Miguel Sanchez Romera

[PauloR]

Thank you for your report John. I have my booking at L'Esguard, beginning of June.

[molto e]

Rosa del Azafran from Spanish meaning saffron rose. Their classic salmon in waters of beet, saffron, orange and ginger; cooked in an edible envelope of transparent and crunchy Micrifilm along with black olives, red ginger, crunchy dried seaweeds. Texturally this dish was phenomenal. It was also delicious though a tad sweet for my preference. Salmon is a fish that is now seen only rarely on high-end restaurant plates and that is a pity as it remains the wonderful fish that it has always been.

Orestes from the Greek signifying "Mountains".  Pigeon breast en "crochette", roasted and served on a barbecue at the table, perfumed by the incense of myrrh. At the bottom of the plate lie greens, caramelized truffle and spices. Overlaid on that were trumpets, porcinis and black truffle. A pigeon broth was poured over top of the constructed dish. This was the ultimate in constructionism, a beautiful and delicious dish. In addition to perfuming the pigeon breast the incense lingered over the table anointing us with a sense of the mysterious.

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Doc,

On the salmon dish, do you know what the intent of the microfilm was in that dish - flavor, texture or cooking medium? Your photos of the Orestes dish may be my favorite shots that you have taken!! (or maybe the cuy ) I am surprised that the powders do not move at all on the way to the table.

Molto E

[docsconz]

Eliot, I think the micrifilm primarily added crispy texture to that dish. It worked as that made the dish particularly intriguing. It was as if it was a sugar brittle without the added sweetness of sugar. While I thought the dish a tad sweet for my taste it wasn't due to the micrifilm.

[docsconz]

Thank you for your report John. I have my booking at L'Esguard, beginning of June.

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it is a unique experience. I expect that you will enjoy it. While I am not sure that it would be the kind of restaurant that I would want (or could afford) to go to every week, it would be a treat to go to every now and again.

[Eduardo]

Doc,

        On the salmon dish, do you know what the intent of the microfilm was in that dish - flavor, texture or cooking medium?

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On the salmon dish, the microfilm works as a papillote. Not to give flavour, or texture. The sweet taste comes from the orange sauce, that as Doc, I also found to be very much in front of the pristine salmon. Something like that also happened to me on the scallop dish.

I concur with Doc in most of his comments, and also share favourite dishes. L’Esguard is a total must when going to the Barcelona area.

[docsconz]

Cuarta Parte

Cheese.

Libentia from Latin indicating goodness and pleasure. Exposition and degustation of cheeses aged in their own cave.

There is no excuse for leaving L'Esguard hungry. Even if one is not filled by the delights prior to the cheese course, the choice of whichever cheeses one cares to try from the cart should obliterate any lingering peckishness. The top shelf of the cart included cheeses from Spain with the lower level cheeses from France. Not being particularly hungry at this point, but being a glutton and faced with such an abundance of beautiful cheeses generally not available at this level of quality if at all in the US, I opted for the cheeses on the plate in the bottom photo. They were each magnificent. They are identified in the individual cheese photos.

[Joe Gerard]

Doc,

I must say that you have done your usual great job with both text and photos, but you have made me sick with regret for cancelling the reservation I had made on my trip as it conflicted with another I had made at Hispania and there was no way to do both.

Actually I chose Hispania because I didn't want to short change traditional Catalonian cuisine, and I did enjoy their old school versions immensely and had a great meal on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

I will try to find the time to post my notes on the trip - 16 meals and 28 Michelin stars later its tough to know where to start.

I hope to read about the rest of your journey.

Joe

[docsconz]

Doc,

I must say that you have done your usual great job with both text and photos, but you have made me sick with regret for cancelling the reservation I had made on my trip as it conflicted with another I had made at Hispania and there was no way to do both.

Actually I chose Hispania because I didn't want to short change traditional Catalonian cuisine, and I did enjoy their old school versions immensely and had a great meal on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

I will try to find the time to post my notes on the trip - 16 meals and 28 Michelin stars later its tough to know where to start.

I hope to read about the rest of your journey.

Joe

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That was a no lose situation as Hispania is excellent as well. If that was your only traditional meal then that was probably a wise choice as at least one traditional meal is necessary while in the area. Nevertheless, L'Esguard is one of the most unique and enjoyable restaurants I have ever visited.

