vserna

Many thanks, anyavon. My name is Victor de la Serna. I'm the restaurant critic for El Mundo in Madrid, and the longest serving restaurant critic in Spain's national news media. So I'm slightly well placed to aver that you are entirely wrong ("RSG, Capel are the happy exceptions"). You haven't heard of Ignacio Medina, Caius Apicius, Xavier Agulló, Juan Manuel Bellver, Carmen Casas, have you? I'm very happy García Santos gets standing ovations in Italy. But he isn't published in Italy, and Italian customers make up a tiny proportion of the public of Spanish restaurants. So his influence outside the Basque Country (meaning: in the rest of Spain, of course) remains limited.

Do you know of a Spanish website that sells this mail order? ← This is a good brand (saffron from Campillo de Altobuey, in Manchuela): http://www.donselecto.net/com/productosIni...desde=&clase=10

This is all very illuminating, but doesn't take us very far in this discourse. Jesús doesn't like Marcel Duchamp, and I do. So? Obviously there are differences of taste and there will always be. There were also many influential critics who backed Duchamp from day one - nothing new under the sun. Just two notes that are more pertinent to this thread: 1. Tastes are one thing, facts another. Let's not twist facts, please. 2. Spanish food critics - not just Mr. García Santos, whose influence is only felt in the Basque Country - have played a decisive role in fostering the modernization of cuisine in this country. (But - again in deference to factual precision - I wouldn't be as enthusiastic as anyavon when he or she says: "Nowhere else in the world have critics been more influential in creating a movement." A mere two names suffice to refute that assertion: Henri Gault and Christian Millau.)

They saved your wine. Warming up a wine (how? on a stove? dipping the bottle in a 'bain marie'?) will always cause grievous harm to a wine. One doesn't warm a wine up by artificial means - ever. (I am a wine writer and also a winemaker, in case you were wandering what made me so sure of myself on this point.) Juan Antonio Herrero, a young, courteous, extremely knowledgeable sommelier, joined Lágrimas Negras last summer from London's The Greenhouse, a Wine Spectator Grand Award winner.

Martín Berasategui seems to believe Andoni has gone slightly wacko, scouring the mountainside for wild herbs like a born-again druid, and he's indeed a bit exasperated. I would say he now has more faith in the future progress of another one of his pupils - Iñigo Lavado, now with his own place in Irún.

This discussion reminds me a little of a discussion of caviar in which every category of fish roe, from lumpfish to Imperial caviar, would be mentioned without distinction, leading to some impossible dialogue between those who would argue that caviar was little more than disguised gunshot (who would be thinking of such things as lumpfish 'caviar') and those defending the concept of caviar as a supreme delicacy (the fortunate Imperial or beluga aficionados). Meaning: unless we all get on the same page and comment on the same product, we won't get anywhere near an agreement. There is a lot of counterfeit or semi-counterfeit saffron out there, and at any rate powdered saffron should be cast aside automatically. Top-notch, well-dried, pistils-only saffron is one of the world's greatest spices, and of course not just for color. Ask any Milanese denizen how a risotto made with turmeric differs from one that's been properly saffroned, or 'zafferanato'! There are only two products in which Spain is the world leader, and one of the two has been recognized as the best for many centuries: saffron. (The other, cured Ibérico ham, was a well-kept secret outside Spain because it wasn't exported due to past African swine fever problems, until the name Joselito became world-famous - and if you haven't heard of Joselito, you're not 'with it' in the world of hams, as they would say in the 1960s!) My gourmet friend, the Indian publisher Cushrow Irani, considers getting a jar of Manchuela saffron his greatest priority when arriving in Spain, and he prizes top Spanish saffron above anything produced in Asia. It's a matter of terroir, as in wine – the dry, hot high plateaus of Castile, with the very cool nights and the poor clay-limestone soils, produce the kind of flavor concentration that is hard to find elsewhere. Manchuela is to La Mancha like Pomerol is to Bordeaux – a very specific, high-class sub-appellation. Other areas like Toledo produce nice saffron as well, but not quite as nice. However, La Mancha saffron in general and Manchuela saffron in particular could very well be a vanishing species. Production has fallen off precipitously over the past 10 years due to one fact: saffron production is one of the most labor-intensive chores in agriculture anywhere, and the sharp increase of labor costs in Spain plus the dearth of manpower (Spanish agriculture has become largely dependent on immigrant laborers, as is the case elsewhere in the European Union) means that even at $1,200 a kilo saffron is no longer profitable. Research into ways to mechanize (at least partly) the production process, particularly removing the few pistils from each flower, is under way in both Italy and Spain. If it doesn't succeed in producing efficient equipment, European saffron will soon be a thing of the past. Meanwhile, and to board doubters, I would stress that the bevy of avant-garde chefs that have made Spain one of the culinary hot spots of the world have all devoted much attention to saffron, reaching spectacular results with it both in sweet and in savory dishes. From Ferran Adrià's 'sepia en texturas' (cuttlefish in textures) to saffron guru Manolo de la Osa's many saffron-based recipes (codfish with cumin, garlic and saffron; oyster with pumpkin cream and saffron sauce), they show just how high this spice can reach in the realm of 'grande cuisine'. Of course, there's also tradition – see this forlorn, nondescript inland village in Alicante province, Pinoso, which has become the Mecca for paella freaks all over the world. They go there in pilgrimage to taste Casa Paco's mindboggling, saffron-infused rabbit-and-snail paella, the rice piled only one quarter-inch high at the bottom of an immense flat-bottom pan... (Of course, every one of these cooks uses saffron only in infusions, as an aromatic tea to be added to dishes and sauces – don't just drop the pistils in the pot!)

