The Buchannan Food Experience

Japoneses en Barcelona

2009-09-24T01:05:00.000-07:00

Lo cierto es que se trata de un tema tan, tan machacado por todo el mundo, que aburre un poco, la verdad. Pero también es verdad que al final acudimos a este tipo de restaurantes con cierta frecuencia, por lo que más vale andar prevenidos.

Vaya por delante que no soy ninguna experta. A los restaurantes japoneses no voy a hacer estudios ni sociológicos ni gastronómicos; simplemente voy, como mi arrocico, mis udon y mi sashimi, y para casa. Por eso, entre los restaurantes barceloneses que voy a recomendar, es más que posible que aparezca un chino "remozado". Lo siento, pero como no sé japonés, no he estado en japón e, insisto, no soy ni mucho menos una experta, tendréis que conformaros con esto.

En algún momento de la historia ya se comentó en este blog la existencia del Rojo y del Fusion Sushi Club.

Bueno, pues ahora, en el capítulo de despropósitos hemos de empezar por el KIBUKA. La ventaja es que está en Gràcia, que, de momento, es mi barrio; en concreto en la calle Goya. La desventaja es que, no, no vas a cenar en él un sábado; ni un viernes; ni ninguna víspera de fiesta. Mi naturaleza perezosa me ha impedido ir a ese lugar antes de las 21 horas los viernes y los sábados, así que el noventa por ciento de las veces que he acudido a este lugar, horrorizada ante la marabunta de la puerta, me he visto obligada a seguir mi camino hasta Gran de Gràcia y tomarme un estupendo frankfurt de tres euros. Sólo en una ocasión he conseguido deleitarme con los manjares del Kibuka; y el éxtasis no fue tal. Nada excepcional en lo que a pescado se refiere. En cuanto al servicio, pienso que debí tener muy mala suerte, porque: a) tardaron un mucho en atendernos y servirnos; b) los platos fueron literalmente tirados sobre la mesa c) la sonrisa no se estila.

Menos mal que, también en los alrededores de Gràcia está el Nihon Sakari (Girona, 88). No será maravilloso, ni super cool, ni nadie va disfrazado; y es cierto que la foto del Golden Gate del fondo, que ocupa toda la pared, es un elemento de atrezzo, cuando menos, singular. Pero el sashimi es el más fresco que he probado en Barcelona a un precio razonable y, francamente, al sashimi lo único que se le puede pedir es que esté bien cortado y fresco. Y de postre, yo que soy una laminera, mochi. Este restaurante sale un poco más caro que los japoneses "de carril", bufet libre, etc, pero realmente merece la pena.

A otro nivel, y para otros momentos, en la Plaça de la Revolució se encuentra el Maguroya (Ramón y Cajal 32). Es un take away que, parece ser, regenta una japonesa. Lo cierto es que la mitad de las veces me ha atendido un "barceloní". No es maravilloso, ni mucho menos, pero se deja comer bastante bien, y para quedarte en casa una noche, o invitar al alguien a cenar, pues es muy socorrido.

Otro día os hablaré del japonés que visitamos en Helsinki. Pero Helsinki y sus restaurantes requieren un capítulo aparte.

Redescubriendo el mediterráneo: Da Greco

2009-07-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

La Doctrina no es pacífica en cuanto a italianos se refiere, pero creo que a cualquier amante de la cocina italiana y de las cosas bien echas le gustará este restaurante. Este tipo de locales me encanta. Reconozco estar cada vez más cansado de la mala educación y de los manteles de papel, de la tortilla de patata criogenizada y demás experimentaciones, para eso me quedo casa.

Al entrar al local uno encuentra un recibidor amplio, recargado con todo tipo de fruslerías. No se trata, sin embargo, de la típica decoración impersonal de restaurante italiano franquiciado; estamos más cerca del italiano de Nueva York que de la tasca romana. La mantelería, la cristalería, el esmerado servicio, y sobre todo la comida, no dejan de recordar la diferencia con los monótonos clones que podemos encontrar en cualquier capital de provincia.

Al pedir el vino, evitamos las referencias españolas y nos decantamos por un blanco italiano, de precio similar a varios de los españoles y que no defraudó en absoluto. Empezamos con unos entrantes: antipasto de verduras y ensalada caprese. De pasta, probamos los tortellini de trufa blanca al gorgonzola y los spaguetti fruti di mare (28 lauros pagados muy a gusto, de alguna manera el plato estrella). Tienen por costumbre, además, servir un pequeño plato de degustación de aquello que haya pedido otro comensal. Al postre no llegamos con hambre. Tuvimos que prescindir del brownie, que en la carta de postres aparecía adornado con toques casi de leyenda urbana. Será en otra ocasión.

Unos 30 o 40 euros por persona aproximadamente. En los Jardines de Gracia, al lado de la Diagonal.

Por favor, no dejéis de acudir al servicio, además de lavaros las manos antes de comer, cosa sana, podréis sentaros en una butaca de cuero (no entiendo que hace junto a los mingitorios) y contemplar un busto romano.

PS: Para cenar tienen dos turnos:ocho y media y diez y es conveniente reservar. Que ustedes lo disfruten.

La maison du Foie Gras

2008-12-13T05:32:00.000-08:00

Después de esperar unas dos horas en un pueblecito de Cataluña sin haber comido, por debajo de los cero grados y sin otra ocupación que la de deambular por sus calles, a que mi pareja terminase su reunión de trabajo, lo que me pedía el cuerpo era atar al bardo en lo alto de una encina y celebrar un banquete al estilo galo. Como teníamos que regresar a dormir a un albergue que estaba en la parte francesa y dudábamos del estado en que podría quedar la carretera si nos retrasábamos demasiado, decidimos cruzar la frontera y probar fortuna. Era un poco tarde ya, según el horario francés, y tanto en Sallagosse como en Bourg Madame se negaron a darnos mesa para cenar.

Decidimos ir a Puigcerdá como opción más segura. Mientras buscábamos aparcamiento me pareció ver un local que tenía buena pinta, pequeño, recogido, con una luz ténue que se recortaba en los cartelitos que anunciaban las viandas: specialitès catalanes, foie...etc...Dejamos el coche a unas calles unos dirigimos al restorán. Al mando de los fogones esta Thierry hijo, nieto, bisnieto...de cocineros y, me dio la impresión de que los que atendían las mesas eran su mujer y su hijo. Artesanía del pato y ambiente muy acogedor.

Pedimos un menú degustación que consistía en un entrante de fuá, magret de pato acompañado de ensalada y verduritas a la plancha y manzana; de postre, flan casero o quesos. Tome un par de copas de un Burdeos, que no estaba mal, y me quede con las ganas de haber compartido una botella con mi acompañante.

No recordaba el nombre del sitio ni del cocinero porque la señorita que me acompañaba no dejaba de azuzarme; conducía ella y no quería encontrar placas de hielo de vuelta albergue, así que olvidé apuntar estos datos esenciales. Sin embargo, maravillas de la técnica, acabo de encontrar una entrada en otro blog que me ha resuelto el problema:
http://restaurantesacogedoresybaratos.blogspot.com/2008/02/la-maison-du-foie-gras.html.

Nosotros tuvimos suerte porque no habíamos reservado y el local es realmente pequeño. Además, de esto ya no me acordaba, venden foie, quesos y otras especialidades de la zona.

Si estáis por la zona no os lo podéis perder. Al final, merecieron la pena las tribulaciones del día. Dios aprieta pero no ahoga, como suele decirse.

Pace Cabrinetty, 14
Puigcerdà
0034 972 88 11 22
15 € aprox. (a partir de)

EXPO ZARAGOZA 2008

2008-07-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

Despite we are not real fans of the Internacional Expo which is being held in our home town, it is not possible to obviate its existence. And, provided many people are going to visit the event, we find it better to attend to it knowing where to eat.

It must be borne in mind the nature of the event: an exposition which expects to receive thousands of hungry visitors which not always want to pay much for what they eat. Consequently, there are a whole bunch of stands where to get an edible-but-not-very-cheap sandwich; it’s a good choice for those who want to eat “on the run”.

Notwithstanding the above, there are also a few good places where to have a nice meal, just paying few more euros. For instance, the French and the Japanese restaurants, though not very original, are said to be correct. The Uruguayan restaurant seems great, with good roasted meat to eat; however, it you are looking forward to eat there, you may book a table the a few hours before, otherwise you will have to eat a cheeseburger somewhere else.

Our final choice was the Polish restaurant, with its traditional pierogi and its meatballs, with some glasses of Ziwiec (good Polish beer). We could even have had some “mad dogs” (a kind of cocktail made of vodka and Tabasco), made with Wyborowa vodka, though we thought it too much for my body, too much for my brain… We paid about 12 euros for each one, which I think was very accurate. Then we moved to the Mexican bar, where we had several Tamarindo Margaritas (8 €) which were absolutely great.

Un lugar sin nombre en el Carrer de l'Or

2008-07-22T10:12:00.002-07:00

Abrumados por la insistente oferta de la calle Verdi de cocinas especiadas y exóticas, palestina, siria, libano y otros reinos del cordero, y habiéndonos negado a hacer cola por enésima vez para cenar en el Kibuka (cocina japonesa o del palo), entramos a restaurarnos en un diminuto local de la calle del Oro (Carrer de l'Or). No sé lo que nos llamó la atención, puesto que no recuerdo el nombre, ni siquiera si lo tenía, y la carta a bote pronto tampoco prometía manjares exóticos. Fue problablemente el hecho de que hubiera sitio libre a aquellas horas en zona tan concurrida a eso de la cena.

Un par de ensaladas nos pareció lo apropiado para empezar. Comenzó también el juego de contrastes. La carta estaba toda en catalán y sólo en catalán (de momento no multan si no está en inglés o en bereber) así que transcribiré, si necesario y en castellano, el nombre de los platos. Decía, empezamos con una Amanida Lyon (ensalada de Lyon), que fue lo siguiente: dos tostadas, con sendas rodajas de queso tibio de cabra, sobre una base de distintas variedades de lechuga apañadas de mala manera y excesivamente salada. Decepción.

La Amanida L'Escala -vaya nombrecitos tan elegantes- fue un bálsamo reparador: base de tomate, con boquerones y un aliño vinagretero a la oliva negra. Mucho mejor. De ahí, pasamos al Assortiment de truites (surtido de tortillas), quizá lo más reseñable, de verduras, habitas tiernas y patata y al surtido de pates, que no estuvo mal pero que a mí sólo me supo a paté a la pimienta.

Por último y de postre una copa de helado de turrón con nata y chocolate y una brocheta de frutas al chocolate. Perfectamente me lo hubiera podido preparar yo en casa con igual o mejor resultado (este criterio se lo debo a mi madre), pero tampoco vamos a criticar por criticar.Ah,no probé el pastel de chocolate con chocolate, tenía miedo de que no fuera otra cosa que pastel de chocolate con chocolate.

