something to that effect. As for wine, Rioja is indeed the best well known Spanish wine region outside of the country, but do visit one of the big wine shops and let someone knowledgeable suggest some other great regions to take with you, i.e. Priorat, Somontano, Ribera del Duero, etc. SD

and a silly answer from a silly, uninformed disciple. For what I've read in this forum and elsewhere, and a few images I've seen from elBulli, no, there's no dress code. jeans and shirt are fine. jacket is optional. tie is definitely unnecessary. SD

If I'm not mistaken, walk almost all your way to the back of the market, and take a right on the second to last corridor before hitting the market's end. It's right there, I think. Otherwise, as Pim says, look for the big wine shop. SD

I'm on a borrowed conection so can't spend much time writing about my visit yesterday to Pierre Herme's shop on rue Bonaparte, so here's the next best thing, a few pics I took. SD

Fine Bux, no excuses, next time you're in BCN you can borrow my kitchen. only condition: YOU cook for US SD

30 for one person or more? would we do this once, or are you thinking about a monthly thing? Would it be just the Boqueria or any other market, provided we record prices and such? In principle I think I'm in. SD