El Bulli 2004

[daemon]

vmilor,

Imight be wrong but I'd say that if Adria wanted to make the restaurant more profitable, he'd probably increase the menu's price rather than switch noble ingredients for "cheaper" ones. not to say again that in France ( I am French ) the same meal would probably cost twice this ( Veyrat's menus respectly are 270 and 360 €).

Last June I did have a meal at Le Jardin Des Sens ( Montpellier) which is about 170€/menu and was a bit disappointed.

maybe do I expect too much from my forthcoming bulli-xperience, time will tell…!

but I do recognize Ingredients are not as "luxious" as they use to be.

[pedro]

Daemon,

Please let us know but before you depart could you take a look to the shellfish list in Miguel Cardoso initiated "Percebes for 125 Euro" thread? Personally, I go to Europe to eat such things which are unavailable in the States(even the green Maine lobster is not the level of a blue Breton lobster or a langouste from the Mediterranean). I have dined 3 times at El Bulli in the late 90s and he used a good dose of cigalas, percebes, espardenyes, etc. Maybe they are trying to make the restaurant more profitable and, if this is so, personally I think it is a scandal that he can get away with the pedestrian ingredients he is offering. He can apply any process or technique he wants and call it whatever he wants but the fact remains that the very best of the bounty of Spain(which, IMHO, is the best in Europe)is not represented adequately in his repertoire.

Vedat Milor

Vedat, I'm afraid I don't agree 100% with what you say. In El Bulli's 2004 menu, you can see zamburiñas (Chlamys varia, different from vieiras, pecten maximus and pecten jacobeus), oysters, ham (which I assume to be of the best quality, according to nerdgirl), toro (which can come from an almadraba near the Strait), spider crab, ...

Probably there's nearly not as "complete" as it could be, but I don't think El Bulli's mission is to offer the most varied Spanish seafood. Maybe Rafa is (limited to Catalonia, I'd assume). What I wouldn't forgive is that what they offer is not of pristine quality, rather than choosing this or that range of products.

[Bux]

I'm inclined to support both daemon and pedro's lines of reply. I think pedro hits the nail on the head when saying "What I wouldn't forgive is that what they offer is not of pristine quality, rather than choosing this or that range of products." There was a time when diners went to three star restaurants and ordered pristine oysters. Today that may be had without going to a restaurant with the most talented chef and brigade and the focus is on what the chef and his team can do, with an emphasis on creativity. In regard to this change, Adria represents the far reach. As such an avant gardiste, his mission may be to use the most pristine quality of each ingredient he chooses to use, but not to search out and use the most expensive ingredients.

Caviar and foie gras are not inherently better than pig's feet and tripe. They are just what we have traditionally come to expect on the table when we're already paying for the overhead of having the most talented chef and kitchen staff. There's an economy of the kitchen at El Bulli which Adria seems to pass on to his diners. There appears to be an endless army of cooks willing to stage at El Bulli for little or no compensation.

I would understand it if Adria wanted to draw diners to his rare talent and not just to rare ingredients. His is more and more a cuisine of ideas and of transformation. Why select the rarest of ingredients and transform them into something else?

[nimzo]

I couldn't agree more with Bux and his views. Adria has stated in the past that the only thing which makes an ingredient expensive is the rarity factor, not the taste. Many cheaper ingredients can outshine foie gras and oysters when fresh and well prepared.Does 3 star dining these days look like menus littered with lobster and caviar or can we still be happy sucking the juices out of a prawns head?.

[vmilor]

I am afraid I will not yield to populism and stick to my reasoning. A friend who prefers to remain anonymous recently reported that of the 30 dishes or so he/she has had there last week there were 2 small shrimps, 2 morels and a tiny sea cucumber. They were fresh but without taste.

I think talk about "creativity" will not do when a chef runs out of ideas and in the name or transforming ingredients (or morphing) ends up creating concoctions where the end result is less than the individual parts. Mine can be a minority opinion and you guys can take it or leave it.