Todo ello, acompañado de tres cervezas (checas y del país) y par de botellas de agua, nos salió por unos 48 euros. Bien, teniendo en cuenta que éramos tres, que el servicio fue rápido y atento y que no nos quedamos con hambre. Propina: la maldita crisis nos hizo quedar como unos rijosos.

En resumen, un oasis de comida sin pretensiones en la marabunta de parque temático de la zona de la calle Verdi.

Carrer de l'Or (al lado de un wok, a la altura del número 21)
Barrio de Gracia (Barcelona)

PD: prometo una entrada acerada sobre una cerveza Barcelonesa (y no me refiero al orín gasificado marca Damm).

Do jutra.

NegroRojo, Barcelona...

2007-12-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

... or where lawyers eat when they are angry with their corresponding bosses.

Right in front of L'illa, in Barcelona, (groundfloor of the Caja Madrid building) the restaurant NegroRojo arises among several insipid restaurants in the Diagonal of Barcelona.

The special feature which makes this restaurant quite peculiar is the fact of having two different atmospheres. The black one is a Mediterranean restaurant, where one can chose among different rissotos, salads, meats and an acceptable fideuá. The red restaurant, located in the basement of the building, is a Japanese restaurant, as the Japanese restaurants are understood in this part of the world; I mean that it is not a real Japanese, but people might prefer these noodles and portions of meat or fish than real sushi, and a seaweed salad.

In the Rojo it is not possible to book a table, and one must share its table with unknown people; it is also a take-away. None of them are as cheap as to have lunch everyday in there, but it is rather reasonable for an evening dinner from time to time. During the weekend, drinks are served until 1 a.m. and there's a DJ.

The restaurant NegroRojo belongs to the Tragaluz group.

Don Cipriani: un "must" en Sóller (Mallorca)

2007-11-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

En la afrancesada y cosmopolita ciudad de Sóller, situada en el valle del mismo nombre, en el Noroeste de la Isla de Mallorca, encontramos un local singular. Y digo bien, singular. Es un restaurante regentado por argentinos (lo presupongo por el acento) donde se da cita esa peculiar facilidad que tienen para reinventar y asimilar distintas tradiciones culinarias. Su especialidades es la pasta fresca, con platos que se renuevan integrando productos típicos de la gastronomía local. Probamos los tortellini rellenos de sobrasada con salsa de cerveza y olivas y los rellenos de gambas y chipirones en su tinta. Exquisitos ambos y nada pesados los primeros para lo que uno podía esperar. Como curiosidad, los había también rellenos de acelga y salteados con jamón, pero estos los dejamos para otra ocasión. Ya conocíamos el buen hacer de esta gente y lo acogedor y hospitalario del local y descubrimos encantados que seguía siendo tal y como lo recordábamos. Compartimos antes de la pasta un delicioso Carpaccio de buey con rúcula y lo acompañamos todo con un blanco de Binissalem que pasó con notable el examen. De postre un tiramisú casero y un coulan de chocolate excelentes nos prepararon para una siesta merecida. Unos 25-35 € por persona.

El tiempo templado de las islas nos permitió disfrutar de la comida en la terraza, con las montañas de la Sierra de la Tramontana como decorado.

Al final de la Gran Vía, casi en la Plaza de América, después de un recomendable paseo entre edificios señoriales de piedra bajo la sombra de los tilos, encontraréis este restaurante. Probadlo,

Paternoster Square o la pérfida Albión

2007-11-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

Había sido una mañana feliz dedicada a las compras. Perfumes en Fortum&Mason, camisas de cuadros en Cordings (una de mis tiendas fetiche en la City), libros en Hatchard's...un agotador tirar de tarjeta. Desde Oxford Circus, cuando la cordura aconsejaba dedicarse a menesteres más espirituales, nos encaminamos a la Tate Modern. Pensábamos cojer el metro hasta St. Paul's Cathedral y después cruzar el Támesis por la pasarela diseñada por Norman Foster.

Lloviznaba cuando abandonamos la boca del metro y llegamos completamente calados a la entrada del museo. Showers (duchas) creo que llaman los locales a este tipo de precipitaciones. Cuando ya nos veíamos disfrutando del atardecer en la cafetería de la última planta, el portero nos comunicó, con el gesto característico, que no podíamos pasar, había fiesta privada.

Empapado, con la pequeña tempestad arreciando, me encontraba bloqueado, con unas terribles ganas de acudir al servicio e incapaz de pensar. Dios nos perdone, entramos en un Starbuck's, en lo que se convirtió en una especie de cronometrada: pedir café, ir al baño, beber café que cierran en 5 minutos.

Con el respiro de haber superado la primera pantalla, buscamos un sitio para cenar en las inmediaciones de St. Paul. La guía esta de solteronas vegetarianas (Lonely planet) nos proponía un restaurante llamado Paternoster, en la plaza situada junto a la catedral y que da título a esta entrada. Como que no nos apetecían rollitos de soja, ni brochetas de tofú ni material del estilo, y era el único sitio en la zona donde parecían servir carnaza nos decidimos por él. Continuará...

Sugar overdose

2007-08-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

A few words and a couple of images will be enough for you to get to this little charming shop/café at the Gotic District of Barcelona. It's called Caelum (C/La Palla núm 8) and you can choose between either eating the cakes there or taking them home. The sweets are extremely good itself, but it's worth to have them in this beautiful stone made salon de the.

You might choose among many different cakes such as empiñonados, tocinos de cielo, and many other home made pastries coming from different monasteries all over Spain and abroad. The spirits seem also quite atractive to me, though have never tasted them.

Warm in winter, fresh during the summer, there's no excuse to miss this lovely discovery.

Each pastry (or piece of cake) is between 1 and 3 euros.

¡Una de champis!

2007-08-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Zaragoza is the place where I was born. I can't avoid it, and, why not, I like it; maybe that's because I don't live there, but I really like it. As Longanice says, Zaragoza is an ugly town with very marvellous places. Well, maybe not marvellous, but just beautiful. And not all of them are hidden places... Probably the main reason of my love to this town are my memories; more than twenty years of them are kept among the streets and bars of this town.

Something I miss in Barcelona and I could do in Zaragoza is having dinner just with tapas. Of course in Barcelona you can have some nice tapas, but the verb "tapear" was not made up here. However in Zaragoza, you can taste really good tapas at almost any disctrict of the town; even at the most seedy, greasy, stinking bar you might find the best croquette or vinegary anchovy you have ever dreamt of.

And, like in any other matter of life, fashion exists in tapas. The most fashionable area to eat tapas right now in Zaragoza are the streets behind the old "Puerta Cinegia", now retrieved as a shopping centre. There are many bars you could choose at "Libertad" Street, but in case you hesitate, just go to the crowded one (this is a veeeery old advice, I know; but it's an advice nobody gave me but I usually try to follow).

However, I still want to talk about two bars I went to the last time I had tapas in this area. But I will only recommend one of them.

The one I love is the one where you can eat mushrooms. They're hot, too hot sometimes, but great. I could eat like ten of those. You can also find them in Logroño.

The other one, much more "fachionable" (yes, faChionable), is "Manjares: delicias en miniatura". Menos diseño y más chicha, por favor. The wine was scarce (2-3 € the glass), the risotto with foie was correct, but the waiter destroyed it when he served it, and the Idon'tknowwhat with artichokes was not even correct. Go to the seedy bars and avoid the "new comers" when you search for tapas.

Léon de Bruxelles

2007-08-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of my last trip to Paris with my mother I spent the first day there all alone. Hopefully, I speak French quite fluently and thanks to Jack and despite my awful bearings, I can move well in the French Capital.

The plane had been late, so I didn't feel like moving further away from the Hotel. Then I remembered a place where I had been with Mr. Longanice two years ago at Saint Germain. Nothing special, but Jack seemed very pleased at that time.

Léon's speciality are mussels and french fries. For an illiterate Spanish girls as I am, the first time I went to Britanny (seven years ago; I'm afraid I'm becoming old and I don't really notice it) eating mussels with fries was a nice exotic combination. Until then, I had only eaten mussels as an appetizer or in a paella. But in fact, it is quite a typical meal at the Atlantic coast of France and Belgium.

It's cheap (14 € p/p), the mussels are very fresh and plentiful (take into account I was in Paris, not in a restaurant at Guilvinec port), the fries were also fine, and I was as pleased as Mr. Longanice was two years ago. The meal also helped me to recall the lovely days we spent in Paris.

There are many Léon restaurants all over France and Belgium, but I have always gone to the one in Saint Germain, in a corner right in front of the rue Dauphine.

It is very important to drink a beer with the mussels, otherwise you'll miss one of the most typical meals in Belgium...

Brasseries de Paris

2007-08-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

Once again, about Paris.

The best way to eat something really good, not at all expensive at any time of the day in Paris is going to a brasserie. Brasseries are usually more elegant and expensive than bistros, where waiters are not professional and the choice is not so wide.

At a brasserie you might be able to choose between eating "coté restaurant", more expensive and elegant, or "coté brasserie", cheaper. I always choose the last one, because I love the sandwiches and salads they offer.

In my last trip to Paris I found a new Brasserie that I specially liked. We found it the day we went to the Marmottan Museum (Monet museum), at the 16eme arrondisement: La Rotonde de la Muette (m: La Muette; 12 Chaussée de la Muette). Great Caesar Salad, lovely french hamburger and chicken breast with tomatoe sauce which really seemed home-made. It was about 12 euros p/p.

Café de L'homme

2007-08-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

Before going to Calafell, I spent some days, also with my mother in Paris, to get our anual dose of macaroons from La Durée (it's a pity it's almost run out... but Jack has chosen as his favourite the rose flavour). I have some new places to show you, such as the "Café de l'homme".

It's a fancy café (and a mediocre restaurant) placed in the Musée de l'homme, at Trocadero Square, right in front of the Tour Eiffel. The view of the tower is the best thing you'll find in the Café, so try to get a table at the terrace; there you might find some Parisian friends enjoying their chat with a club and a coffee. The inside is beautiful, although you won't find anything you couldn't find in any other restaurant or café in Paris. Waiters are not very professional, but I must admit they're all lovely.

The restaurant has a poor choice; it's rather a brasserie than a restaurant. However, the prices are over 12 €. A tiny piece of cake costs over 10 €. A coffee costs about 5 euros, more or less like the soft drink. Cocktails are on its 12 €. Not cheap, but some people think the view is worth it.

L'espineta

2007-08-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

Having passed a really hard year, I have just spent a few relaxing days with my mother in Calafell, at the Meridian Ra Beach Hotel and Spa . When our friend Marconi Lunasanta knew I was going to this place, he quickly said we had to go to L'Espineta, the restaurant belonging to the Barral's family.

