El Bulli 2006 reports

[docsconz]

My 2006 reservation is fast approaching, and I'd like some travel advice, having never been to Spain (and only once to continental Europe (sad but true)).

Is the best way to get to Roses from Barcelona by car?

Are cabs easy to get from town to El Bulli?

Hotel Recommendations (preferably ones that can be booked on-line)? I lean towards inexpensive rather than 4-star.

Other Barcelona/Roses restaurants that I should try to make reservations at? (the molecular gastronomy resources site mentions Alkimia (Barcelona, Chef Jordi Vilà)

and Espai Sucre (Barcelona, Chef Jordi Butrón))

Should I bring a Catalan/English phrasebook, Spanish/English, or both?

I'm feeling rather provincial right about now ...

TIA

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I assume that means that your reservation and travel will be in August. Check to see what restaurants in Barcelona will be open while you are there. My experience with Espai Sucre was that it was closed in August - at least when I was there. The ones you mentioned are good. For Barcelona others to consider would include Abac (my favorite), Comerc 24, Hisop, Ot and a favorite of many here - Cinc Sentits. I would not hesitate to venture out to Carme Ruscalleda's Sant Pau, Can Roca or El Raco de Can Fabes. For something completely different and elemental Rafa's in Roses is a must for pristine, simply prepared seafood.

A car is a good idea outside of Barcelona and depending on how much ETOH you consume, not a bad option for El Bulli. Taxis are a good alternative from Roses, especially if ETOH is an issue.

The Almadraba in Roses is an excellent hotel, but may be more than you appear to be looking for. Roses is full of hotels, though it might be tough to make last minute reservations. Good luck, enjoy and report (please)!

[Rob Simmon]

My reservations are in September, so I guess "soon" is relative (my reservations were made last October, after all). I'm looking for additional molecular gastronomy-type restaurants, but I probably should try some classic Catalonian or Pyreneen (sp?) cuisine. I will report, and hopefully be able to comment insightfully between El Bulli and its stateside descendants, of which Gilt and minibar are my favorites.

[docsconz]

My reservations are in September, so I guess "soon" is relative (my reservations were made last October, after all). I'm looking for additional molecular gastronomy-type restaurants, but I probably should try some classic Catalonian or Pyreneen (sp?) cuisine. I will report, and hopefully be able to comment insightfully between El Bulli and its stateside descendants, of which Gilt and minibar are my favorites.

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September is a great time to be in Barcelona and Catalunya. It is great mushroom season. It is also a great season for festivals, especially in Barcelona. Do try some traditional catalan cuisine if for no other reason than for a better understanding of the source of the molecular cuisine, which is still largely based on traditional Catalan cuisine as a reference point.

I hate to admit that I have yet to dine at Gilt, but minibar is a direct descendant of El Bulli and the closest thing to that experience in the US. Nevertheless they are both unique in their own ways and both wonderful.

Enjoy!

[Rob Simmon]

I hate to admit that I have yet to dine at Gilt, but minibar is a direct descendant of El Bulli and the closest thing to that experience in the US. Nevertheless they are both unique in their own ways and both wonderful.

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minibar uses several recipes in the 1998-2002 El Bulli cookbook (pork rinds, lotus root chips, passionfruit whiskey sour), and at least one of the chefs (in addition to Jose Andres) has done a stint at El Bulli, so the connection is quite tight. Ferran Adria even ate there the night before my last visit (so close, yet so far!). I'm counting the days.

[The Viking]

September is a great time to be in Barcelona and Catalunya. It is great mushroom season. It is also a great season for festivals, especially in Barcelona. Do try some traditional catalan cuisine if for no other reason than for a better understanding of the source of the molecular cuisine, which is still largely based on traditional Catalan cuisine as a reference point.

I hate to admit that I have yet to dine at Gilt, but minibar is a direct descendant of El Bulli and the closest thing to that experience in the US. Nevertheless they are both unique in their own ways and both wonderful.

Enjoy!

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[Matthew Grant]

How are the spheres for the olives and mussels made? Are they just puffed up gelatin?