[Mar Calpena]

Docs,

Please stop posting those splendid cheese photos. Specially when I'm reading you at work just before lunch. My colleagues can tell I'm slacking by the roars from my stomach.

Mar

[docsconz]

Alright, I'll stop with the cheese and move on to...

Postres

Cloris from Greek signifying the goddess of flowers and gardens. White chocolate ice cream with fresh and dried flowers that taste and smell of jasmine, violet and rose put on top of a crystalline blanket within which one sees flowers and herbs of the mountains. This dish was extremely floral and perfumey but not overly so - a fine emblem of the spring.

Sisoe from Greek meaning braided hair. Cold soup of white chocolate, banana, pickled red ginger ice cream with droplets of red curry, covered by a gelee of gold with dark Venezuelan chocolate and sweet and crunchy crystals of spicy gold. Complex and a bit 'precious", but it worked.

Denique from latin meaning the end. Little "handkerchiefs" of choco-micrifilm and gold, stuffed with two different forms of chocolate truffle. Chewy and tasty these were a fun way to finish an outstanding meal.

In summary, the food, setting and style of this restaurant are unique and very enjoyable. I am quite happy that we included this on our itinerary as it was one of the best and most interesting meals of our trip. My Catalan friend called it the best meal that he has ever had and he has eaten at some of the best places in Catalunya and therefore the world including elBulli (2), Can Roca and Hispania with us and Sant Pau without us. While I enjoyed the meal very, very much, I do not share his ranking of the meals we have had together. This is not a restaurant that I would wish to frequent as great as this meal was. Much of its charm comes from the novelty, surprise and sense of pampering. Make no mistake - the food is delicious - but after a time the experience would not be the same and the sense of wonder here is one that should be preserved. That being said, I wouldn't mind the opportunity of visiting this restaurant once a season to experience the new delights envisioned by this master of the plate.

[PauloR]

Thank you for your report John. I have my booking at L'Esguard, beginning of June.

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it is a unique experience. I expect that you will enjoy it. While I am not sure that it would be the kind of restaurant that I would want (or could afford) to go to every week, it would be a treat to go to every now and again.

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I went to L'Esguard last week.

The menu was exactly the same and I agree with doc., in most of it's comments.

This was one of my best meals ever. IMHO, this meal was better than other recent experiences at Can Roca, Fat Duck, Pierre Gagnaire and Mugaritz.

I did not went to El Bulli recently. I can not compare it with L'Esguard. I have a booking for Alinea end of July. I'm very curious about it...

Edited June 14, 2007 by PauloR (log)

[docsconz]

Thank you for your report John. I have my booking at L'Esguard, beginning of June.

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it is a unique experience. I expect that you will enjoy it. While I am not sure that it would be the kind of restaurant that I would want (or could afford) to go to every week, it would be a treat to go to every now and again.

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I went to L'Esguard last week.

The menu was exactly the same and I agree with doc., in most of it's comments.

This was one of my best meals ever. IMHO, this meal was better than other recent experiences at Can Roca, Fat Duck, Pierre Gagnaire and Mugaritz.

I did not went to El Bulli recently. I can not compare it with L'Esguard. I have a booking for Alinea end of July. I'm very curious about it...

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Paulo, I'm glad that you enjoyed L'Esguard. What did you not agree with?

I expect that you will enjoy Alinea as well even though the approach of each restaurant is very different.

[PauloR]

(...)

Paulo, I'm glad that you enjoyed L'Esguard. What did you not agree with?

I expect that you will enjoy Alinea as well even though the approach of each restaurant is very different.

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My favorite dishes was Odran and Alsos, follow by your favorite Unda.

As you, I found Aprillis the least interesting.

It was not possible to make photos. I was told this was recent decision because one person, used his photos of a meal at L'Esguard, for is own profit.

Regards

Paulo Rodrigues

[docsconz]

(...)

Paulo, I'm glad that you enjoyed L'Esguard. What did you not agree with?

I expect that you will enjoy Alinea as well even though the approach of each restaurant is very different.

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My favorite dishes was Odran and Alsos, follow by your favorite Unda.

As you, I found Aprillis the least interesting.

It was not possible to make photos. I was told this was recent decision because one person, used his photos of a meal at L'Esguard, for is own profit.