It's a very small sailors tavern (in august you'd better book your table the day before), where you can taste lovely fishes and seafood. The paella and the soggy rice are absolutely delicious. We also had razor-sells, cockles, orelluts (like baby squid), mussels made L'Espineta way. Everything was unforgettable.

The tavern is decorated with some old photographs and saling tools, which make the place lovely warm. The whole meal for two, was around 60 €, but we had a bottle of white wine (Raimat Chardonnay, a Costers del Segre) and we definitely ate too much. Please, don't miss it if you pass around.

Telirium: awful design

2007-08-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay. I've been quite busy these last months, but I'll try to be back at least for a while, and to be regular in my entries. This entry will be a kind of appetizer, but not a tempting one, I'm afraid.

I think I've told you I live and work in Barcelona. I work in the high district of this town, and don't have time to go home and have lunch, take a nap and rest for a while. So I have to find some restaurants around to keep hunger at bay...

One everybody likes and I hate is the Telirium (Diagonal 656). It belongs to the "Cacheiro Grup", a group that owns several restaurants all over the town, such as the correct "Trovador", which Jack and I have visited a couple of times. But the Telirium is another thing, which has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Both the Menu and the "carte" are fine. The Hamburger is very tasty and it's made of fine beef. Avoid the salads, which have nothing special to remember. The desserts are said to be lovely; I don't know, I always have to leave the place before I taste them...The menu is about 9 € and in case you chose to eat "à la carte", it will be around 25. The terrace looks very cosy, but I have never had the pleasure.

The problem with this restaurant are the waiters and waitresses which help you, who are everything but professional. They are bad-mannered, unpleasant and slow, very slow. It's not strange to find a waiter wandering, while you are waiting for the bill; I also hate that kind of waiters who come twice a minute in order to see whether you have finished your dish or not. I feel like saying: "leave me alone! I want to enjoy my risotto without you looking over my shoulder!". Ah!, you'd better not change your mind about what you were going to eat, otherwise you won't eat nothing at all. It can also happen that you ask for a brochette and you will eat steak. And remember: once you decide to leave, usually later than you wanted to start your job, you will have to chase the waiter to let you pay...

El viejo indecente. Zaragoza.

2007-05-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

Salía de casa hecho un pincel en busca de reserva para tres. Así que me aparecí en un restorán que había visitado previamente con mi pareja. (con dramáticos resultados, por cierto). Un día tempestuoso de primavera, con la cabeza hecha mistos y la sonrisa puesta.

En esto que, tras acreditar mesa para tres, me pido un vino blanco. Llamó a mi madre, -se tratra de celebrar su cumpleaños- y le digo que ya está, que en un cuarto de hora se pasen. No me he levantado muy católico pero parece que las cosas van saliendo.

Llegan el resto de comensales y nos bajan al sótano; sí, para los no fumadores la mazmorra. Ya empieza el camino a torcerse. Que si esto no puedo, que esto tal, mi madre empieza a ponerme un poquito nervioso. Pero es su cumpleaños y la familia... Hasta que, en acabando los tagliatelle al pesto, descubro una ancha sonrisa en la cara de mi madre.

-Te has manchado

Vaya, pues tiene razón, llevo dos luceros del alba en la pechera. Nada, estas cosas pasan. Los tagliatelle estaban un poco insípidos, aunque el detalle de la hoja gigante de albahaca me gustó. ¿Donde la cultivan?¿En Sumatra? Pensaba que era para que el plato no se enfriase.

Llegamos al segundo plato. Miro de reojo los escalopines de pollo del abuelo, parecen apetitosos. Yo he pedido un solomillo de cerdo en salsa azul,correcto. Tan correcto que no puedo decir nada de él, vino y se fue, sin nada que aportar. Mi madre parece disfrutar con las chuletas de cordero pero, tiene razón, las patatas están frías.

Y asi llegamos al postre, sendas manzanas asadas con queso para mis acompañantes y surtido de rodajitas de melón para múa. La manzana bien, el melón pues...también.

Cafeses. Pienso: nada, un cortado y salvados, no ha estado tan mal. En ese mismo intante observo como el azucarillo se introduce en el vasito y desborda el contenido. Pues vale, gracias a Dios no me lo he tirado por encima.

Al menos mi madre ha disfrutado, está haciendo señales a un niño de nueve meses en la mesa de al lado al que yo habría echado al menos siete años. Casi anda y sospecho que ya sabe multiplicar. Un tío con futuro. Mi madre le hace unas carantoñas.

Tras abonar la cuenta, ya en la calle, el aire frío nos decide a coger un taxi. Pero...no he pagado el vino. Vuelvo y se lo recuerdo a la camarera, que al devolver los cambios me dice: "que honrado eres". Pues se agradece y se invita, lista.

Pues eso. El restaurante está en la calle Fernado de Aragón. No me hagáis caso y probadlo un día entre semana. No he comentado la decoración. No preguntéis.

Un fort abraç. Jack Lo.

Bole: gran seleccion de vinos

2007-04-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Puede resultar paradójico, dada mi situación, pero os voy a hablar de un lugar estupendo para tomar un vino con vuestra pareja. Esta ubicado en la calle Francisco Vitoria de Zaragoza. La última vez que estuve tomé un sorprendente vino blanco de la comarca de las Cinco Villas. Los dos repetimos. El nombre del vino creo que era "Errés". Esto no tiene demasiada trascendencia, siempre encontraréis una buena selección de recomendaciones.

Decidimos picar algo para cenar. Me decepcionó la tempura de verduras y langostinos. Demasiado aceite. Es cierto que en otras ocasiones la he encontrado deliciosa. Esta vez, he de decir, la intención era buena, pero el resultado no tanto. Como os digo, la forma de preparar las verduras era más sugerente, pero con el inconveniente de retener bastante aceite. La tapa de solomillo, sin embargo (foto) estaba deliciosa. Son clásicos también los "ravioli de longaniza".

Cerca de este lugar conocí a Lady Buchannan -sin la cual este blog no hubiera sido posible-, hace ya seis años. Para mí escribir aquí sólo tiene sentido si puedo compartirlo con ella. Ese ha sido el mayor de los placeres.

Hasta pronto,
Jack Longanice

Tasteful paradise

2007-02-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite moments whenever I come to Zaragoza is going out and eating a tapa before lunch with Jack. We used to do it in "El rincon", a not very fashionable bar (even a bit seedy, I'd dare to say), becouse of its foie toast, which is said to be one of the best in town. But it was quite expensive and the atmosphere was not what I call "romantic".

Fortunately, my partner re-discovered to me "El Antiguo Paraiso" (4, Dato St., really close to the Gran Via) and El Rincon days are off.

The toast is at least as good as the other, the place is lovely and quite cheaper. Last time we also ate mussels (but those little mussels I prefer, nothing to do with "La mejillonera" ones) and baby squid made with "Pedro Ximenez" liquor. Delicious. A couple of rouge glasses (Cariñena, which is becoming one of my favourites, very affordable and with a nice taste) and all this luxury for our tongues cost 15 euros. Very reasonable, from my point of view.

Gran Hotel Soller

2007-02-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

Hay lugares que, recuperados graciosamente, nos muestran de nuevo la grandeza de pasadas glorias. En el Gran Hotel de Sóller, se puede además recuperar trasnochadas costumbres y tomar el té de las cinco en su terraza, ajenos al invierno. Entre palmeras y cipreses, con el rumor del agua del estanque y el piar nervioso de los pájaros rompiendo el silencio de la tarde, nos veíamos representando la escena acartonada de una novela de Agatha Christie. Uno podía imaginar el andar impertinente de Messie Poirot atravesando la entrada camino de su paseo vespertino.

Esta fabulosa Arcadia existe, accesible para cualquiera que añore la civilización, en el norte de la Isla de Mallorca. Es cierto que los precios del alojamiento son los que corresponden a un hotel exclusivo como este, pero tomar el té en su jardín o disfrutar de las jornadas gastronómicas que se organizan no dejan de ser pequeños lujos asequibles.

Sirvieron el té acompañado de "gatò d'ametlla", tarta hecha de almendras, de textura afinada y con cierto aroma y regusto a naranja. Estaba exquisita. Había pedido tarta de chocolate, pero no quedaba en ese momento y creo recordar que había un par de opciones más para acompañar el té. (3.95 € persona)

Bajo la luz anómala del atardecer, como un fantasma del pasado, recordando los días de mi infancia en las islas, me sentí dichoso de poder oficiar en esta particular ceremonia. El silbido del tranvía rompió la quietud. Ruidoso, exhibiendo sus vagones naranjas con el contoneo de una mujer presumida, lo vimos pasar de largo. Pagué y continuamos el paseo.

Fusion Sushi Club

2006-12-08T05:10:00.000-08:00

And, finally, I'm back. Due to a lack of Internet connection, my posts have been delayed for a while.
My last discovery: Fusion Sushi Club (C/ Ample 33, at the Gotic District in Barcelona; M- Drassanes, L3; fusionsushi.blogspot.com ) was not the restaurant my flatmate and I were looking for. We were looking for a Japonese Restaurant, but it was full and disappointed as we were, we started wandering through the District and bumped into this great restaurant.
We were not very original: vegetable tempura, and two maki trays (salmon, avocado and tuna), but it was tasteful. The makis were as small as I like (I don't like those huge makis; argh!). As appetizer we were given banana and mango crunchy; very original.
The waiters are friendly and the restaurant has a very pleasant atmosphere, low light and soft music. The only objection I could find is that there's a huge window through which everyone can see you making your makis fall into your soya sauce... Otherwise, it could be perfect. Don't forget to book your table; it's a small restaurant and we were really lucky!

Sel de Guérande

2006-09-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last week I came back to Britanny, that little corner of the world I love and miss. I almost had forgotten one essential ingredient from the "menu breton": salt. At my mother's we usually don't eat much salt, and that fact made me find everything very tasty when I first went to Britanny. My favourite food (except for seafood, so good and cheap!) was the salty butter and, since then, I haven't eaten another kind of butter (the others are just so tasteless...).

Famous all over the world is the salt from Guérande. Guérande is a town located in Brittanny whose name comes from the breton Gwen Ran, which means "white land". Salt has always been used by human beings for their feeding but this industry during the 70's was no longer viable and seemed likely to disappear. However, a restructuring process took place and saved it, making great quality products which enjoy a great demand all over the world. Since 1996, the salt works of Guérande are among the 100 "Sites remarquables du gôut" in France.

There's no doubt salt is something we must not excess, but Guérande's salt is unrefined and unwashed, what means that keeps all the benefits coming from the sea. It's flavour is softer and more aromatic, and it's "Fleur du sel" (salt bloom) is superb, being the most appreciated among its products.

Paris et ses tea rooms: La Durée...

2006-08-21T04:02:00.000-07:00

I must admit I had never heard about this place before, and what my sister suggested us to go to "LA DURÉE", I found it was a nice idea, but didn't expect such an splendid place.