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Funny you mention the spheres! There's this political humor show on Catalan TV these days, where the only non-politician character they regularly spoof is Ferran Adria. He is shown in a high tech kitchen, the highlight of which is so-called "sferificating oven" (forn esferificador or, as Adria pronounces, ejferificador). His sketches normally include throwing some kind of foodstuff into the air, from which it comes back in a completely different, absurd form. Once they spoofed Carme Ruscalleda, too, and it was so good I remember crying tears of laughter. And on another day they had the real Ferran Adria over and interviewed him. He seemed to take it with a grain of salt. If by chance you are over here and can get to see it (the show is called Polonia), by all means wait until he appears, even if you don't speak Catalan. It's that good!

(Excuse the aside, I didn't think it was worth opening a new thread for this... but I thought you would find it funny)

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Thanks for the aside. I wish I could see it in the US. It is nearing time to start thinking about another visit over there and to see what I can do about EB2007.

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If you do a search on Youtube for Polonia Adria you will find several clips, made me laugh even though I don't speak a word of Catalan or Spanish.

[Mar Calpena]

If you do a search on Youtube for Polonia Adria you will find several clips, made me laugh even though I don't speak a word of Catalan or Spanish.

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Try this one, after the first couple of minutes it's really representative. In the sketches, Ferran Adria is always with a sous chef he calls "mindundi" (catalan slang for underdog).

Adria's sketches are called "The best cook in the world".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0PMNkhAD3w

[sooosj]

I just finished a stage at Mugaritz, and rumor from many of the other stagiers was that El Bulli might be closing its doors in three years. Has anyone else heard of this or are we all just very misinformed?

[docsconz]

September is a great time to be in Barcelona and Catalunya. It is great mushroom season. It is also a great season for festivals, especially in Barcelona. Do try some traditional catalan cuisine if for no other reason than for a better understanding of the source of the molecular cuisine, which is still largely based on traditional Catalan cuisine as a reference point.

I hate to admit that I have yet to dine at Gilt, but minibar is a direct descendant of El Bulli and the closest thing to that experience in the US. Nevertheless they are both unique in their own ways and both wonderful.

Enjoy!

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Slightly OT:

What festivals do you know of in September in the area? I'll be there 1st-6th, do have a car and am willing to travel. Unfortunately no reservation at elbulli as of now, but working on it..

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Here is a list of festivals. Unfortunately, none correspond to when you will be therre. The one i was specifically thinking of, La Merce is towards the end of the month. That is a major holiday and was a blast when I was there two years ago. Good luck with the reservation.

[docsconz]

How are the spheres for the olives and mussels made? Are they just puffed up gelatin?

←

Funny you mention the spheres! There's this political humor show on Catalan TV these days, where the only non-politician character they regularly spoof is Ferran Adria. He is shown in a high tech kitchen, the highlight of which is so-called "sferificating oven" (forn esferificador or, as Adria pronounces, ejferificador). His sketches normally include throwing some kind of foodstuff into the air, from which it comes back in a completely different, absurd form. Once they spoofed Carme Ruscalleda, too, and it was so good I remember crying tears of laughter. And on another day they had the real Ferran Adria over and interviewed him. He seemed to take it with a grain of salt. If by chance you are over here and can get to see it (the show is called Polonia), by all means wait until he appears, even if you don't speak Catalan. It's that good!

(Excuse the aside, I didn't think it was worth opening a new thread for this... but I thought you would find it funny)

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Thanks for the aside. I wish I could see it in the US. It is nearing time to start thinking about another visit over there and to see what I can do about EB2007.

←

If you do a search on Youtube for Polonia Adria you will find several clips, made me laugh even though I don't speak a word of Catalan or Spanish.

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Thanks for the suggestion!

is a link to some of these sketches on youtube. They are a good send-up to his DVD series.

[pedro]

I just finished a stage at Mugaritz, and rumor from many of the other stagiers was that El Bulli might be closing its doors in three years.  Has anyone else heard of this or are we all just very misinformed?

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I think that's one of Ferran's dreams, being able of taking a sabatic year. So, it's something that comes up every now and then.

On a side note, please try to keep this thread on topic: the reports of the 2006 season and related discussion. Needless to say, you're more than welcome to create new topics on any other subjects. Thanks!