I just had an idea - let's do a guide of Spanish restaurants that aren't even included in the Michelin guide to Spain. It would be an eye-popper, I can tell you - in Madrid alone!

No one in Spain gives a hoot about what Michelin decides (except the directly concerned chefs, of course), and knowing García Santos he would be perversely happy to be going in the opposite direction vis-à-vis Michelin. RGS made Mugaritz famous when Michelin hadn't even heard of Aduriz. What he's done in this case is to fire a warning shot which many Spanish clients and critics felt Aduriz had coming to him, because he's been so distracted by a number of things for the past couple of years. I seldom agree with RGS, but in this case I can understand him.

Neither Michelin nor García Santos are overly reliable guides to what's best in Spain, but if one has to choose, I'll stick with García Santos' volubility and partiality rather than with Michelin's ultra-conditioned and 'political' outlook. Michelin has no credibility in Spain, and the sales of its Spanish edition here are ridiculously low.

Quickly now, to complement the restaurant awards, the just-announced El Mundo awards to the top Spanish wines of the year (2005, that is): Red: L'Ermita 2003, Alvaro Palacios (DOC Priorat) White: As Sortes 2004, Rafael Palacios (DO Valdeorras) Other: Amontillado Solera Fundacional 1905, Pérez-Barquero (DO Montilla-Moriles) Honorable mention: Doix VV 2003, Mas Doix (DOC Priorat) Clos Erasmus 2003, Clos i Terrasses (DOC Priorat) Único 1994, Vega Sicilia (DO Ribera del Duero) PS 2001, Aalto (DO Ribera del Duero) Malleolus de Sanchomartín 2002, Emilio Moro (DO Ribera del Duero) Tilenus Pagos de Posada 2001, Estefanía (DO Bierzo) Belondrade y Lurton 2003 (DO Rueda) José Pariente Verdejo 2004 Dos Victorias (DO Rueda) 1583 Albariño de Fefiñanes 2003 (DO Rías Baixas) Mas La Plana 1999 Torres (DO Penedès) L'Avi Arrufí 2002 Vinos Piñol (DO Terra Alta) Clio 2002 El Nido (DO Jumilla)

I don't know if you have tried any other Asian restaurants in Madrid. Madrid and the rest of Spain are at markedly different quality levels in the Asian (and generally, the foreign) end of the restaurant scale. (Marbella's Tai Pan opened a Madrid branch with much fanfare, and it's been a wash here.) And Sudestada towers above most of the other Asian restaurants in Madrid. Yes, even though it's an Argentinian-born place! Then again, the equally Argentinian-born Olsen is probably the best modern Scandinavian restaurant on the European continent south of Denmark! Those Argentines are wily and well-traveled...

I think they received the glasses now. Come to think of it - we should have a stemware award, shouldn't we?