La Durée is a wonderful tea room which first opened in 1862 as a bakery. A lucky fire in the bakery during the refurbish carried out by Baron Haussman al over Paris, made it become a pastry shop, opening later one of the first tea rooms in Paris. Nowadays you may find one of these at the Champs Elysées, Rue Royale, at Galeries Printemps and at the Rue Bonaparte; there's also one in London, at Harrods. We went to the one at the Rue Royale, close to the Madeleine (the strangest church I've ever seen). The macaroons are the typical article of this tea room, and you'll may find them in different flavours; this one is tastes anis...

However, I must tell Ms de Winter La Durée has been chosen by Sofia Coppola exclusive pastry consultant for the film "Marie Antoinette", and at the pastry shop you can find different articles related to the film, as this cameo or different cakes, as the one shown.

I just adore any of them...

Paris, again: Caveau de la Huchette

2006-08-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

And, here I go again, wandering in Paris and discovering some great places to go in, drink, eat and, this time, dance!

The Caveau de la Huchette (5, rue de la Huchette, Paris; Mº St Michel or Cité) is a Cave du jazz located at the quartier latin; however, avoid any restaurant you may find there, as they are quite expensive and disgusting. This cave (a cellar where people used to play jazz in the 50's) was the first club in Paris where jazz was played, after the Second World War, and has kept without interruption the jazzmen tradition.

The building dates from the XVI century and was the templars meeting point, becoming during the Revolution the Caveau de la Terreur.

Opening at 21:30 everyday (it won't close until dawn from friday to saturday), you'll find different jazz bands playing good traditional jazz. Sometimes even Big Bands have played. We enjoyed a Benny Goodman Tribute by the Michel Bard Orchestra. There's a dance floor, where the best boppers in town go and dance (be prepared to be taken out by a real bopper).

You'll have to pay from 9 to 13 euros to go in, but the drinks (4,50 soft drinks and 6 euros for spirits) are not compulsory.

Cantina Machito

2006-07-19T02:49:00.000-07:00

Restaurante de cocina mexicana en Barcelona ( Barrio de Gracia )
Es un restaurante recoleto decorado al estilo de una cantina típica del país, que se encuentra en la calle Torrijos.

Puedes tomar una Coronita mientras esperas una mesa libre, aunque la entrada no es muy amplia y la espera puede resultar un poco incómoda si se va en grupo. El acento mejicano se deja oír en el local, lo que no deja de ser una garantía.

La carta va más allá de lo que suele ofrecer un mejicano convencional. Los huevos con frijoles a la olla, no me convencieron (8,25 €), los encontré sin gusto, sosos. Los tacos de guisado (carnitas) con carne mechada a la salsa de limón fueron, por el contrario, una sorpresa refrescante, algo que va más allá de los estereotipos que uno pueda tener de la cocina mejicana. Para compartir una orden de tacos con queso fundido y chorizo desmigado con especias, es una opción excelente. La gran sorpresa de la noche fueron, sin embargo, las aguas de fruta (2,50 €), lo mejor para combatir el bochorno barcelonés.

Food and Cocktail

2006-07-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

SAMSARA, 6th Terol St., very close to Revolution Square, at Gràcia District.

Wandering in Gràcia we bumped into this bar, and it was a great surprise. Small tables and seats, relaxing music and low light; usually there's a paintings exhibition and video-art is showed.

There's a blackboard where different dishes are showed, and they seem delicious (very nouvelle cuisine, with things like watermelon gazpacho with croutons and chives oil), but I'm ashamed to say that, if I choose this bar it is because it is not easy to drink a good gin fizz out of ultra-fashion hotel bars. There's a wide range of cocktails to be chosen. Champagne cocktail, Piña colada (with or without alcohol) and Mojitos are probably the "best sellers". However, I remain faithful to my gin. Cocktail prices are around 5 €.

La Bascula del Borne

2006-07-02T04:18:00.000-07:00

This is a restaurant where I've been several times but only one ate. It was Jack's cousin who showed us, but that time we ended up eating a potato no matter where, so full was the place. I've tried like five times to eat there, but couldn't find it again (I usually loose my bearings quite easily).

Finally, last week, phoning Jorge, we could find La Bascula (Flassaders 30 bis, at the Borne District). But, of course, we had to wait for a while, because again, the restaurant was full; this time we did, but try to arrive early to get a table.

This is a mostly vegetarian restaurant which is run by La Cerería, a cooperative founded my Argentinians. As the courses are quite "handmade" (and amounts)they may change from one time to the next, but it's worth it anyway.

Try the Bufalo mozzarella or the Argentinian mate. I wanted a Tabbouleh, but it had run out. My friends ate Rice with frijoles (beans), but we've been told that pasta is really great: taste the great vegetable lasagna.

Drink the organic beer, which is a pleasant surprise.

And don't forget the dulce de leche or the mascarpone, as the finishing touch for the meal.

The waiters are not profesionals, so they'll make you feel at your own place, with the good and the bad that implies... (be ready to wait for a while and don't exasperate).

It deppends on what you're eating, but it may cost around 10 €.

A kitsch karaoke

2006-05-28T01:28:00.000-07:00

This one will be a very short post, but I couldn't miss the chance of telling about such a place. It's the third time the people I work with go to this restaurant, and I just can't understand why (well, maybe yes...). Last friday was my first time, and... It is certainly a kind of shameful scene watching how 10 lawyers (none of us under 25) get merry (when not drunk) among several teens celebrating their 18th birthday. However, it was really funny.

If you're young and live in Barcelona, sure you know the restaurant. It's called "La Orquidea" (Calvet 14, very close to Francesc Macià), and it's not easy to find, so small the entry is. The stairs will lead you to a Chinese Restaurant, really tacky decorated, where you can sing, as a karaoke is in the middle of the hall. We sang Pimpinela. No comments, please. Avoid any dish, but over all, the salads (tones of "who knows what-oil") and the chicken (it's pink). I can't tell anything about the desserts, because one of us changed them for sangria jugs.

Confucio says: The wise man can sit over an anthill, but only the fool remains sat on it.

Guys, I had a great time, but next time Lady Buchannan will choose the restaurant.

Paris III: les Cafés

2006-05-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

One of the most typical activity people usually do one they get to Paris is going to a cafe, and if we're talking about a pavement cafe, it's just a kind of dream.
There's a wide range of choices in Lutetia, from the most français-chic, to the worst seedy place you could ever imagine, although usually tourists try to avoid these last ones (I'm afraid sometimes unsuccessfully).

Our favourite (I mean, my partner and I) is Le Fumoir, a good friend's discovery. This cafe belongs to the chic's group and, I won't lie, it's not cheap (about 4€ a soft drink). But it's such a pleasant place... and once you've paid 100€ for a tiny hotel room where you have to share the toilet and the shower room with the whole floor, don't miss the pleasure of drinking a coffee in front of the Louvre and the Sena. You'll find this cafe at 6th rue de l'Amiral Coligny, just in front of the backside of the Louvre. Jazz and electro-lounge is played and there's a small library inside, where you can relax reading an old book. There's a small terrace, with 6 or 8 little tables and electric radiators (otherwise, these tables would be used 2 months p/year).

There are also many cafes in Saint Germain with the typical

terraces, with their typical Parisian couple, looking to the street, with a kir or a coffee. The best (or the worst) thing of these cafes is that there's another couple sit 2 cm from your table. And you, or they, can listen to your conversation and know your, or their, deepest secrets.

Of course, for those who love Starbucks and can't live without that substance they sell (they say it's coffee, but I'm not sure), there's a nicer version of it. Magnus and Magna took us to a small cafe called Columbus, at the beginning or St André des Arts, very close to Saint Michel Blv. You can take away your coffee or drink it sit at a table. You'll even find something called "Mockaccino décaféiné", that I would never dare to taste, but my friend liked. I prefered the chocolate muffins and cookies. There's a wi-fi area which is free for the customers (and very used). The music is lovely and you can enjoy a weird painting exhibition.

Paris II: Rue de Mouffetard

2006-05-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

A great street to have a quick (and not so quick...) lunch. First of all we have to remind all of you it's not just another traditional-sightseeing street, but a remnant of an old Roman road, where old buildings, some even dated by the 12th Century, can be found. You'll find this little treasure at the 5ème arrondissement, very close to the Panthèon. The picture from Maximilien Luce probably is not going to help you a lot, but I'm sure you'll like it and if a XIXth Century painter thought the street was worth enough to be painted,... you won't dare to miss it.

Right in 60, rue de Mouffetard you'll find the best fast-made crepes in Paris (except for, of course, any crepe done by a true Britanny native). Au p'tit grec is a really small bar where you can buy and eat cheap crepes. We paid 16 € for three crepes and three cokes. There's not the huge range of choices you might find in Britanny, but it's pretty assorted. My friend took tuna and cheese and my other friend and I took egg, ham and cheese (une complète, on dit chez-moi). You can have tomato, lettuce and onion on it; in fact, the guy seems bothered if you don't want it in your crepe, he didn't understood it, as it was free. I've been told the best sweet crepe is the one made of Nutella and banana. Omelettes (2 or 3 eggs) with differents ingredients can also be taken.

If you feel like a fondue, this is also a good street to find a nice and cheap one; there are a couple of good restaurants where you might fondue and raclette (3 for 5 people, for example), paying around 16€ each one.

Paris I: Spécialités Libanaises

2006-05-07T12:09:00.001-07:00

From my last trip to Paris the best tip I can give is Noura, recommended by my dearest Magna and Magnvs . Magna and Magnus work for a Telecom Company located in Paris downtown, at the Opéra District. They have few time to have lunch and can't afford the "Café de la Paix" everyday, so they investigated and discovered... a libanaise fast-food. Weird? Wonderful.

At 29, bd des Italiens, really close to the Opéra, there's a shelter for those stressed out workers who are fed up with hamburgers and traditional chicken sandwiches. You can choose between the more expensive brasserie (for Japaneese travellers and other wealthy people) or the cheap fast-food, which was our choice.

There are different choices and menus to take. Mine was the "Menu fraicheur" at 10'75 €, and among the different choices I ate a Chawarma viande (libanaise sandwich, with veal and vegetables), a Tabboulé (a salad with persil, wheat, tomatoes, mint, onions, lemon and olive oil; one of the best tabboulé I've ever had) and a Diet Coke. Not huge, but enough (I couldn't imagine myself going up to Notre Dame's Tower after a big meal). Pay attention to the desserts, real sweet libanaise pastry, as the Baklawa, with almonds, pistachio or pine nuts.

Other specialities from Libanon can be taken, such as Falafel, Moussakaa or Hommos.

You'll also find Noura at 121 bd de Montparnasse and 27 avenue Marceau.

