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Nicely done Now how did you get that home! Wendy, this is a wonderful blog. I'm looking forward to more. You do seem to have a very nice life

Keep it up, Wendy. Toasted leftover baguette with cheese is one of my favorite breakfasts. The cheeses vary. I will toast a harder cheese like an aged cheddar or pecorino along with the bread or just spread a softer cheese like a chevre, camembert or gorgonzola (I am flabbergasted that you don't like bleu cheese - and I had such respect for you ). I have to admit that the photos of your lunch at Oceanaire did not resemble those from Arzak

Mouth-watering report, Milla. I haven't been to either yet. I love the contrasts between the two as described by you. While I enjoy sushi and sashimi, I doubt I've ever had it on this level with the exception of the raw sea urchin I've had in Sicily which was light years beyond any I've had in the US.

Have a great dinner! Be sure to let them know you heard about them here.

thanks Ned, but i think of coq au vin as more of a classique bistrot dish. ducasse/delouvrier's rendition not in this category, but appreciate the thought. ← Actually Delouvrier's recipe is pretty classic. The only rason it wouldn't be a bistro dish is because ADNY is not a bistro A few of us will be trying out this very same recipe this coming weekend with roosters as it is supposed to be. We will report back.

It appears you are well on your way. If you are living in Barcelona now and have the time I would suggest trying everything that appeals to you and then some. Universal is excellent for simple grilled seafood. Their razor clams and fresh sardines are excellent, but I wouldn't stop there. Enjoy Barcelona.

Welcome to eGullet! My suggestion would be to see what looks good to you and then point to it when you are ordering or else just ask them for a few different dishes. I would also suggest checking out Bar Quim and Kiosk Universal both nearby in the Boqueria and both IMO preferential to Pinotxo. The same advice would apply although you can ask if they speak English.

One thing they should be learning from this is that if the FOH is subpar it really doesn't matter how good the food is. The restaurant will almost certainly fail. Interestingly, I'm not sure the converse is necessarily true. The best students probably take it seriously and try to understand it. The others probably figure that is not what they are there for and go through the motions. I wonder how Rocco approached it?

I love Montreal as a food city, but there is no question in my mind that while it has great food, for what I have previously defined as my personal criteria it doesn't compete with most of the cities most frequently mentioned here. The French and Quebec foods are truly wonderful. The city has good ethnic cuisine, but I've never been overwhelmed by either the variety or general quality in that regard. I find the city interesting because of restaurants like Toque, Les Chevres and Rosalie as well as markets like Jean Talon - a wonderful market, but it really doesn't hold a candle to the Boqueria of Barcelona.

Thank you for the response. I really can't wait to get my hands and eyes on a copy. I'm also looking forward to your response to Bux' addendum.

Australia is certainly on my list of places I would most like to visit. Interestingly, it wasn't because of its culinaria. That may have just changed.

One thing I can say for certain is that I would be interested to eat in each and every one of the cities mentioned so far and many others too! As far as American cities, I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Seattle, the heart of American Pacific-Rim Cuisine and home of some mighty fine produce and seafood.

Doing fine. Is "ganiche" the equivalent of a French Quiche?

Francesco, I am sorry for you, but at this point, selfishly, I hope you are correct. Time may tell.

"Overwhelming"? I doubt it.

While the quality of materials available in a city like Barcelona is indeed mind-boggling and one of the reasons I consider Catalunya as one of the most interesting food areas in the world and possibly the most interesting, the quality available in cities like NYC and Montreal is also spectacular if one knows where to go. It is hard to find fresher seafood in any metropolitan area than can be found on Canal Street in NYC. Even the Boqueria in Barcelona is subject to distribution. The advantage the major urban areas provide is variety. (By thw way NYC is home to some pretty damn good local seasonal produce.) I will never have fresher seafood than I had on the dock in Sicily. It also showed good variety - but not like NYC or Barcelona. Once again, IMO variety is important as is quality of available ingredients and creativity. An interesting food city to me is one I would love to go to for an extended period of time to shop, cook and eat. The eating would be of my own production in addition to the varied fare available in restaurants. Some cities like Bologna or Paris don't really need great variety. I imagine that can be said of many place I have less direct experience with as well.

I think mebutter made a very important point when he talked about consistency in his reviews and that he strives for the point that a reader can determine whether or not they are likely to enjoy a restaurant based on his review - positive or negative. This is the same value I believe Robert Parker has to the wine world. I may not like everything he does and I may love some wines he is less fond of, but I can pretty reliably determine what I will or won't enjoy based upon his descriptions moreso than his numerical scores read without context. My restaurant dollars are precious enough that I prefer to not squander them if possible. To the extent that I can get a sense of a reviewer's ouvre and be able to gauge his or her tastes to mine, that reviewer has value to me in more than just a journalistic sense. If that reviewer educates me with facts as well as his opinion and does it with engaging and entertaining writing so much the better.

This will be an interesting blog. The photos are great. Keep them coming!

That is somewhat surprising, but then I think it is surprising to us because we are into it and up on it. Prior to our visit to Catalunya last year when we first met or catalan friends they were not particularly aware of the culinary heights being achieved in their own backyard. I managed to inform them of that and since then they have developed a great interest in the proceedings and have been enjoying their discoveries.

Interesting report, Silly. I am surprised that you don't actually follow up on the theory/demonstration for almost a week. Are you supposed to be developing your skills at home first?

I find it interesting that so far no one has mentioned Paris or London.

Makan King, With such thoughtful, detailed and well-balanced post, I very much look forward to reading many more from you. Welcome to eGullet!

Great report! Sounds like a fascinating meal. Nice details. I'm looking forward to more.

I'll go a step further. I haven't had anything memorable in any high end Los Angeles restaurants my last 2 trips. Last fond memory I have is of Chinois on Main (which I don't think is super-high-end) 3 trips ago (and maybe close to 10 years). I will also add that Chicago has better high end restaurants which are more traditional than those you mentioned. We love going there. I especially recommend going during the Navy Pier Art Show or during Architecture Week (if you like art and/or architecture). Robyn ← "high-end" los angeles isn't what i had in mind--though the best restaurants in that category are good enough to not drag down the overall index. i know many new yorkers think they have the best chinese in the u.s--this is an understandable delusion i suppose. however, when you factor in all the mexican, the various central-american, the korean, the vietnamese (a little to the south but within reach of l.a for sure), the japanese, the thai etc. los angeles just has a much greater depth of range. if you're weighting high-end european/french/new american in this discussion then that's a different matter. ← There obviously is no one "right" answer to this question. It is whatever floats one's individual boat. For me it consists mostly of the diversity of cuisine, excellence and variety of produce and other raw ingredients and the level of culinary creativity. The last part is probably the single greatest element for me. I am curious though as to what makes cities particularly "interesting" to my fellow eGulleteers and why.

No doubt that the dining in Catalunya is superb and there are many other reasons to travel there for culinary adventure and delight than El Bulli. For me though, right now El Bulli is the only one for which I will make a special trip for primarily because I haven't yet been there and so very much wish to try it for myself. I'm not quite sure how to take the lack of a response. The fact that I haven't received a "no" isn't bad, but then maybe they never received my request.