...according to the jury of food writers for Metrópoli, El Mundo's entertainment and leisure supplement, are: Restaurant of the year: La Broche. Finalists: El Mesón de Doña Filo (Colmenar de Arroyo) and Casa José (Aranjuez) Newcomer of the year (ex aequo): El Antojo and Zaranda. Finalists: Asiana and El Patio de Leo. Traditional restaurant of the year: Asador Imanol. Finalists: La Lonja (Pozuelo de Alarcón) and Asturianos. Foreign restaurant of the year: Yuan. Finalists: Boccondivino and Le Petit Bistrot. Restaurant outside the city limits (ex aequo): El Mesón de Doña Filo (Colmenar de Arroyo) and Casa José (Aranjuez). Up-and-coming chef: Ricardo Sanz (Kabuki). Finalists: Fernando del Cerro (Casa José) and César Rodríguez (El Antojo). Maître d' of the year: Leoncio González (Mesón Txistu). Finalists: Fernando González Ortiz (Yuan) and Angeles Giménez (Nicolás). Sommelier of the year: Juan Antonio Herrero (Lágrimas Negras). Finalists: Manuel Rosell (Bodegas Rosell) and Gerardo Giménez (Gaztelupe). 'More than a restaurant': Nueva Fontana. Finalists: Asiana and Lavinia Espacio Gastronómico. Best interior decoration: Lágrimas Negras. Finalists: Arola Madrid and Europa Decó. Tapas and wine bars of the year: El Quinto Vino. Finalists: El Fogón de Trifón and El Gorro Blanco. Food and wine shops: Raza Nostra. Finalists: Pastelería Internacional and Supermercados Nativo.

Glad you liked it! And remember, you read it first here too (tomorrow in El Mundo's Metrópoli): Sudestada, the outstanding, idiosyncratic South-East Asian restaurant in Buenos Aires, has dispatched co-owner and chef Estanis Carenzo to Madrid to launch their European sister restaurant. It's a terrific, un-self conscious explosion of fresh vegetables, fish, seafood, meats, herbs, spices, and the best new foreign restaurant in this city in quite some time. Looks like a luncheonette - looks can be deceiving! (Modesto Lafuente 64, tel. 91 533 41 54.)

L'Ourcine is marginally Basque. Modern cuisine inspired by the wider 'Sud-Ouest', rather. L'Ami Jean or Au Bascou are much more like the real thing (as much as the real thing can be found north of the Spanish-French border).

Juan Mari is a very nice human being, so the mistake was a happy one. Seriously, this is one very serious chef who attracted attention since his early days at the tennis club on Ondarreta beach, but he's really lacked luck in San Sebastián. I wish him the best in his new venture.

Au Bascou, certainly - an authentic Basque tavern with nice fare and wines. Rue de Réaumur.

Personally I'm very fond of Ganbara. Terrific stuff, good all around, and no one does wild mushrooms better...

I've been looking for less expensive things. Not easy in Marbella... For a down-home experience in a real Malagueño country home with regional family-style cuisine, try La Casa de la Era on the Marbella-Coín road. Just the place for a chicken broth with fresh mint, a dish of codfish in tomato sauce, or some baby kid - all that for under €25 per person. At La Alcaría de Ramos in Estepona, a former Horcher chef serves a very tasty Andalusian/German mix for a pretty reasonable price - around €30. For good deep-fried fish, Andalusian style, the best bet is a short drive eastward to the Carihuela, Torremolinos' erstwhile fishermen's wharf, and a meal at El Roqueo. The best tapas bar is Bar Guerra in San Pedro de Alcántara, in the western outskirts of Marbella.

Just as a sideline, let me mention a, to me, new and certainly different type of ragù I tasted a couple of days ago in Madrid, at Boccondivino, Ignazio Deias' distinguished Sardinian restaurant (one of the best places in Spain for Italian food, and that's saying something because the level of Italian food has improved spectacularly here.) This was a 'ragù sardo' based on crumbled, hearty sausage meat, much fennel and, of course, tomatoes. Ignazio serves it, not with pasta, but on top of a rich risotto made with Sardinian saffron. Outstanding dish for a luncheon in chilly Madrid...

The Quijote book was finally presented yesterday in Toledo.

The view's much better during daytime - not to mention the view of the winding road when driving back to Roses...

I would not qualify Lepista nuda as 'mild'. It is intensely aromatic, almost perfumed - so much so that most European mycophiles prefer it mixed with more neutral mushrooms (hence my mix with Lactarius deliciosus). L. personata is indeed milder, with a more tenuous aroma. L. nuda is not a *** mushroom, from a gastronomic viewpoint - i.e., it isn't in the same class as Boletus edulis, B. aereus, Morchella esculenta, Cantharellus cibarius, Amanita caesarea, Tuber melanosporum or our own Pleurotus eryngii. But I think most experts in Spain or France place it in the ** category, right behind - with such nice varieties as Marasmius oreades, Craterellus cornucopioides, Tricholoma flavovirens, T. terreum, T. portentosum, Macrolepiota procera, Russula virescens, R. cyanoxantha...

If you want a neighborhood bar that really serves top-notch mushrooms in Madrid, then go to El Imperio in Argüelles - the real thing.

Food's pretty good in Andorra. Can Manel, Aquarius, El Rusc, L'Excellence are top-notch places (the last one is also a very good wine shop).