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granja elena


trsierra

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i say especially for those who live here because this little place is not the easiest to get to.

(nor is it the easiest to get into...)

it's a bit out of the way in the zona franca, it's only open for breakfast and lunch,

and it's tiny and always full and you need reservations...

granja elena is not a destination restaurant at all, but the kind of place you wish was in your neighborhood.

at least-- i wish it was closer to mine...

the menu is in catalan, the prices are good, and the food is excellent.

that said, if you don't know castellano or catalan, i doubt anyone would be disappointed by just eating whatever they brought you.

which is usually the best way anyway.

a few years back the chef from bar pinotxo (albert asín) took me there for lunch because the chef was a friend of his. he said i wouldn't be disappointed.

it's been a little bar/cafe for over 30 years owned by abel and his wife olga.

with a great selection of cheeses and meats and a very good and well chosen wine list,

it always had loyal regulars.

but it has become a top quality restaurant, this probably has something to do with their son,

who is now the chef.

some of the appetizers include:

extra thick asparagus with warm truffle oil.

a whole raff tomato filled with cantabrican anchovies, sweet figueres onions and olive tapenade.

smoked pork belly, seared and served on a puree of potxa white beans with foie gras.

--this is probably the best pork belly i have ever had...and that includes 2 of my favorites (from cinc sentits and fagollaga.)

a revuelto de tripitas de bacalao which is a scramble of eggs, cod stomach and fresh chanterelle mushrooms.

arroz cremoso-- a creamy rice with fresh truffles and foie gras...which is rich and perfect, but not as heavy as it could potentially be.

the big white ganxet beans stewed with pig snout and ears.

(these dishes don't sound all that elegant in english...but this is real catalan cooking.)

for the mains:

a fantastic lechazo...suckling lamb, traditionally roasted with potatoes and a whole head of dry roasted garlic.

a roasted pigeon from bresse.

wild turbot with potatoes and arbequina olive oil.

ajoarriero which is a stew (from the navarra region) of salt cod and sweet red peppers, but here the dish also includes lobster.

and last week i had a plate of 6 fresh galician scallops grilled a la plancha with just a bit of parsley oil and the liquor...

as for prices,

the appetizers start at 5,90€ for a mixed salad with jamon and warm brie, to fresh beluga caviar ( 85€ ). (that won't be for long..!)

for the main courses, there is a mini-filet with mustard oil (5,90€) to the salt cod and lobster stew (45€).

normally there are only a couple of desserts...but they are good.

last time we had a molten bitter chocolate soufflé with vanilla bourbon ice cream,

and an amazing mousse of mel i mato-- fresh cheese and honey --with pistachio ice cream.

the ingredients are the best quality, and the region from where they came is always noted if they are not local.

this is a very informal place that manages-- just like bar pinotxo-- to bring the highest quality cooking to a neighborhood restaurant.

cheers,

--tanya

granja elena

pº. zona franca, 228

93 332 02 41

oh, and the menu at cinc sentits changes this week...

i am going to miss the chupito of warm maple syrup, cream, cava sabayon and maldon salt--

but i am really looking forward to seeing what is coming up...

Edited by trsierra (log)
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oh, and the menu at cinc sentits changes this week...

i am going to miss the chupito of warm maple syrup, cream, cava sabayon and maldon salt--

but i am really looking forward to seeing what is coming up...

This is sort of their signature amuse, I'd be surprised if they did away with it.

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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Granja Elena sounds fantastic, Tanya. Thanks for the recommendation and the detailed write up! Oh, how I wish I was in Barcelona right now so that I could tuck into a plate of the pork belly, pig snout & ears, scrambled eggs with salt cod tripe, mel i mato mousse ... oh really, any of it! Delicioso!

Brett Emerson

My food blog: In Praise of Sardines

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  • 3 weeks later...

Feh. I went to Granja Elena today -- it looked like it was pretty full, which I took as a good sign. I asked if they had room for 1 person, which is rarely a problem, but the lady said, No, We Are Full. I said, I can wait, I don't mind -- but she said, you can't wait, there's no more room today. Please leave. And she gestured towards the door.

It was rather unpleasant, I have to say. I'll give it one more shot tomorrow, since I will go through a lot for good food, but if they're that rude again I'm afraid it just won't work out.

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hi jammin,

i did say it was tiny and always full and you NEED reservations.

if i don't call by 10 am, they tell me the same thing on the payphone in the middle of the rest.:

sorry, we're full....it's not going to happen...try again tomorrow.

i've never ever been treated rudely there-- but brusque, sure...

it's not exactly a rarity here...but it isn't either in new york for that matter.

call in the morning...it is worth it.

promise.

t.

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  • 1 month later...
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