[pedro]

That's a different argument, Vedat. What you're saying now is that El Bulli is serving inferior quality ingredients, and the results of their processes are dishes were the whole is worse than its parts. If that's the case, then they'll be in trouble quite soon.

Let's see if in my next visit I'm able to detach myself from all the hype surrounding El Bulli and have a more or less objective view of what's going on there.

[tony h]

Revallo, Barcelona is a far more interesting place than Roses, but it is also not very close to El Bulli. ... I've only been to El Bulli by car and don't know how convenient it is to get to Roses from Barcelona by public transportation. I assume you will not have a car at your disposal.

I haven't been to Roses but I did go to nearby Figueras (Dali's museum) & Cadaquez (Dali's house complete with with penis shaped swimming pool!) last year - a car is a must. It can't be impossible to get there by public transport but having done a similar trip some years ago it is not easy and will take hours & hours.

[Bux]

I am afraid I will not yield to populism and stick to my reasoning.  A friend who prefers to remain anonymous recently reported that of the 30 dishes or so he/she has had there last week there were 2 small shrimps, 2 morels and a tiny sea cucumber.  They were fresh but without taste. 

I don't know what populism has to do with this. While populism is not likely to endorse rampant use of caviar or truffles, let alone percebes, it is far less likely to endorse creativity. The Emperor's New Clothes is a tale with a populist's moral--if it's not understood thought a child's innocent eyes, it's a fake. Whatever you may say about Adria, he's not a populist chef.

"Fresh without taste" is an interesting observation. Small is yet another observation and the relationship is odd. I recall the story, about a resort hotel, with the punchline that went "the food was awful, and such small portions." Small portions might indicated an attempt at cost saving, but Adria's tasting menus are always composed of small portions. Fat Guy is not a fan of tasting menus, I am, but none of this is relevant to the prejudices and experiences of your anonymous friend. Without knowing his prejudices, his comments add little to what I already know and like about El Bulli.

How did he know they were fresh? Fresh seafood in Catalunya is usually very tasty. Are we to really believe Adria has gone out of his way find tasteless specimens? The paucity of seafood in the menu is another thing, but without knowing what was there, I'm missing key information that would enable me to make an educated comment.

Perhaps Adria just assumes everyone who wants unadorned perfect seafood will go to Rafa's. Really all I get is that your friend is someone who won't enjoy El Bulli. I'm sorry he took up a cover that might have gone appreciated. Not all great food is meant for all great diners. I needn't disparage your friend to relish Adria's work.

I think talk about "creativity" will not do when a chef runs out of ideas and in the name or transforming ingredients (or morphing) ends up creating concoctions where the end result is less than the individual parts. Mine can be a minority opinion and you guys can take it or leave it.

Minority opinions needn't be taken or left. They just are. The appreciation of food is such a relative thing and quite subjective. Talk about "creativity" is quite different than talk about creativity. There's a disparaging effect of putting creativity in quotation marks. Clearly there's no common ground to discuss creativity if it's disparaged on one side. Creativity is not unlike fresh truffles in that when it's gone, it's no longer a commodity. On that I will agree, but I will also enjoy it while it's in season and not refuse to recognize it's value because someday it may run out. What I do not agree on is the need to assume disparaging intentions of the chef or predict what he will do in the future, let alone judge him by that prejudice. If your friend believe the creativity has dried up, that's another thing and it would require an understanding that it was once there.

It is one thing to champion that which one understands and loves. If it's a true appreciation, it will not require, or even lead to disparaging that in which others find value.

Vmilor, have you been to El Bulli recently? I am curious about your perceptions and observations about the changing food as opposed to just the way the menu reads and the odd reaction of anonymous friends.