[Rogelio]

El Bulli's Kitchen

Witchcraft

Gin and tonic with cucumber

mango leaf

nut marshmallow

Hibiscus paper with cassis and eucaliptus

Seaweed waffles and white sesame

Lyo-garrapiñado of Banana, sesame and nutmeg

Animals

Nitro-strowberries with parmigiano

Pineaple Cat's tongue with badiana (starred annissum)

Clementine essence

Olive oil cotton with gold leaf

Pinenuts cake

Goose barnacles with caviar. This was folluwed by a shot containig the barnacle's water being the glass the cover of the barnacle.

Thai Brioche

Deep fried crab anenone

Liquid croquete 2006

Golden egg

Mille flowers and foie grass

Anchoive with PX and Moscatel sphero grapes

Sphero mussels with bacon and potato soup

Oil raviolis with pumpkin seeds

Bread soup with laurencia and spheric yolks

Migas de argana "Fez"

Pumpkin seeds rissotto with curry and peanut oil capsul

Horse mackerel belly with olive oil kalix and egg yolk

El Mar

Crab marrakesh

Lamb brains with it's juice

The sheep, the cheese and it's wool

Mango sandwich

Strawberry ice cream whith hierbaluisa and chocolat

Grapefruit, pistaccio, yuzu and tea.

Overall the food wasn't that good comparing with previous years but this is probably the funniest meal that I've ever had, not the best but the most joyful.

Comparing this year's menu with other year's you can appreciate that Adrià plays on another league completely different from the other chefs, the product has almost desapeared and his dishes are like prototypes, some of them better than others but all of them relly interesting and this doesn't mean delicious.

Something that has completely disepeared are the bread and the knifes, everythin is eaten with the hands or with fork and spoon.

Talking with Adrià himself after the meal and trying to understand what he's looking for you can see that the revolution this year is not so shocking like other years but more subtle, the fireworks are less obvious but deeper, like the use of xantana, a polysacarid (also used by Joan Roca) that helps to settle the stocks turning them into sauces without the addition of anything else but the proper juice. The microencapsulation to obtain microspheres containing oils...

Another world.

[Magnus Lindgren]

that is absolutely stunning what u can do with 45 stagiers (chefs working for free)

it is mindblowing, what a genius!

I wish i could be in that possition ,so many possibilities Adria brakes down the thing known as dining into something else that needs a new word.

Food flair xtravaganza

I have to go that is it, end of/Magnus

[docsconz]

Rogelio, were there any particular dishes that you took the most pleasure in? Thank you for your report and photos. It seemed as if they were all new dishes. Were there any from previous years?

[Rogelio]

Rogelio, were there any particular dishes that you took the most pleasure in? Thank you for your report and photos. It seemed as if they were all new dishes. Were there any from previous years?

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The only previous year dish that we had was the spheric olives that I failed to picture at the beggining of the meal and the golden egg that I had instead of the won-ton campestre due to my cheese fobia. As they have records for every thing that anyone have had in the past they try to avoid repeating dishes unless you ask specially for it. I know someone who asks for the ajoblanco everyutime he visites El Bulli.

Highlights of the meal were the lyo-garrapiñado of banana and sesame, pinen nuts cake, goose barnacles with caviar (I could have had two dozen of that), liquid croquette and deep fried crab/anemone.

Edited August 8, 2006 by Rogelio (log)

[Corinna Dunne]

Thanks so much for the report Rogelio. Was the caviar with the goose barnacles real caviar or an El Bulli interpretation?

[Rogelio]

Was the caviar with the goose barnacles real caviar or an El Bulli interpretation?

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It was real caviar.

[Andalein]

Hi everybody

We had our reservation on July 17th.

The dishes we had were almost the same as "Schneier" on Page 2.

Maybe i was a little to high in my expectations, therefore the meal was very good but it was not this extra-super-special we dreamed of.

No question, it was the best meal i ever had, the service is excellent und the ambiance wonderful.

Nevertheless i was expecting some more - how can i explain ist - maybe "show".

We were just two persons, so we didn't get the nitro cocktail in the beginning, which was a pity. I thought that a little more "presentation on the table and preparation in front of the guests" would be going on.

I like to have some experimental or unknown dishes, but i'd liked some of the dishes serced in the early seasons more than those we actually got.

But this might be some "gambling" thing, sometimes the flush hits and sometimes you win with two pairs (to take a visit to poker).

