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Can Majo - Paella by the seafront.


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We went to Can Majo for lunch today. I really had high expectations, given all the good comments here and elsewhere.

There were four of us, and we order a bunch of appetizers (mostly seafood, of course), and then 2 kinds of seafood paella. While the appetizers where ok (the seafood was very fresh, I'll give you that), the paella was, I thought, overcooked and not impressive at all.

Since I know many of you have been there, I'd like to know what others think.

Was I just unlucky? We ordered 2 paellas, and we thought both were average...

We did on the other hand come across a great Ribera del Duero: Hacienda el Monasterio 2000. Great wine.

Also, but on a side note, I've found another gelateria worth visiting. Helados Fratello, on Joan de Borbo, had excellent ice cream.

Silly.

We''ve opened Pazzta 920, a fresh pasta stall in the Boqueria Market. follow the thread here.

My blog, the Adventures of A Silly Disciple.

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We had arroz, but not paella, both times we were there. I think it was called arroz caldoso.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

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Arroz caldoso is probably best at Can Majó. People in Valencia say with some condescension that the Catalans always like their rice soupy, anyhow. For great paella, I think Barcelona is not the greatest place.

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

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  • 1 month later...
We also thought that the prices here were great on both food and wine/liquor.

If I'm not mistaken, you were also in Paris and New York last month. No wonder.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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We just had dinner here last month. My husband and I had the caldron (?), a cross between paella and lobster bisque. It was very good. We also thought that the prices here were great on both food and wine/liquor.

You probably had arroz al caldero, where caldero refers to the original recipient where this dish was cooked (you can still find places where the caldero is used to cook rice).

PedroEspinosa (aka pedro)

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Last July I had a similar opinion about my lunch to that of Silly Disciple. I think I posted words to that effect at the time. Victor has a good point, I suspect since my brother, who has spent months of each year in Spain since 1959 said the same after he dined there last year.

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We also thought that the prices here were great on both food and wine/liquor.

If I'm not mistaken, you were also in Paris and New York last month. No wonder.

Correct, and of course we really thought that prices all over Spain were fantastic!

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We just had dinner here last month. My husband and I had the caldron (?), a cross between paella and lobster bisque. It was very good. We also thought that the prices here were great on both food and wine/liquor.

You probably had arroz al caldero, where caldero refers to the original recipient where this dish was cooked (you can still find places where the caldero is used to cook rice).

This is exactly what we had, thanks Pedro!

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Was I just unlucky? We ordered 2 paellas, and we thought both were average...

I don't understand why is it that people think that if you are in Spain every restaurant, in any region, makes a good paella. If I am correct, Can Majo's specialty is "arroz caldoso" and if you looked around at the locals having lunch I bet not one was having paella.

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Perhaps Pedro or Victor can tell us the connection, if any, between caldero and caldoso. I believe we shared an arroz caldoso for a main course the two times we ate at Can Majo, and it came to the table in a large (cast iron?) pot in which it was cooked. Was that a caldero?

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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Perhaps Pedro or Victor can tell us the connection, if any, between caldero and caldoso. I believe we shared an arroz caldoso for a main course the two times we ate at Can Majo, and it came to the table in a large (cast iron?) pot in which it was cooked. Was that a caldero?

There's a connection, Bux. Caldero, as I said, refers to the original pot where the food is cooked. I don't know of any rice cooked in a caldero that it's not caldoso, though that is possible simply by evaporation. But the opposite is not necessarily true: caldoso simply means that it's not a dry rice (like the paellas), but it has some broth or caldo. There are many ways to cook rice other than in a caldero that would result in a caldoso rice. Even in a paella (which as you all know is the name of the flat, wide and not too deep pan where rice is tipically cooked in Spain), I'd say.

PedroEspinosa (aka pedro)

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One more note: there is increasingly a distinction made, mostly in the more modern restaurants, between 'meloso' rice (tender, soft, similar to risotto 'all'onda' in texture) and 'caldoso' rice, which is traditionally more soupy - indeed, I often prefer using a spoon instead of a fork to eat it.

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

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Was I just unlucky? We ordered 2 paellas, and we thought both were average...

I don't understand why is it that people think that if you are in Spain every restaurant, in any region, makes a good paella. If I am correct, Can Majo's specialty is "arroz caldoso" and if you looked around at the locals having lunch I bet not one was having paella.

I wouldn't say that, many locals order paellas and many locals order other rices, in Can Majó and in other nice restaurants in La Barceloneta like Can Costa or Cal Ramonet. I find it's more a matter of taste, some prefer dry, some prefer caldoso.

In a sense many dishes that were once regional can now be considered national. That is, a typical neighbourhood restaurant in Catalonia will have paella, while risotto would be out of the question. It is not something that has been "learnt" as an effort to be original, but rather a not surprising effect of widespread inmigration inside Spain. A restaurant chef in Girona with a Valencian grandmother and an Andalusian grandmother will naturally produce gazpacho and paella. I guess tandoori food can now be considered English food as well.