[Neal]

Concerning ingredients - One of the most brilliant aspects of my recent meal at El Bulli was the way in which Ferran puts the bounty of the region on the plate and into your mouth. The dishes transform local offerings into very pure and powerful experiences. I certainly got a kick out of knowing that I will never look at an ear of corn the same way after tasting his sopa de palamitas. I loved the fact that I was eating simple ingredients like tarragon, beet root, peas, pumpkin, melon, etc. in a totally new and delicious way. Of course, I enjoyed other ingredients like truffle, oysters, toro, jamon, cigala, and rabbit. One of the great things about the meal was the healthy nature of the dishes. I felt invigorated rather than uncomfortable. I can't say this about most other Michelin starred meals which typically feature more "luxury" items.

Let's face it, one of the greatest local ingredients the Costa Brava has to offer is Ferran himself.

Criticizing the meal without eating it, based on a reading of the ingredients as "pedestrian," strikes me as silly. It's like accusing Picasso of being cheap because he used clay. Sounds like this poster is approaching his meal with a predetermined negative attitude. One of the charms of my dinner at El Bulli was the way in which Ferran challenges you to be open to new experiences.

[Bux]

Some diners' interests appear to lie more in the area of appreciation of excellent raw materials that are minimally processed. Ferran Adria's cooking is that of intervention and manipulation. The manipulation is such that the final product that appears on the table may no longer be recognizable to the diner. An appreciation that this may be desireable is a necessity if one is have any chance of enjoying the meal. It seems apparent that this is the direction in which Adria is going and we can expect more of it until such time as a different aspect of cooking might appeal to him. Perhaps Adria represents the triumph of the chef over his materials. Perhaps that's of no appeal to some.

I'm reminded of a comment attributed to Gertrude Stein in defense of her habit of collecting art. Some might question the very idea that this was questionable, but such is the way people's ideas vary. She said that she likes to collect the work of men, the way other people like to collect the work of oysters. She was referring to pearls and by association, jewels. Some people favor restaurants that provide the rarest and most pristine materials, while others are more interested in the chef's handiwork. I don't think we should forgive the use of second rate quality in supposedly fine restaurant, but the choice of ignoring rare materials is a decision that can easily be justified in many ways on many levels, assuming one has an open mind as to what fine food may be.

I have another thought on fine dining in Spain beyond El Bulli and on the nature of ingredients chosen. Pig rarely finds its way to the haute cuisine tables of France except as in forcemeat, or occasionally as ham. During our last trip in Spain, we composed several menus entirely of seafood and fish, but when we took the tasting menu, or left the composition of our meal up to the chef, we had roast suckling pig as a highlight everytime except once when we had pork cheeks.

[vmilor]

Criticizing the meal without eating it, based on a reading of the ingredients as "pedestrian," strikes me as silly. It's like . One of the charms of my dinner at El Bulli was the way in which Ferran challenges you to be open to new experiences.

Personally I have eaten 3 times at Adria and when he prepared a special meal for the 2 of us it was very good. The last meal was approaching on the border of disaster and I cancelled a fourth reservation. When I read the menus in the last 2-3 years it sounded that his "avant garde" tendencies is taking the upperhand.

I put "creative" in question marks for 2 reasons. First, cooking is not a form of art so I am skeptical when a chef is described this way. Second, as far as the application of techique to transforming ingredients is at stake, I conclude that Adria's dishes are not nearly as well thought out and complex as the likes of Ducasse, Gagnaire, Pacaud, Passard, etc. They are rather like a "one trick pony", one good idea presented in all its variations and combinations throughout the meal.

I consider it populistic given that, firstly it is a form of cuisine that guarantees high returns with little input in the form of expensive ingredients. He has fine peas and pumpkin but as far as I recall his pea ravioli does not approach the level of piselli I have in Italy. Secondly, in an era distinguished by a general decline in standards, he is bound to appeal to those who look for "new experiences" and make the silly assumption that those who are not swayed over by gastrotech are narrow minded.

