11/9/2010 l'Academia Barcelona Spain

today we decided to try and drop in for lunch at a place a friend recommended to us. it's not in the michellin guide at all, but if lunch was any indication it definitely fits as a bib gourmand. luckily i had read some of the reviews online (they only have a trip advisor type page) and most mentioned it was a hard-to-find place. we ended up circling the block before we found it.

it's just off a cute little placa (plahs-uh) with a fountain.

 i went in to get a table while matt locked up the bike. we got there right in time. there may have been 1 table left open after us, but within 20 minutes there was a line outside waiting for tables.

this was the 1st place we'd been with the menu entirely in  not-english. there was spanish and catalan, but that was it. and while i'm remembering a few more spanish words every day, i know nothing in catalan. the languages have similarities, but that's it.



luckily there was a 'menu' option for lunch - 3 courses for 14euro. sounds good to us, let's get it.











water, wine (ok, not yet on the table, we got a house rose), bread and olives.

 sopa de pescado con arroz

we managed to figure this one out -
fish soup with rice. and yes it was. it was actually really good. it was fishy smelly, but in a good way. the rice was not mushy, and never got there. i only had about 4 small pieces of fish in my bowl, and again, soft but not mushy. we think it was probably cod.

our main: bacalao fresco a la plancha con pure de manzana y olivada negra

we figured out a puree of something and black olives. other than that we had to wait for the plate.

bacalao fresco a la plancha = grilled fresh cod
con pure de manzana = the puree of apple was sweet, like quince
y olivada negra = and black olive tapenade across the top

very tasty

we had our choice of 2 desserts - something that looked like a flattened and hard flan or what looked like a white chocolate torte

i don't remember what he called the 1st, the 2nd was torta de coco. well...we chose wrong. what we thought it was - torta de cacao it was not. coco is coconut. ugh. i ate the cacao off the plate and that was it. oh well.








yes i'd go back for a dinner. i would recommend, even for lunches to try and get a reservation or be there when the door opens.  they are also closed on both sat and sun, which makes it interesting. they do enough business they can afford to stay closed for the weekend fantastic for them! we were lucky. i don't think i'd risk the dinner to that luck unless it's a monday and i was on the doorstep at 8:30 when they open.

11/8/2010 Barcelo Raval (snack) & Senyor Parellada Barcelona Spain

our actual 1st day in barcelona, we ended up skipping lunch, but because dinner service is so late here - you're *very* lucky if you find service before 8:30pm, we grabbed a quick tapas in the hotel lounge to tide us over for a couple hours.

we ordered the lamb kefta skewer, warm arabic bread, harissa sauce

it was pretty good. the sauce had a kick in it and the mint leaves added a coolness to it.

On to dinner at senyor parellada where we found a bib gourmand about 8 blocks from the hotel. the food was pretty good, but the service sucked. and i don't mean it was bad, just very snooty. i mean i understand i don't speak spanish, let alone catalan, but you're in a service industry in not only a high tourist town, but a high tourist part of town. you're going to get people who do not speak your language. and if you talk so fast and soft that i can't hear you i'm going to ask you 5 times to repeat yourself! (referring to the cheese plate later on).

would i go back here? well it is a bib gourmand and the prices were ok, but for the food not outstanding. and as far as the service goes, it is a bib gourmand, not a starred restaurant on the list. but no, i think once was enough. i'd rather pay for the service and visit one of the many starred michelin restaurants in the city.

olives. which quickly disappeared as soon as the appy arrived.

 1 slice of bread - matt dug into the bread before i could get a pic, but there was 1 slice left. :-)  it was a heavy bread but pretty good.

 our wine

 patatas bravas - a traditional catalan dish.

"crispy potatos with spice mayonnaise sauce"

these were not the best patatas bravas we had.

 une tapa de porc iberique en brouchette

"a tapa of grilled skewered iberian pork"

really not too bad. on french fried but oh well. however it was a pretty mild flavor and i think i would've enjoyed a heavier or spicier taste.

matt's entree
agneau au four aux douze gousses d'ail

"lamb roasted with 12 garlic heads and potatoes"

the lamb had a great flavor, tendor

 and while there was "potted offal fonda-style" on the menu i opted for the

la sole poelee aux fruits secs
"pan-fried sole with a nutty topping"

 raisins are not nuts. cashews, filberts, almonds, pine nuts, and walnuts are.

the cheese plate, and our dessert

manchego (left)

blue cheese similar to stilton. as many times as i asked him i never understood this or the soft names. i think maybe he was just calling this one 'the blue' (middle)

alicante, as i learned when i googled what it sounded like he said - which turns out to have been the alt name for this cheese, queso de cabra de alicante, or formage blanquet. it's a goat's milk cheese. i thought it might be sheep. (right)

and far right is a berry jelly thing.

there were a number of items on the menu that, as if you needed reminding, assured you you were not in kansas anymore. some of these were:

grilled octopus with potato hash

stockpot- meat and cep croquettes

guit's delicacy: pig's trotters and salt cod

oxtail stew served with its own marinade

cauldron of pheasant, potatoes, straw mushrooms

the previously mentioned potted offal

i'm not listing those to be funny or mean. i'm listing them to share some of the local food choices in the area - and while i like to try and be willing to attempt new foods, i admit those listed were beyond my bravery for 1 reason or another.