Just my 2 cents

Regards

Andy

[JesusBarquin]

May I ask all of you about the beverages you choosed/were recommended to pair your '06 El Bulli's menus?

Any opinions about the wine list and the wine service?

About water, beer, coffee, tea, spirits?

Thanks in advance for any report or comment.

[Rogelio]

May I ask all of you about the beverages you choosed/were recommended to pair your '06 El Bulli's menus?

Any opinions about the wine list and the wine service?

About water, beer, coffee, tea, spirits?

Thanks in advance for any report or comment.

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So you're going this year, aren't you?

Wine service very friendly and knowledgable. We started with a champagne Gosset Grand Millessime 99 and then:

- Dagenau Pur Sang 2000

- Chablis Dauvissat 99

- Chassagne Montrachet Bernard Moreau et Fils 01

- Idig Christman 2002

I think that this is a meal to enjoy with white wines or your beloved sherries.

You can take a look at the wine list on their website.

[Worldly]

Forgive me, it's not my experience, but I thought folks might be interested by this recent (Aug 27) article from The Independent:

Hotel Of The Week: Hacienda Benazuza elBullihotel

At the Hacienda Benazuza elBullihotel near Seville guests enter a refined world of ancient architecture and tranquil gardens, and savour the latest cutting-edge cuisine...

http://travel.independent.co.uk/europe/article1222184.ece

[nimzo]

May I ask all of you about the beverages you choosed/were recommended to pair your '06 El Bulli's menus?

Any opinions about the wine list and the wine service?

About water, beer, coffee, tea, spirits?

Thanks in advance for any report or comment.

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We kicked off with a couple of glasses of Cava, Torrelo but not the Kripta we usually drink when there.Followed this with a bottle of Naiades, a 100% verdejo with a few months oak ageing, finished with a bottle of Malaga, the Telmo Rodriguez Molino Real and a couple of glasses of PX with coffee, one of the Osborne rare soleras.The sommelier left me to my own devices which was great and as far as I am concerned it is a stunning wine list, 1600 wines , clearly presented with some real bargains.There are great prices compared to the UK for French wines from producers such as Didier Dagueneau and Guigal but this time we decided to go entirely Spanish.Although people were drinking reds I wouldn't have matched much on the menu with a red and the sommeliers could be heard recommending people to choose whites.Total cost, including several top ups to the glasses of Cava was around 160 euros

[Rob Simmon]

I'm all lined up for el Bulli, El Celler de Con Roca, and Abac next week (woo-hoo!). One question: are we supposed to tip? And if so, how much?

thanks!

[Rogelio]

One question: are we supposed to tip? And if so, how much?

thanks!

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Yes, there is no fixed rule, but between 5-10% is the common thing depending on your opinion about the service and food.

[docsconz]

Mark Bittman has written a great article on Ferran Adria and El Bulli available online in today's New York Times (registration required). Bittman talks about his experiences at El Bulli this year and years past. He describes Adria's cuisine as becoming more accessible without losing the sense of experimentation. He also describes a meal he had with the Adrias in Barcelona during which they ate Rafa's like cuisine.

I joined Ferran and Alberto Adrià along with a few other friends at a simple Galician restaurant in Barcelona. We ate Galician oysters, small whelks, poached shrimp, baby octopus and squid. The seasonings were olive oil, lemon, parsley, salt and sometimes garlic; no more.

“These are the flavors we need to be constantly reminded of,” Ferran Adrià said. “We just try to do new things with them.”

In discussing this year's meal at El Bulli, Bittman had this to say:

There were fFewer (sic) than five dishes that failed to make me or my dining companion — Eduardo García, a friend from Barcelona — deliver some corny exclamation like “This is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten!” or “This meal is like a symphony!”

In addition, there was the realization that Mr. Adrià doesn’t rely at all on expensive ingredients. (We saw no lobster or foie gras, and the only caviar was that made from olive oil.) There was the bill, 165 euros, or around $215, for each of us, about half what it would be at many three-star Michelin restaurants for a meal of this breadth. And by the way, there was almost no foam, now a worldwide phenomenon, originated by Mr. Adrià.

Yes, he has moved on, and he is running an operation that is at the top of its game. No meal is perfect, but this one was close.

This is one of the best articles I have ever read about Adria and El Bulli.