[docsconz]

As someone who enjoys eating and appreciates both culinary "creativity" and unique, pristine ingredients "simply prepared" and as one who believes strongly in the value of the Slow Food movement, I do not feel that any of these are mutually exclusive. In fact, I feel, that they are mutually supportive and necessary. In order to appreciate creativity, one must have a basis in enjoying pristine, simply prepared ingredients, especially when the creativity is a play on those same or different ingredients or else one cannot evaluate if something is truly "creative". The Slow Food Movement is all about protecting diversity of ingredients, production and cooking, which is IMO essential for both "creative" cuisine and cuisine based on the primacy of ingredients.

The important aspect of creative cuisine to me is expanding my mind by presenting ingredients new or old in ways that make me appreciate them anew. If that is successful, it doesn't really matter to me whether the ingredients are "pedestrian" or luxuriously "rare and expensive". I will admit that I have yet to eat at El Bulli, so I can not make a judgement on Adria's cuisine from first-hand experience as to whether or not he has been or is currently succesful in that regard. I do not rule it out of hand, however, that he may be "succesful" by my definition even with less expensive or exotic ingredients. Another way of looking at it, is that expensive, exotic ingredients are no guarantee of success either, unless they are handled in a masterly way.

As far as a "decline in standards", I would argue the opposite for food standards as more and more people (esp. in the U.S.) have become more and more sophisticated about matters culinary. I believe this is in evidence all around us on eGullet.

[isabellerossetti]

I am dining at El Bulli in August with a group of friends. Although we have found lots of documentation about El Bulli, we have not been able to find out about the prices at El Bulli. Would anybody know or know how to get the information please ?

[Neal]

the tasting menu is €145.

wine is not overpriced, all were recommends by the very young and bright sommelier, our most expensive bottle ( a gorgeous white Nuits St George '95) was €65. there were six of us and the entire bill with six different bottles of wine from cava to a sweet wine was €1220, just around €200 p/p with everything.

[Bux]

If memory serves, the price has gone up about 50% in five or six years. Add the drop in the dollar to that and it's less the bargain than it was a half decade ago for Americans. In terms of three star restaurants, the price is low compared to France and high compared to the rest of Spain. It is nevertheless, a value meal, if not the bargain it once was and that's just on comparative value without considering supply and demand. I'm sure Adria could raise prices and still keep the place full. My guess is that his prices will continue to rise until they are at least at par with three star places in France.

Between our first and second meal, two years apart, I noticed a tendancy to recommend more expensive wines, but as evidenced by Neal's post, they still tend to recommend wines well below the price of the least expensive wines on a French three star list. This seems to be a trait shared by most Spanish restaurants. Wines in Spain seem less expensive than in France at retail as well. I'm not surprised to see a car with French plates loading cases of wine into the trunk in the north of Spain.

Proximity to the French border will no doubt help keep prices in Catalunya and the Basque area rising. The French seem more willing to pay a higher price for dinner. The best of these restaurants are catering to an international trade just as the best restaurants in France have been doing for generations. The Spanish, or at least some of them, are also showing an inclination towards appreciating haute cuisine and food requiring a high degree of technology and my assumption is that restaurant prices in Spain will continue to rise. Enjoy it all now.

[Bux]

In terms of three star restaurants, the price is low compared to France and high compared to the rest of Spain.

I'm going to take that back, or at least a bit. We've been spending too much time in Paris and not enough in the provinces. There's really no comparing prices in Paris with those in the provinces where your three star euro or dollar seems to go a lot further, if not quite as far as it does in Spain.

[Jonathan Day]

My guess is that his prices will continue to rise until they are at least at par with three star places in France.

They certainly could rise that high, or even higher; I don't think there are any French three-stars that are in such demand.

But from some comments that Adria made during our London interview and at the demonstration that followed, I doubt that they will. One reason he keeps prices relatively low at the restaurant (e.g. wines sold essentially at retail prices) is that this adds to his sense of freedom to experiment. If this or that dish is not to the customer's satisfaction, well, the other 29 may well have been, and the €145 price has been good value; in any event I've seen claims that the restaurant and the Taller aren't recovering much more than its operating costs. I'm guessing that these are high, given that there seem to be more staff than customers at el Bulli. The other businesses -- hotels, catering, books, etc. -- are seen as the cash generators.