11/6/2010 Air France

anyone who says airline food sucks has never eaten air france's 1st class meals. we've blown all the credit card points to get the seats and boy are they worth it! check out the post for air france from july 2010 and you'll see this isn't just a 1-off.

this is *so* good! it's schweppes tonic with a mix of several citrus fruits. if you know anywhere in the states that sell this please let me know. i've found several places that will import it but it's $$$$$ to do that as an individual.

amuse bouche:
crab with mayonnaise

gourmet appetizer and seasonal salad: scallop flan (right)
salad (middle) - that's a tomato slice that looks like salmon
smoked duck breast and basil mayonnaise - cold
there's a berry 'jelly' and grain bread

main course:
pan-seared tournedos of beef with shallot sauce roasted potatoes, broccoli and baby carrots

matt's main course:
glazed fillet of salmon, basmati rice with wasabi, beans

you can also see the

selection of cheeses:
a brie and a hard cheese

here comes dessert

there was also a fruit basket

cookies or sorbet...

cookies.
chocolate tartlet, paris-brest, strawberry macaroon with pepper













and for breakfast...

fruits, yogurt

french toast with blueberries and strawberries

or beef pastrami, smoked chicken, gouda and emmental cheese














while i'm sleeping when the l'instant fraicheur or gourmet snack arrives, it would be nice if the f/a would set one aside and let me have it when i wake up, or even tuck it into the pocket so i can see and eat when i wake up...

10/27/2010 Harvest Vine "Entrails" Halloween dinner party

our friend hosted a halloween dinner party at a harvest vine. it's been on our list to try and now we have. i can't wait to go back on a normal night! LOL it's a basque kitchen and it was good.

it was held in the dungeon, or lower level of the restaurant and we had the room to ourselves that wednesday night.

some of the pics aren't that great - in part because i think i forgot to change the setting on the camera. sorry they're a little blurry due to this. (click on the smaller images to view full size)

	some new friends and a few people i didn't get a chance to talk with. right: flapper, cleopatra, andy warhol on a bad hair day left: cap'n jack, flapper, cleo
	right: octopus, victim, ?? left: pamplona italian, a pimp, dr. horrible
	right: pamplona, dawn of the dead, pimp left: earth nymph, alice in wonderland?, flapper
	left: me and matt - he was all arms that night right: my nails

 amuse bouche:
hake served in the style of eels

 hake is an atlantic whitefish with garlic shavings in olive oil. the traditional basque dish is baby eels

it was pretty good. slimy but good

 ensalada de lengua:
braised beef tongue, roasted beets, greens served with agusti torrello aliguer

i have finally had tongue i like. this was so good. like the most tender cut of beef steak you've ever tried. WOW! perfectly cooked, perfect temp.

 txipirones en su tinta:
ink-braised squid, bomba sauce with rice, and red pepper foam served with amestoi txakoli 2009

YUM! it looks gross, i'll give you that. but squid prepared in squid ink - how can you go wrong? they took the hoods and stuffed the arms inside of it - so it was squid stuffed squid braised in squid! people were fighting over who go to finish it off. i had 2nds.

 mollejas:
veal sweatbreads, spinach, bacon, chanterelles, cream sherry served with vina tondonia 2000

these weren't bad it was really salty for my taste and just too much food. we still had 3 courses to go! shannon (flapper in the next pic) finished mine off

	left: ?, jeff, shannon right: ?, dawn, ?
?, anirudh
matt, ?
		?, dawn
	?, ?, dawn	?, dawn
jeff		swatee

 higado de conejo:
sauteed rabbit livers, onion confit, roasted baby carrots, amontillado sherry, cream served with palacios petalos 2008

nope, didn't like it. i don't remember who finished it off it might've been matt. it reminded me too much of 'liver and onions'.

 piquillo relleno de morcilla:
piquillo peppers stuffed with blood sausage, greens serverd with terrases 2007

OMG this was so good. i had 2nds. now i realize when i go to the british isles and have blood sausage to expect something totally different!

 heload de foie de pato:
and a fig served with casta diva cosecha miel (madeira)

those of us who came in costume were poured a glass of chateau d'arche grand cru classe 2005 sauternes

wow. this foie gras gelato garnered a very loud, seductive, group moan when we tasted it. it was so smooth and rich. even after sitting on our plates for 15 minutes it maintained it's form. it didn't melt like normal gelato!

chef.

we also met owner carolin jimenez. she actually served us the "baby eels".

	it's not a party...	...until something gets broken
cleo's shoes	boots of the night

those of you who were there - please remind me your actual name :-)  and feel free to fwd this post to the rest of us who were there...