GOOD RICE and nastiness

2006-05-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

Tapelia is a franchise from Alicante which is now expanding all over Spain. Its speciality is making traditional Mediterranean rices as the world famous Paella. A few months ago Tapelia opened a restaurant in Zaragoza (General Sueiro 11) and the success of the food made us go. We wanted to go there for Sunday midday lunch, so we phoned on Saturday afternoon in order to book the table. So crowded was the place we could only eat at the smokers area. Fine, we'll make an effort, if there's no other choice. 14'45 was the time we agreed with the person in charge of the restaurant.

We arrived on time, but didn't reach the table after half an hour later. I hope the rice will be worth it... It was time to make our choice. The first surprise was that the minimum was 2 people for each kind of rice, but the maximum was 2 types of rice for the whole table... and we were 6... Four of us agreed to eat the traditional Black Rice (Arroz Negro), and the other two, rice with chicken and vegetables. We had to wait another half an hour to meet our friendly waiter, the one who would take note about we were going to eat; for those who don't know, cooking rice is already long, so we started eating at about 16'00.

But the worst was still to come, when we found out the size of our "paellera", that tiny little thing. And we were starving! A lovely waitress served the rice as a bulldozer. Yes, the rice was tasty, but it was small and awfully expensive. The restaurant is pretentious, trying so hard to be jazzy, and so far to it. I hope the Tapelia from Paseo de Gracia en Barcelona would be better. Next time in Zaragoza I'll come back to the Paella of the Mesón Tomás, in Camino de las Torres 92, close to my mother's place: much better and more affordable.

Mrs de Winter, don't worry: I have many tips about Paris ready to be published.

Sabor de la India

2006-04-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ubicado en Fernando el Católico 66 (Zaragoza, España), este restaurante trae los sabores especiados de la cocina india hasta la ribera del Ebro. Una alternativa más para los que buscan algo distinto.

El local es amplio y el ambiente agradable. La música, la decoración hacen referencia a la India pero no sin caer en los excesos del parque temático; incluso podríamos decir que es un restaurante sobrio, sin demasiadas concesiones a la estético. No encontraréis una estatua gigante de Shiva en el centro del local, vamos. La sorpresa está en la carta.

Como postre o bebida para acompañar la comida os recomiendo el "lazi", un refresco a base de yogur, dulce o salado, según gustos, que contrasta con los sabores especiados y picantes de los platos principales. Como entrantes, una opción interesante son las empanadillas de verduras que se sirven acompañadas de una salsa de color rosa intenso, de sabor muy suave. Como platos principales destaca el cordero con salsa de curry picante, con tomates y pimiento verde ("lamb tikka jalfresi"), que sirven en un recipiente de metal. El pollo con especias y salsa de almendras ("chiquen tikka massalla") es otra opción sugerente para los estómagos más sensibles al picante. Lo mejor es pedir varios platos y un pan tradicional de ajo y compartir. En la carta se ofrecen además variedad de arroces como acompañamiento.

He estado cenando un par de veces y pienso volver, me quedé con ganas de probar unos cuantos platos. Lo único que me decepcionó un poco fue el postre. Pedí "Halwa", una especie de pastel indio de sémola con semillas de cardamomo, de aspecto anaranjado y consistente, y de sabor apagado. No terminó de convencerme.

En cuanto a los precios: acompañamientos 3 a 5 €, principales 8 a 12 € y postres de 3 a 5 €.

Un clásico venido a menos

2006-04-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hablamos de La Mejillonera en el mes de Noviembre. Queridos lectores, las cosas cambian y no siempre para bien. Hace un par de días estuve en el local de calle Moneva tomando un bocadillo de calamares y unas raciones con unos amigos y, la verdad sea dicha, salí bastante contrariado. No sé si han subido los precios, pero está claro que la calidad y la cantidad han bajado. La ración de patatas es ahora un platito con cuatro patatas y un churretón de salsa que trata cicateramente de aparentar que la ración es abundante. Las raciones de mejillones, que antes se servían en su salsa, ahora reciben solo unas gotas de la misma encima de cada concha. Parecía que los mejillones me hubieran estado esperando desde por la mañana. En cuanto al bocadillo: los calamares debieron huir presa del pánico, porque apenas encontré alguno que pudiera explicarme la razón por la cual el pan estaba duro y correoso. Caro y frustrante.

Sé que los locales de la calle Moneva han de echar en breves el cierre, establecimientos míticos y de merecida fama. ¿Que será del bocadillo de calamares? Búsquenlo en otra parte.

Para los angloparlantes: NOT RECOMMENDED

Calçots...

2006-04-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

... or how tradition became tasty.

Someone who lives in Barcelona should never miss the chance of going to one of those crowded meetings called "calçotada". Eating calçots is the springtime excuse to meet people and see cousins you hadn't seen for years. Wearing a huge bib and drinking wine, everyone seems to forget troubles.

But, what's a calçot? Just a kind of vegetable between an onion and a leek, which itself wouldn't be specially tasteful, but which is wonderful in a great sauce, just like the Romescu sauce. This sauce, depending on the cook, is made of tomato, garlic, toasted bread, vinegar, salt and oil. The caçots are barbacued and once they seem burnt, they are served really hot; the burnt part is taken out and the calçot remains clean, so that it can be dipped in the sauce. I could eat twenty of those.

Usually meat and butifarra is also barbacued, and some tomato of the best class (I would choose raff tomatoes), olives and escalibada are served. You should also have a good mature wine to go with this meal. Avoid the calçots after Easter: they might be frozen and they're not as good as they should.

Omelette, she wrote

2006-03-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

Again in Barcelona, again a "must". Flash Flash Tortillería (La granada del Penedès 25, very close to Balmes and La Diagonal) opened more than 30 years ago, and since then they have been serving every kind of omelette you could imagine. From macaroni and cheese omelette to the most simple plain omelette can be eaten there (however, my aunt says it's she who actually my invented the macaroni omelette, and I wouldn't dare to doubt about it). I also have tasted the mallorquina, with onion and sobrasada, the fornera, with tomato, fried bread and emmental cheese, and the one with ham and potatoes. They were all great, although I have always felt I wouldn't be able to finish them. I have never tasted the hamburgers, but I have been told they are great; the cook says he has a special kind of seasoning for them, and it must be true, because whenever I go, there's always a family eating hamburgers.

The restaurant is really cute, all in black and white. Some "beautiful people" can be found there, which contrasts with the dismail waiters. In fact, Flash Flash was a kind of meeting point for the people belonging to the Gauche Divine movement during the 70's. Nowadays it is open from the midday to 1:30 a.m., a wide choice of hours to taste a different omelette.

UDON: Noodles con seny

2006-03-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

El fin de semana pasado estuve en Barcelona. El sábado me levanté un poco tarde y realmente hambriento. Buscaba un sitio en el centro, no demasiado caro, original, y cuya cocina fuera a la vez enérgetica y ligera. Vamos, quería pasar la tarde de paseo por el centro y una comida en exceso pesada hubiera dado al traste con mis planes. Mi pareja propuso ir a un restaurante de Noodles que conocía. Acertó.

El UDON es un pequeño restaurante de fideos japoneses (noodles). Bueno son dos, hay uno en la calle Princesa y otro en el Centro Comercial L'illa Diagonal. Fuimos al de la calle Princesa, bocacalle de Vía Laietana. Para los que no conozcáis Barcelona puedo añadir que está a un tiro de piedra de la parada de Metro de Don Jaime. El local está ordenado siguiendo los dictados del "feng shui" y los comensales comparten su sitio en largas mesas; la verdad sea dicha, ni siquiera me di cuenta de que tenía un extraño a mi lado mientras trataba de hacerme con el control de los palillos.
Pedí agua para beber y me quede con las ganas de probar la cerveza japonesa, otra vez será. Yo pedí "Yasai yaki udon" (fideos gruesos japoneses salteados con setas shiitake, col, zanahoria, cebolla tierna, brotes de soja, tortilla y salsa yakisoba)-los sirvieron en un cuenco- y estaban muy sabrosos, los recomiendo; los comí con toda la avidez que mi impericia con los palillos permitió. También los "Yaki udon beef", con ternera y pimiento verde y rojo, son excelentes. Como plato de acompañamiento tomé "Negima yakitori", que son brochetas de pollo con cebolla tierna, a la parrilla y con salsa yakitori. Sublimes, ligeramente crujientes por fuera. La tempura de verduras es muy recomendable, también como acompañamiento. De postre tomé tarta de manzana con chocolate belga (Choko-Poma-Paki) y aunque estaba buena la masa me decepcionó un poco.

La carta ofrece otras muchas posibilidades y, además, el UDON funciona también como "take away". Unos 15 € más o menos
por persona, dependiendo de los platos. El servicio es más que correcto y el local es limpio y acogedor. En resumen: un buen sitio para sorprender a tu pareja con algo diferente. Para más información consultad su página web udon, está muy bien diseñada y no os arrepentiréis de la visita.

Próxima entrada: esperad algo sobre brasseries en Barcelona y un restaurante hindú en Zaragoza.

The great pizza experience

2006-02-27T14:12:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, in a well known restaurant in Barcelona, a group of 17 people couldn't find a place to have dinner. So worried were they, even the idea of going to KFC had turned up. But there was a couple of heros coming from the Nothern Regions who had kept an ace up their sleeves: the group's classical Gino's (at Rambla Cataluña, although you can find one at Plaza de Aragón in Zaragoza), from the Vips chain.

We had dinner in a lovely crowed place where we couldn't even sit all together (however, we almost did...). Great pizzas, better pasta and good Lambrusco,... it was more than what we had expected at the beginning of the night. Charming waitresses, taken out from a boxing ring, tried really hard to take out the dishes, although a couple of pizzas and glasses of wine avoided it by commiting suicide from the plate they carried. I liked the Caesar's and the pasta salad; my ravioli were also quite successful. Of course, the best thing over all was the friends I was eating with; when are we repeating it...? I'm sure the waitress at "El racó" is still waiting for us with open arms... if we are only 10...

La Grande Dame de la Champagne

2006-02-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

Yes, my dearest friends from Catalonia, there are some great "cavas" in this region (obviously, not the ones which make publicity with Sharon Stone), but they're still far away from the ONE and ONLY. Have you guys ever tasted a bottle of La Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin? You will have to recognise that it is just the best you have ever had in your hands.

From the moment you uncork the bottle and you can hear that wonderful "pop", you know something great is about to happen... and then an aromatic sea (which goes from peaches to nuts), goes inside your brain. When the tiny little bubbles explode in your mouth, the same fruity feeling in your tongue.

The "Maison", settled in Reims, has been producing champagne for the last two centuries, but it was in 1805 when the widow of the heir took the bussiness and made it so successful, becoming the first woman running a champagne bussiness; that's why it has such a name. She was also called "La grande Dame de la Champagne", and to honour her, there's a champagne with that name: La grande Dame.