[isabellerossetti]

I am going to El Bulli for the first time, do they accept credit cards or should I take some cash with me ?

[vserna]

They take all credit cards, Isabelle, don't worry - be happy.

[Rogelio]

Hi, I have just come back from the first part of my holidays, and from my second visit to El Bulli, the first was back in 99. So this are my impressions:

The service was perfect, playing a very important part in the preparation and presentation of the dishes. And in the food it seems like Adrià has tried to be impressive and crazy (sometimes ridiculous) in the aperitives while the main courses can reach the excellence. I was glad to see the Jabugo ham as a link between some of the dishes giving the overall impression of a whole menu, and as a reivindication of Spain’s best product.

Being the surprise a very important part of the El Bulli’s menu I hadn’t read much about this year’s as I didn’t wanted to be influenced, but now that I have read the previous posts I realize that the menu is changing with the season and there are very few repeated dishes from the ones that Nerd Girl or Digijam had back in april.

As we came in we were invited to visit the kitchen that was starting to work, but hadn’t reach the rush hour, eventhough it was impressive to see 45 cooks working sincronized at the same time.

So we sat at our table and our waitar came to offer an aperitive that was going to be the first dish of the menu that followed:

Cipirinha-Nitro con concentrado de estragón

The tarragon concentrated had to be aeten leaving your tonge numb and your mouth plenty of tarragon aroma while the waiter started to mix the ingredients of a traditional Caipirinha: Cachaza and Lemon juice with the frozen nitrogen conforming a sorbet that was filled in a frozen lemon skin. It was good but more circus alike than delicious.

Lazo de remolacha con Polvo de vinagre

Like eating a plastic beet that melts in your mouth with a twist of vinegar at the end. funny

Empanadilla transparente de eucalipto y grosella

A blackcurrat with a plastic envelop. Can’t hardly remember

Macarrones de Pórex y mantequilla de coco

Kadaif a las aromáticas

A little nest of herbs and germinated peas, nice and original

Falsa “espardenya” con sisho, sésamo y yuzu

Like a crunchy snack with fishy flavour

Leche eléctrica “Sechuan Button”

This was a bad joke, a milk toast with sechun pepper flowers almost tasteles that leaved my tonge like if i had liked a battery. The (delicious) manzanilla pasada that I was drinking revealed all it’s salty taste.

Nube de palomita

The sugar cottons that you eat in the fairs but with a pop corn taste

Bocadillo de ibérico

An empty bread with a thin slice of jabugo ham knife cutted. Nothing surprising but delicious anyway

Caviar de melón

Originaly presented in an iranian caviar tin, it was amazing but it needed a few mango seeds to give the melon a touch of complexity. Very good.

Trufa de Pistacho

Delicious bonbon like pistaccio tartufo with a liquid inner.

Sférico de té con granizado de limón

Surprising jelly like ravioli containing cold tea and frozen lemon inside. Very good and refreshing.

Pan de queso con muesli de frutas y frutos

The new frozen air presented in a polexpan box. It tasted like parmessan cheese with strong flavour but no texture. Original.

Sopa de aceite con cítricos y aceituna verde

This was a bit ridiculous, the waiter gave us a balloon and cuted it’s ending so we felt the azahar (orange blossom?) flower air from the olive tree land, and then we had an olive oil soup and grapefruit. Nothing to talk about.

Gnoccis de patata con su jugo y raviolis de mantequilla

Simple, original and delicious, potatoes gnocchi with juice. The gnocchi’s were gelatin like and exploded when you ate them finding a potato puree in it’s interior. It was like eating potatoes with potatoes puree and a potatoes juice but all in all delicious. Great

“Ajo blanco” 2004

A very well resolved Ajoblanco almost solid almost liquid. Delicious anyway.