Regards

Paulo Rodrigues

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I hope they were not referring to my photos! Seriously, I would be very curious to hear the story. I suppose that they could be referring to the photos that I posted here, but I certainly didn't derive any financial profit from them. In any case, that is unfortunate news.

[butterfly]

I hope they were not referring to my photos!     Seriously, I would be very curious to hear the story. I suppose that they could be referring to the photos that I posted here, but I certainly didn't derive any financial profit from them. In any case, that is unfortunate news.

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I can't imagine that is the case. Your photos have ensured that I will go there to see for myself the next time I'm in BCN. I'm sure I'm not the only one!

I have seen some food photos from Spanish restaurants show up as stock footage before. Maybe this is what happened.

[PauloR]

(...)

I hope they were not referring to my photos!     Seriously, I would be very curious to hear the story. I suppose that they could be referring to the photos that I posted here, but I certainly didn't derive any financial profit from them. In any case, that is unfortunate news.

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I'm sure it was not your photos. I spoke with the waiter about your report in eGullet, and he told me, that was not the same case.

[docsconz]

I didn't think so, but one never knows The timing was quite coincidental though. That is a particular shame for that restaurant as the space and the food are all very photogenic.

[Rogelio]

It looks like Miguel Sánchez Romera has closed L'Esguard and is moving to start a new venture in NYC. Does anybody have more info?

[Judith Gebhart]

We followed his career and enjoyed his restaurant with great reservations over the years. We thought he was fixated on his Micri product. His unique product appeared in almost every dish that he served. He and his wife seemingly delightful people, were most welcoming. His efforts failed to make a great or even a very good restaurant. We were very disappointed for what seemed like a worthy talent.

We both experienced his dishes as severely limited because of his primary Micri focus; his recipes were not exciting nor frankly tasty. His creativity suffered because of his myoptic views. I am shocked that he is headed for NY !! We are not surprised about the restaurant's demise. Judith Gebhart

[docsconz]

We followed his career and enjoyed his restaurant with great reservations over the years.  We thought he was fixated on his Micri product. His unique product appeared in almost every dish  that he served. He and his wife seemingly delightful people, were most welcoming.  His efforts failed to make a great or even a very good restaurant. We were very disappointed for what seemed like a worthy talent.

We both experienced his dishes as severely limited because of his primary Micri focus; his recipes were not exciting nor frankly tasty. His creativity suffered because of his myoptic views. I am shocked that he is headed for NY !! We are not surprised about the restaurant's demise. Judith Gebhart

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Having only dined at l'Esguard once, I cannot attest to the value of the restaurant or Romera's creativity over time. It would certainly appear that he has focused very strongly on the Micri product, possibly to the detriment of his overall culinary development and creativity, however, based on one visit, I must strongly disagree that his recipes were not exciting or tasty. I could see and understand how they might become boring on repeated visits, but they are unique compared to others and I did find them to be not only delicious, but also quite beautiful. Our visit to L'Esguard last spring was frankly, one of the culinary highlights of that trip to Spain.

I had heard plans last spring that Romera wanted to open in NYC, but did not hear that it would be t the expense of the Catalan original. I think that his style and food will likely make a positive initial impression in NY, though his staying power will be determined by his ability to evolve and grow. Based on your post, and others, Judith, I question his interest or ability to do either of those things. It will be interesting to see what happens. I wish him well!

[Culinista]

It looks like Miguel Sánchez Romera has closed L'Esguard and is moving to start a new venture in NYC. Does anybody have more info?

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My BCN friend tells me there is a deal in the works for Sánchez Romera to open restaurants in Dubai and Vegas as well. Just a rumor, but that is what the Internet is for.

[Silly Disciple]

It looks like Miguel Sánchez Romera has closed L'Esguard and is moving to start a new venture in NYC. Does anybody have more info?

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My BCN friend tells me there is a deal in the works for Sánchez Romera to open restaurants in Dubai and Vegas as well. Just a rumor, but that is what the Internet is for.

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On the other side , I've heard, also as a rumor, that such deal is highly unlikely. The source also questioned the viability of the NY project.

[Rogelio]

According to the NYT:

In March Dr. Miguel Sánchez Romera, a neurologist who owns the Michelin-starred L’Esguard near Barcelona, Spain, will open a restaurant in the new Dream Hotel under construction on Ninth Avenue and 17th Street.