Please, taste it; you won't regret it.

Paella en El Laurel: De la mano de Arthur II

2006-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

Continuación.
Pasamos finalmente al comedor. La vajilla aceptable, servilletas de tela y un servicio correcto. Sacaron unas aceitunas, y con eso y unos bocados al panecillo fuimos matando el hambre hasta la llegada de los rezagados. Al final, más de media hora tarde, pudimos comenzar. Se sirvió, para empezar, una tapita de pan con tortilla de patata -un pelín seca-y una lámina de pimiento rojo a modo de remate; siguió una ensalada de hoja de roble, tomate y gulas que a mi entender fue lo mejor de la velada. Por fin, llegó la paella, que tenía un aspecto inmejorable. Pero...el arroz estaba pasado, la cosa no tenía vuelta de hoja. Aunque iba bien surtida de marisco y el sabor era bueno, la textura del arroz lastraba completamente el plato. Aquí hay que reprochar la actitud de A. M-B. que a voz en grito, y espero que este leyendo esta crónica, clamaba: ¡Está pasado, este arroz esta pasado, no se puede comer! A.P., que había recomendado el local, lo reconocía, recordando a su vez, que si los asistentes hubiesen sido puntuales el resultado habría sido probablemente distinto. Lo peor llegó con los postres: unas extrañas pirámides de algo parecido a la trufa flanqueaban un corte de helado de nata y vainilla que flotaba en un viscoso mar de crema. Una creación intolerable, debieran retirarlo de la oferta.

Paella en El laurel: de la mano de Arthur (I)

2006-02-13T11:59:00.001-08:00

No me voy a detener en los motivos de la cena, que eran varios. Nuestro querido amigo A.P., nos sugirió la idea de tomar una paella y finalmente se encargó, además, de reservar. El local está situado en lo que antaño fuera solar de la prostitución zaragozana -ahora apenas quedan algunas-, al lado de un insigne monumento de la ciudad, la puerta del Carmen. En lo que respecta a la ambientación podríamos decir que era austera, siendo una pena que conserven esos horrendos espejos y el suelo de terrazo que yo dataría en los sesenta-setenta. Salvados estos detalles el servicio fue atento y el local carecía de esa molesta rumorosidad que muchas veces arruina una cena; podríamos confesar que éramos nosotros quienes, en todo caso, alterábamos la paz del local. Tomamos unas cañas antes de pasar al comedor mientras esperábamos a los rezagados. Continuará...

Textil Café

2006-02-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

There's a sort of restaurants that I have come to love specially, and these are the Museums restaurants. What's the best way to rest when you are starving after spending the whole morning wondering around a Museum? It's own café. And we must take into account the efforts of this kind of Cafes to become more personal and comfortable.

The Tèxtil Café (at the Textil Museum) is one of my favourites in Barcelona, and I always choose it when I don't know where to go eating in Barcelona. You'll find it at the Born district, an area where many galleries, restaurants and jazzy boutiques can be found. The building chosen for the Museum is the Llió Marquis Palace, from the 13th century, sharing the Montcada Street with the Picasso Museum.

The best thing of the Café is the gotic patio, where, due to Barcelona's great weather, you can have dinner in January (the closer to the gas heater, the better). At the Café you can exhibit your art work and jazz is played every spring and summer sunday.

About the food,... the menu is light and international. Nothing special but accurate. Sandwiches and salads are served with some more elaborated products. However, if I were you I would avoid the vegetable cous-cous.

El café que pone...

2006-02-11T04:16:00.000-08:00

MUEBLES NAVARRO. This is the complete name of this Raval's located bar. A long time ago this cool bar used to be a forniture warehouse. The usually kitch style of this kind of shops becomes comfortable when you come to choose one of the big sofas and spend the whole Sunday evening with a friend. Yes, if we wanted to sit on a sofa or a big armchair, we could have met at home, but we would have missed the cake we took. And that is just the feeling they want to communicate: being like at your own home... if you your home is big enough to have cornucopias on the walls.

The place is big enough (around 300m2) to keep the smokers away from the non-smokers, and in case one of those chimneys breaks the rules, there's always a friendly waiter advising them. It's usually opened until 2 am, and during the weekend until 3. The name of the street ir Riera Alta 4. Enjoy it!

As good as popular

2006-02-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

The third week I was living in Barcelona I was speaking with some friends about the areas where each one lived. After saying I lived in Guinardó, somebody told me that, if I lived close to the Paseo Fabra i Puig, I had to know an Aragonaise Bar called "LA ESQUINICA". I'm afraid I didn't, but I still tried to remember the name of the restaurant. Two weeks later, a good old friend of mine who has been living in Barcelona for years, told me about a "very cañí" place at Fabra i Puig, where there were different types of "tapas", and not expensive at all. The name was again LA ESQUINICA. But three weeks ago, a friend from Figueres told me he had once been hours in a car with his boss, looking for a restaurant called LA ESQUINICA. Well, definitely, I had to go to such a popular place.

So I did. I must say I expected something much more grotty than what I found, after all the seedy descriptions I had heard (people from Aragon are really humble; the place was more than fine). It's a simple but cute place, very typically decorated. The ceiling had plenty of "cachirulos" (the typical shawl from the village festivity in Aragon) with different colours, depending on the town or village it comes from. The waiters were very pacient and friendly, singing all the tapas they could offer as the multiplication table; obviously, he had to repeat it a dozen of times. Once we had made up our minds we asked for longaniza (the spicy pork sausage from Aragon), some toasted bread with tomatoe, sauté mushrooms, and spicy potatoes (spécialité de la maison). Everything was tasty and we could hardly finish it, so plentiful it was.

Fortunately, we had gone dinning like the French do: 8 pm, otherwise, we would have had to wait about an hour to get a table. After 20:30 people have to get a number, as at the greengrocer's, and wait in the street until there's a table for them. The system is quite primitive but it works. When living, someone gave me a lollipop, but I still don't know why (something related to the fact of being in the smoker's area, but I have never smoked; weird...

Chocolate Brownies

2006-01-31T14:03:00.000-08:00

120 gr. dark chocolate
230 gr. butter
480 gr. sugar
4 eggs
140 gr flour
a pinch of salt
half a coffee spoon of baking powder

Heat the oven: 180- 200º. Melt the butter in a saucepan on a low flame. Mix it with the sugar in a dish. Add the eggs; again on a low flame, melt the chocolate previously cut into squares, and add it to the mixture. Then, add the flour, mixed with the salt and the baking powder. Grease a tin and pour the mixture. The best tin is a 20 x 25cm, made of clay.
Bake it around 30-35 minutes. Usually it shouldn't be very cooked. Cool it down and sprinkle icing sugar. Cut it into 5x5cm squares.
Dedicated to the chocolate lovers all over the world.

Where could I go wandering?

2006-01-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it depends on your mood. If you feel like something quiet, stop reading this. This walk is for those who love crowded places, at least sometimes...
The Boqueria Market is one of the most famous all over the world; probably it has to do with the fact of being in a Mediterranean town, such as Barcelona, where fruits, vegetables and fish are so easy to get. In Spain many towns have been founded around markets. In fact this market might come from the XIII century, although it probably had another name: Saint Joseph market. The
The current metal deck comes from 1914.
But the point here is that anything you might be searching for your last recipe, can be found here. From oriental food, to sea food, food books, wine shops and any kind of fruit. Do you need "lichis" for that wonderful romantic dinner? There you have. Maybe a special kind of olive oil or a new pan... everything is easy to find.

The fruit and the fish & seafood stalls are especially beautiful.

Not only can you buy food, but also you can eat it. Some of the stalls are bars where you can eat your "pincho" or your "tapa" as if you where in the street. My choice was the "Bar la Boqueria", red wine and cuttlefish.

However, one of the most famous is the "Pinotxo", remembering the traditional fairy tale.

Paris in Barcelona

2006-01-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

Some restaurants are especially for the bon-vivant guide. We have written about tapas and sandwiches, but we can't forget the places you would search in order to impress somebody (your boss, your girl/boyfriend, your sister in law...). The Flo Brasserie belongs to this group. In fact, Flo is a chain of Brasseries which can be found all over France (Paris, Toulousse, Nancy, Nice, Reims, Metz). On the top of the Printemps Galleries in Paris Boulevard Haussmann, you may find one of those, under a beautiful art nouveau domed glass ceiling 16 meters high; useful after an exhausting shopping day.
In 1982 the Flo expanded abroad, and the city they chose was Barcelone. Hidden, at Jonqueres Street, really close to Urquinaona Square, there is a "morceau" of Paris, adapted to the Spanish kitchen (that means, more olive oil- less butter). The first time I went to this restaurant, I had just arrived from Paris, and it seemed we hadn't moved from "le quai d'Orsay", until I tasted the great Fideuá. The first French touch is the seafood stall outside, in a corridor which leads to the restaurant. The warm atmosphere was created by the architect Antonio Moragas. We are talking about sophisticated cooking, at very affordable prices.

Seafood is one of the best choices. Well... it's expensive, but it's worth it. I must say it has nothing to do with Britanny's or Galician seafood, especially for the price, much higher; however, some oysters can be tasted, in case you can't afford the whole Parrillada (lobster, crawfish, prawns, clams, razor clams and mussels), although it would be a pity.
Some people don't like seafood (really????); for them, and for anyone who would like to eat something else (take this choice if your uric acid is beyond the limits), there are great dishes, such as the catalan Fideua, or the Black rice. The cuttlefish ravioli were wonderful; another good choice is the curly endive salad with figs and duck confit.
Usually, after having eaten all this, you should call up an ambulance. For those who haven't had enough, as myself I'm ashamed to say, there's a wide range of delicious desserts. From the lightest to the heaviest: pinneaple carpaccio with chocolate, mango mousse and berries or... gratiné figs in a crepe.

Imperial Carinvs

2006-01-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

Suggestive name for a very suggestive wine. This wine comes from Cariñena, a traditional wine-producing region in Aragon, in the North East of Spain. Some years ago the wineries from the area started being aware of the quality, and became D.O. ( Denominación de origen ).
This is a high class wine is from Bodegas San Valero, whose efforts in improving the production are giving their results with surprising wines, which have a very competitive price. Being all wines with strong character, Imperial Carinvs is a great choice to deepen into these wines knowledge. The varieties of grapes used in this wine's elaboration are Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. There's also Carinvs, a younger and cheaper choice for an every-day meal.
Here you have some information taken from the web site of the winery.

Bright cherry red colour with aromas from ripe fruits and with spicy and balsamic hints. Rich in flavour in the palate, juicy and well structured, with ripe tannins and a long finish where oak and fruits combine perfectly. This wine has been aged for 14 months in new casks made of American and French oak (50% each), and its ageing has been completed in the bottle for 23 months.

Chèrs Christine et Jean François,...