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Was I just unlucky? We ordered 2 paellas, and we thought both were average...

I don't understand why is it that people think that if you are in Spain every restaurant, in any region, makes a good paella. If I am correct, Can Majo's specialty is "arroz caldoso" and if you looked around at the locals having lunch I bet not one was having paella.

Actually we specifically went to Can Majo to eat arroz, as that had been the general recommendation. Our mistake was not to know that their specialty was caldoso and not paella.

We didn't have the chance to look at other tables since we were seated in a mostly empty separate space they have 1/2 a block down the street, called diecinueve I think (19), since both their main space and the terraza were full.

I wouldn't say that, many locals order paellas and many locals order other rices, in Can Majó and in other nice restaurants in La Barceloneta like Can Costa or Cal Ramonet. I find it's more a matter of taste, some prefer dry, some prefer caldoso.

In a sense many dishes that were once regional can now be considered national. That is, a typical neighbourhood restaurant in Catalonia will have paella, while risotto would be out of the question.

I agree with asola on this. Paella seems rather widespread in Barcelona, not just in the more touristy areas, but in restaurants that offer the rather common "lunch menu" as wll.

Silly.

We''ve opened Pazzta 920, a fresh pasta stall in the Boqueria Market. follow the thread here.

My blog, the Adventures of A Silly Disciple.

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In all honesty, I would have expected Can Majo to produce a very good paella, but I'd still suggest a visitor try the arroz caldosa because it's the more traditional dish in Barcelona. The native who gets the chance to eat local food as often as he wants, may develop personal tastes. It's also a fact that for a tourist who's only visiting Barcelona and not going further south in Spain, this is the only chance to eat Spanish paella and because it's a more famous dish, it's going to have great appeal.

At the right time of year, eating on the terrace may improve the whole meal. The first time, we got an outdoor table by luck. The second time, we made sure to reserve it and there was only one outdoor table open when we arrived. In fact, another couple who arrived after we did, took the table without asking, but were told it was reserved and when we announced ourselves, we were given the table. I never really hold it against a restaurant when they favor locals over tourists, but I do respect a place that honors their reservations.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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In all honesty, I would have expected Can Majo to produce a very good paella

As chef Abraham Garcia recently said when asked for an interview what was the most exotic dish he had ever tasted "it was a well cooked paella".

The inherent difficulty of producing a good paella, often overlooked, has appeared before in the site.

PedroEspinosa (aka pedro)

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We went to Can Majo for lunch today. I really had high expectations, given all the good comments here and elsewhere.

There were four of us, and we order a bunch of appetizers (mostly seafood, of course), and then 2 kinds of seafood paella. While the appetizers where ok (the seafood was very fresh, I'll give you that), the paella was, I thought, overcooked and not impressive at all.

Since I know many of you have been there, I'd like to know what others think.

Was I just unlucky? We ordered 2 paellas, and we thought both were average...

We did on the other hand come across a great Ribera del Duero: Hacienda el Monasterio 2000. Great wine.

Also, but on a side note, I've found another gelateria worth visiting. Helados Fratello, on Joan de Borbo, had excellent ice cream.

Silly.

Well, maybe paella is not the best dish in Can Majo, but try in Elx, Web: http://www.restaurantelx.com, or in Los Caracoles in c. Escudellers (near plaça Reial) is not the best place, but the paella is perfect.

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Well, maybe paella is not the best dish in Can Majo, but try in Elx, Web: http://www.restaurantelx.com, or in Los Caracoles in c. Escudellers (near plaça Reial) is not the best place, but the paella is perfect.

The traditional Elx was in c.Vila Vilà, in the Parallel neighbourhood. I had a great paella there like ten years ago. They later moved to the Moll de la Barceloneta (L'Elx al Moll) and, I think, the older one changed hands. I've tried both in the past year and the Moll one is waaaay better, in fact the Elx at Vila Vilà was a disaster. The Elx al Moll paella was as good as the one I've had at Can Costa and I liked both better than the one at Can Majó -where, I must confess, I didn't have arroz caldoso either, but then it's because I'm not a fan of arroz caldoso.

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The two restaurants share the same web site and seem to be under the same original ownership. Even the menus seem identical. The difference in quality may be the result of the difference in kitchen staff or a matter of a bad day. I gather both names, Elche and L'Elx, refer to the same town known for its surrounding palm groves, if I'm not mistaken, but that one is Castellano and the other Català or Valenciana.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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There's a connection, Bux. Caldero, as I said, refers to the original pot where the food is cooked. I don't know of any rice cooked in a caldero that it's not caldoso

In Puerto Rico, rice dishes whether soupy or dry are cooked in a cast iron or cast aluminum "caldero". The dry rice is usually fluffy on top and the very bottom is usually a bit stuck "pegao". I was reminded of that "pegao" when we ate paella at Casa Paco. Now THAT was an incredible paella, after that one, nothing else came close. If Can Majo is known for the "caldoso" rice, then that would be the dish to order. "An informed consumer is the best client" :rolleyes:

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