Ostras con cinta ibérica, sopa montada con su grasa y emulsión de pistacho

This was a haute cuissine dish that would be envy by any other chef. Three big oysters envolved with melted smoked jabugo fat in an oyster soup and a pistaccio souce. Simply great

Huevo de espárragos al falso tartufo

Surprisingly cooked egg that seemed to be an egg without it’s rind that once broken formed a sauce with the asparragus and summer trouffle. Good .

Curry de tripas de bacalao

Delicious, haute cuissine again with the jelly cod guts planty of falvor and a hint of curry enhancing the overall impression . Great

Mollejas de conejo, alquenquejes “Trinxats” y aire de regaliz

Original rabbit sweetbreads with liquorice air. Good.

“Espardenyes” al jamón, gelee de yogur, chicharrones de jamón

Who said that Adrià didn’t use top products?. This sea cucumbers are as delicious as a lobster and the jabugo fat gave them complexity. A great contrast pairing. The yogurt geleed didn’t match very weell IMHO

Lomo de cabrito con cous-cous, spray de azafrán

Good milk feeded goat with cous-cous around it and a hint of safron spray. Very good.

Gelee de tomatillo con melocotón y eucalipto

A frozen mix of tomato, peach and eucaliptus prepared in front of us. Very refreshing.

Tortilla de leche – nueva omelette surprise

A milk creppe envolving a liquid inner containing cinnamon and milk. Surprisinly good

“Gran creu negra” homenaje a Tápies

A black sunflower seed liying forming a big black cross over the dish with a cake and a vainilla icecream on top. Better as a picture than as a dessert.

Morphings

We decided to have them at the tarrace with a nice and hot summer night and the sound of the crickets around us it was the perfect ending of an enchanting dinner.

A little bottle containing baileys and coffy, and a thin slice of bread with black chocolate, salt and olive oil. Both better than surprising.

The overall impressiong is that El Bulli is an experience worth the trip, the service makes you feel like a prince, the food is challenging and delicious eventhug it seem like trying to be epatant with the aperitives, the main courses are great in every aspect. And I’m willing to go back in a year or two.

Edited August 4, 2004 by Rogelio (log)

[Bux]

And I’m willing to go back in a year or two.

Although I have dined with a couple who were having their second El Bulli meal in two weeks and have met people who ate at El Bulli two nights in a row, it's not everyday food. It does however sound as if the climax of your meal is a bit more in context with "real" food than meals reported on from the previous few seasons.

[docsconz]

What did you drink with your meal?

[Bux]

What did you drink with your meal?

That's a terrific question for two reasons. One is that many of us find choosing wines problematic at El Bulli. The other is that Rogelio has a good working knowledge of Spanish wines as well as wines in general. Rogelio mentioned an aged manzanilla somewhere in the post. I'm most familiar with the very fresh almost salty manznillas, but I can take a guess as to what they're like in regard to the wines from Jerez. It might stand up better to some of the creative early courses far better than the cava or white wine I've ordered.

[Bux]

Here's a description of a manzanilla pasada from Lustau

Description

Pale straw in colour, this Manzanilla Pasada is delightfully aromatic, reminiscent of green apples, with the characteristic hint of a sea breeze. Dry and fresh, light, yet with substance and body and a refreshing acidity.

Here's an interesting page from Vinícola Hidalgo on their Pastrana single vinyard aged manzanilas.

[Rogelio]

Indeed, thats the manzanilla that we had for the starters, IMHO Manzanilla Pasada Pastrana is the best of it's kind, it's a 12 years biologic crianza that makes a wine placed between a traditional Manzanilla and an Amontillado. It was superb with the starters reaching the climax with the bocadillo de ibérico, this is the perfect match. And it was the best wine of the evening.

Then we were sugested a Maconnaise that was terrific, but not all the courses where idoneous for the wine, and at last the mistake, the sommelier offered a powerful australian with a hint of brett so we changed it for a Langedoc-Rousillon very good but not suitable for the food, if I knew what was comming next I would have chosen another white. For the desserts we had a delicious MR, a moscatel from Malaga's Axarquía.

Edited August 4, 2004 by Rogelio (log)