2006-01-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

This one is about pizzas... But not the kind of pizza Homer Simpson loves: true pizzas, luxury pizzas,... those which are part of the Mediterranean Food.

I had always thought that the pizza making started a long time ago in Italy, so I was surprised when I discovered it became famous just in the 19th century. Before, it was done in Napoli, but that was all. However it is likely to come from a kind of flat bread from Persia, brought to Italy by the first greeks. After the Second World War, it became famous all over the world, although all the Italian emigration to South America had already exported it to the other side of the Atlantic Sea.
Nowadays pizzas are eaten everywhere: you can choose among hundreds of different kinds, usually adapted to the part of the world it has been made. Italian pizzas are the most famous; if you have ever gone to Italy and left without tasting a pizza in any "pizza al taglio", you don't know what you're missing.
In Spain, Italian food has also been famous for years. In Zaragoza there are some restaurants with good pizzas. Very famous is el Trastevere, in Francisco de Vitoria; it started working a long time ago, and still keeps the success, despite the opening of new restaurants; in fact it's a chain of restaurants called Trastevere, La Tagliatela and Il Pastificcio that you may find in many places in the East of Spain, such as Tarragona, Barcelona or even Malaga. Pasta Italia
is another group of restaurants which, although it has reduced its quality and increased the prices, it's still reasonable. The good point is that here you can take a vegetarian menu.

I can't finish this text without praising my favourite Pizzeria all over the world and beyond; never before had I eaten so great pizzas. La Pizzeria du Port is located in Sainte Marine, a cute little village in Britanny, not far from Quimper. The from the port you can enjoy a wonderful sight of Benodet, while you're eating a pizza done with love by Jean François. Anyone who's tasted them agrees: they're the best. Maybe it has to do with the air and the atmosphere, but these pizzas are really tasty, and the pastry is especially thin. You can't leave the place without eating at least once there!

Well, and if you want to do the pastry, you only have to mix flour, salt, water, butter and some baking powder; it's your choice what you want to put over.

Don't open a new one, please

2006-01-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

Really close to the heart of Zaragoza there's one of the restaurants everyone knows, everybody has at least once eaten, and nobody dislikes it. "El Antiguo Tabernillas" (Inocencio Jimenez) is a well known place among the lawyers, architects, journalists and workers around since 1954; the environment, the food (tapas and some traditional food) and the location have driven to success this restaurant. In 2001 the owner decided to open another restaurant in another centrally situated street (Ponzano St.). The place was more comfortable, with more room between the tables, and I would dare to say, it was more "restaurant" than the old one, which seemed a bit more seedy. However, I still preffered the old one, more typical and as crowed as usual. I'm afraid the prices also helped, as the new place was a bit more expensive, and I usually keep my head above the water.
But (there's always one "but") a new "Tabernillas" has arrived to town.

Located right in the middle of the shopping zone of Zaragoza (Madre Vedruna), this restaurant pretends to be as good as its predecessors, but nothing could be further from the truth. First, it seems it has been opened the following day the old restaurant closed: no repairs have been done, but some painting and two new lamps. It seems they wanted to open really quickly, but with a unwise result. Secondly, the waiters were not qualified enough; it took them like half an hour to come to attend us. But the worse, the really unforgivable fact was the bad food, no other adjective could fit better; too cold, too strong, too vulgar. I ate some deer, a choice of which I would have usually eaten every last crumb, and I couldn't finish it, so heavy it was.
The best choice was my sister's who asked for some typical vegetable only eaten in this region (borraja, borage), although my grandmother would have certainly cooked it better.
Yes, I'm afraid I'm like Mr. Longanice: I preffer good old places to the new.

Longaniza para Longanice

2005-12-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

En la calle Gascón de Gotor se encuentra el Bar Naranjo, vestigio del casticismo baruno. Estamos en los predios del carajillo y la faria, del vermú de los domingos a la salida de misa, de los azucarillos usados y las colillas en el suelo. Hay una pantalla gigante para los partidos de fútbol y, además, un gran surtido de fritos. No se trata aquí de buscar el acabado sublime sino de encontrarse con el gusto popular. El ambiente puede estar en ocasiones algo cargado por el humo, los camareros un tanto secos o el volumen del televisor demasiado alto, pero es que este no es lugar para un té con pastas, aquí triunfan la caña y los flamenquines, las croquetas...

Hay también raciones y bocadillos. En cuanto a bocatas, no esperéis innovaciones, ni cocina creativa ni mezclas exóticas ni... Aquí un bocadillo de chorizo es eso: chorizo y pan. Tomé un bocadillo de longaniza doble, esto es, con dos piezas de longaniza. Tal vez le faltaban unos segundos en la sartén, pero el pan estaba bueno e incluso diría que era de leña, nada que ver con el pan gomoso que venden al principio de la calle.

Las raciones son generosas y los precios ajustados, todavía es posible pensar en pesetas. Los domingos por la mañana es un clásico.

Disgusting but lovely tapas

2005-12-28T07:26:00.000-08:00

There's a special sort of restaurants where you'd only go when ten more people go with you, where I would never take my lover for a romantic soiré. There used to be one of those called "Savoy" (nothing to do with the traditional Savoy) in Zaragoza.
Really close to the Ramblas, in a tiny street where streets can't go (Xuclá) Los Toreros turns up. At first sight, there are not many tables, but there's a huge hall inside. Tables of about 15 hungry people who hardly have seen each other out of their jobs or their classes are always waiting for their dishes.
And there goes the long-suffering waitress carrying three dishes on each arm. Don't expect anything special: spicy fries, grilled prawns, cured ham, chorizo, spicy sausage,... a great number of different snacks (the world known "tapas"). The waiters start taking out dishes and they don't stop for a long time; anything you want, you can eat it twice.

However, I can't lie; what makes the place so attractive to people is the fact that you can drink all the red wine and sangria you can (they also take out some water,... I think...). After half an hour people from different tables are talking with everyone. The day I visited the place, a quite confused couple from some nothern country where really frightened. One of my friends is an strict vegetarian who hates bull-fighting and doesn't eat meat or fish at all. As you see, it was a very original night.
At eleven o'clock the cook comes out from the kitchen and in a very ungry way he "invites" you to leave the restaurant. They have booked tables for more people and wants us to leave. Once you're out you notice you smell like a croquette.

This weekend

2005-12-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

Longaniza for Longanice and something about Colombian cuissine

Quince Paste:

2005-12-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

Ingredients: 4 lb/2 kg quinces
juice of 1 lemon
sugar

Wipe the quinces to remove their downy coating, but do not peel. cut them in quarters and then in eights and put them in a heavy pan with the lemon juice and water to cover. Cover the pan and simmer until the fruit is soft - about 30-40 minutes -. Drain and press the fruit through a shieve to purée it. Weigh the purée and for each pound/500 gr. take the same weight, or slightly less, of sugar. Put the purée into a preserving pan over a very low heat and add the sugar, a little at a time. Stir constantly with a long handhled wooden spoon to avoid being burnt because as the paste thickensit erupts and spits. Make sure the paste doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. It needs to cook for at least an hour, until it thickens so that a spoon drawn across the bottom of the pan leaves a clear trail. Turn the paste into shallow metal trails lined with greaseproof paper. Cover with light cloth and dry thoroughy for 4-5 days in an airing cupboard or on a cental heating boiler, until the paste has dried completly and is firm to the touch. Then cut into small pieces, dust with caster sugar and store in an airthight container. Quince paste makes a good after-dinner sweetmeat.

This recipe is from "Jams & Preserves" by Jill Norman. I adapted for warmer and dry climates and it works. I used quinces taken from abandoned land in Spain. No pesticides or chemical products involved in its growing. try it!

Café y Té L'illa Diagonal

2005-12-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

AVOID THIS PLACE. I'm serious, it's dangerous for your health.
Last week I had to go to a part of Barcelona that I hardly know, because I prefer to wander the Barri Gotic, it's older, nicer and more charming. I had no time to come back home and eat something, so I decided to go shopping to L'illa, a really fashionable mall, very close to the place I had to go later.
After I while I started to feel hungry and started looking for a place where I could have a quick but nice lunch. I had been told about a place where hamburgers were good, so I looked for it, with little success, so bad the instructions to find it had been given (Mr M.D. again). Well, it was late and time to make up my mind about the choice of the restaurant.
I had noticed there was one, I still didn't know the name, where there was a long queue of men and women who looked like being working in the area, waiting for the waiter. So crowded was the place, people were waiting for having a table! Then I found a place at the bar, where people could sit and eat quickly. I had a quick look of the menu, which looked fine and affordable. What a mistake had I done!
After having waited for 10 minutes more or less, the waiter approached and asked me for my choice. "Cous-cous salad with BACON and PRAWNS (notice the plural, please), roast-beef and a coke, please". I NEEDED that coke, and that's why I was really dissapointed when I saw a tiny little bottle close to my glass. The salad was fast served (not as the canneloni the man of my left wanted; 20 minutes later he left shouting he had to go back to work, on an empty stomach). The salad was made of a cup of cous-cous (not even mint on it), just one kind of lettuce (rucula, exactly the only one Jack hates), ONE prawn and, yes, there was bacon; but every single part of the bacon I found in my salad had a piece of those bones bacon sometimes has. The roast-beef was too cooked and the sauce was really poor. I didn't want to run the risk of an exotic dessert, so I asked for a yoghurt with some sugar. The yoghurt had not been in the fridge (and it was not one of those you can leave out of it), and as I didn't want to go ten times to the toilet while I was being interviewed, I didn't eat it.
Meanwhile two more people had been shouting at the waiter and then leaving or just left.
And I paid for that lovely lunch "only" 18 euros. Burger King would have been much better choice.

Cerdo ecológico

2005-12-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

A veces nos reencontramos con sabores de la niñez de forma inesperada; a veces también bajo pomposas etiquetas que parecían prometer algo nuevo, distinto, reaparece aquello que desapareció lentamente de nuestras mesas. Esto es lo que me ocurrió la navidad pasada mientras tomaba una sopa de verduras en casa de mis tías abuelas, esto mismo es lo que me ha ocurrido hoy. Con la desgana propia de quien está tranquilamente en su casa y se acuerda, de repente, de que olvidó hacer la compra y de que al día siguiente los comercios están cerrados, me ví forzado a salir a la calle. Compré en el supermercado una bandeja de lomo de cerdo ecológico. Me sedujo la etiqueta. Lo he preparado a la plancha con sal y apenas unas gotas de aceite de oliva. Al darle la vuelta he colocado una fina loncha de queso de cabra fresco. Lo he acompañado en el plato de unas rodajas de tomate y listo. Aquí ha llegado la sorpresa: estaba sabrosísimo. Entonces lo he entendido. Al cerdo alimentado como Dios manda, ese al que no le pinchan con clembuterol y otras porquerías, que ha conocido la luz del día e incluso ha retozado en el barro, le llaman ahora ecológico. Viene con título. El otro, el cerdo cuya carne sabe a agua, ese que hace chispear el aceite en la sartén y se encoge como avergonzado de su mala vida, es el cerdo a secas. En que momento perdimos el gusto o empezamos a pagar como exquisitez lo que antes era corriente en nuestras mesas, no lo recuerdo.

Be Zen in San Miguel

2005-12-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

This one is again in Zaragoza (San Miguel Street); there's one with the same name in Paris (the one from Paris is a Hotel and it has nothing to do with this one; don't make a mistake).

Its name is Buddabar, and it is supposed to be very cool and jazzy. Mmmm..., it is and what is more important, you can eat quite well and paying for your meal a reasonable amount of money (Sundays, the menu is less than 18 euros, and you can eat two dishes, a dessert and a bottle of wine, Viñas del Vero).
The music and the light are very pleasant, and you can stay for a while after you've finished your food. I have eaten a tuna carpaccio and a steak, with red wine; as dessert I didnt't feel like strange thigs, so my choice was an ice-cream (in Spain you can have it even in December; it's cold, but it's O.K.).

The whole restaurant is decorated in red, with lights and statues. I like it, although I know the owners would have prefered to have been born in Paris or Berlin. But I must admit it's very nice to spend two hours there with your guy, eating something very nice, and chatting for a long time. I would recommend, after this meal, a good gin and tonic, made with Wet by Beefeater or the great Bombay Sapphire. You can't regret that.

"Just" a sandwich

2005-12-01T01:59:00.000-08:00

Again, a typical place from Barcelona. It's one of my favourites, where you can eat something cheap at any time. Many people from Barcelona come here and take a sandwich every week.
Can Conesa started half a century ago and now its sausage sandwiches are known all over the city, and probably beyond. The formula is quite simple: good bread previously heated in the grill and good ingredients in it. Mmmmm, I feel like eating one of those...

The place is open the whole day and it's located in the city centre, at Plaça Sant Jaume, at the end of the Llibreteria St. In this square you can find the City Hall and the Regional Government, so while you are eating your sandwich and drinking your cold beer, you may find a prostitute's demonstration asking for their right to work on the street or maybe some workers from the Seat car factory asking for help. Don't panic, that's quite common. Can Conesa is at the Gotic district, what makes the bar very helpful when you are visiting Barcelona. Saturday midday is a great moment to taste the sandwiches.

But, if you are in Barcelona and want to go out on a Friday night, you may feel the temptation of going there. Forget the idea, it's not worth it: usually the queue is so long that you would die before you have bit the sandwich. I will talk about some secret places for those occasions some other day.
By the way, I almost forgot there are also good pizzas and fine salads to refresh yourself during the hot Barcelona's summer.

Bolleria fina en Tolosana

2005-11-28T16:16:00.000-08:00

Al principio de la Avenida Goya, en Zaragoza, se encuentra una sucursal de Tolosana. Además de poder comprar el pan, repostería tradicional, chocolate y demás laminerías, puede uno sentarse a tomar algo en la cafetería situada al fondo del local. En ella, y con la siempre estimable y regular compañía de M.D., he merendado esta tarde. El café estaba pasable, pero se compensaba con un extraordinario cruasán de chocolate. Me traía el recuerdo de los deliciosos desayunos en la cafetería Oyarzún de Donostia, junto al ayuntamiento de la ciudad. No es fácil encontrar un cruasán en condiciones por estos pagos. El local está además bien iluminado y aunque la zona habilitada con mesas es más bien pequeña, el lugar resulta acogedor. Hacía tiempo que no me sentía tan cómodo y he hallado pronto la razón: no estaba permitido fumar. Resulta sorprendente, acostumbrado uno a tomar el café en el asedio vaporoso del humo de los cigarrillos ajenos.
Más información en: www.tolosana.com

Thursday night at La paloma

2005-11-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

Barcelona, as every Spanish town, has hundreds, thousands of bars, pubs and discotheques; it’s a touristic big town, where millions of foreigners come every year to spend a weekend... and, why not, some money. Having this huge amount of places, it might always be difficult to choose where to dance. Well, this is my suggestion, although it is not original at all: La Paloma.
When I told my father I was going to La Paloma he reacted really surprised and a bit disappointed. “La Paloma? Isn’t it a place for old people?” And yes, it is a ballroom. Every evening there is an orchestra called “La gardenia blanca” playing good all-times music: swing, cumbia, cha cha cha... However, that’s not what makes “La paloma” so special.
When the clock shows it’s 2:00, the orchestra leaves, opening the way to a DJ. People change completely and the dance sesion starts. If you like house music, you have to know this disco. There are people from different nationalities, as usual in Barcelona. To get in you have to pay around 10 euros (unless you manage to get a free pass, very common for other bars, but not so much for this one; perhaps they just don’t need it) but it’s worth it.
The place first opened with a different name at the end of the 19th century and took today’s name in 1903. The decoration makes the disco look like a theatre, with all those paintings and nymphs, and the big chandelier which reigns over the dance floor; in fact, part of the decoration was made by the Liceu set designer.

Besides myself and my friends, many famous people have come to La Paloma; the premier party for “All about my mother” took place in this disco; but even before, celebrities as Pablo Picasso where amongst the people who enjoyed spending a Friday’s evening there.

The “silenci” project is also surprising: while you approach the place, some mimes arrive and ask you, holding a finger to their lips, to be quiet, so that the neighbourhood is not too disturbed.
So, don’t hesitate: go to “La Paloma” at Tigre St. 27, in Barcelona.

Mussels at March 5th Street

2005-11-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

I don't really know if you have ever been to Zaragoza or its surroundings, but there are plenty of old, small places where you can eat a sandwich made of ingredients which may be quite exotic for a foreigner. One of this is La Mejillonera, always located in a tiny street in the centre of the town, called Moneva. This small bar is specialized in mussels (mejillón in Spanish) and in squid sandwiches, as the one showed.
However, last week I was wandering around another central street from Zaragoza, called March 5th (remembering an old battle which took place in this town in the "Carlists" war; read a history book if you want to know more about it), and I found a pleasing surprise: another subsidiary of la Mejillonera had been opened. So a bit later, in order to avoid the nuisance of going starving to the cinema, I decided to go in and eat something.
All comparison is false, but anyway, there I go (I'm talking about the Moneva's one). The one at March 5th is newer, with much more space between the tables and the bar and, ofering the same, it seemed to me a more comfortable option. I chose a table and the waiter arrived immediatly, as if he had been waiting for me the whole evening. I asked for a squid sandwich, spicy, of course, a plate of mussels and a glass of red wine. The bread was gummy, and that was quite strange, because bread is one of the reasons I always come to this place. It was not so bad, but the new place started to seem less comfortable than before... Let's go on... I decided to change, so I decided to taste those nice mussels waiting for me. Everything was fine, what a tasty sauce,... but then I saw something shining in the mussel; the sauce was so good I decided to fake I hadn't notice anything. But then, that shine became in my mouth an unpleasant feeling, like sand among my teeth and I found myself chewing a piece of nacre. I swalowed some wine and bless; it was a bad wine, but I didn't really care. Meanwhile, the waiter was taking of the dishes like an uncontrolled robot, making me take my glass, still having some wine in, in case he took it out of me. Well, the film could still arrange the night (thanks, Woody).

I will definetly come back, but next time I'll go to the old one, although I will have to be squeezed among many other people close to the bar. Maybe I expected too much from this.

Mejillones en 5 de Marzo

2005-11-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Pasaba el otro día por la calle 5 de Marzo y me encontré con una grata sorpresa, habían abierto una nueva sucursal de La mejillonera. Así que más tarde, pensando en acudir al cine con el hambre saciada, decidí entrar y comer algo. Este es un local -ahora varios- especializado en bocadillos de calamares y raciones de mejillón.

Las comparaciones son odiosas, pero vamos con ellas (me refiero al local de la calle Moneva). El de la calle 5 de Marzo es más nuevo, cuenta con más espacio entre las mesas y la barra, y siendo la oferta la misma parecía prometer más comodidad. Me senté en una mesa y el camarero acudió presto como si llevara esperándome toda la tarde. Pedí un bocadillo de calamares, picante por supuesto, una ración de mejillones con salsa escocesa y una copita de tinto. El pan estaba gomoso, y me chocó, porque era el pan una de las razones por las que yo acudía a la mejillonera a tomar el bocata de calamares. Se dejaba comer pero el nuevo local empezó a perder brillo ante mis ojos. Sigamos. Cambié de tercio y comenzé a hincarle el diente a los mejillones, todo iba bien, que rica la salsa... Entonces me pareció ver algo brillante en el interior de uno de ellos, extasiado, no le presté más atención. Aquel brillo se transformó en mi boca en una sensación desagradable, como de arena rascando los molares, y me pareció estar masticando una priedecita de nácar. Eché un trago al tinto y me encomendé a Dios; rascaba, pero no me importó. Entre tanto, el camarero iba retirando platos como un autómata descontrolado, obligándome incluso a asir la copa, medio llena todavía, por temor a que la recogiese. En fin, la película podía arreglar la noche.

Pienso volver, pero la próxima vez acudiré al local de la calle Moneva aunque tenga que apretujarme en la barra. Tal vez esperaba demasiado.

TRAPPISTES ROCHEFORT BEER

2005-11-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

I open the blog with a 9,2% belgian beer made in Saint Remy Abbey by the trappist monks. It has reminded me a Polish beer which has a similar alcohol content, able to stroke a person after the second bottle; Kaper, if you manage to get one. The one we’re talking about is made of the water coming from a well inside the abbey, malt and other cereals, and a kind of sugar candy. The recipe is secret; the monks would never disclose it, they’re not so stupid. Dark coloured, the first thing which is noticed is the high alcohol content, even unpleasant at first taste. It is said that this beer evolves with the time and the expiration date is just indicative, a pure legal requisite; in fact, these process haven’t been deeply studied yet. Disturbing...

Cerveza Trappistes Rochefort

2005-11-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

Me inauguro con una cervecita belga de 9,2 %, fabricada en la Abadía de Saint Remy por monjes trapistas. Me ha recordado una cerveza polaca de similar gradación que te dejaba tieso al segundo envase; Kaper, si podeis haceros con ella. La que nos ocupa se elabora a partir de agua procedente de un manantial situado en el interior del monasterio, malta y otros cereales y una especie de azúcar caramelizado. La receta es secreta, los monjes no son tan tontos como para publicarla. De color oscuro, lo primero que llama la atención es su alto contenido en alcohol, que hasta puede resultar desagradable en un primer momento. Dicen de esta cerveza que evoluciona con el tiempo y que la fecha de caducidad es indicativa, un mero requisito legal; de hecho estos procesos no han sido estudiados todavía con suficiente precisión. Inquietante...