Cinc Sentits

So a day after my Gelonch lunch, I dragged myself from my beautiful room in the Barri Gotic to another Eixample restaurant, Cinc Sentits, run by chef Jordi Artal. This place is an English-speakers dream come true. I am sadly a Gringa with the most minuscule of Spanish language skills. I spent a majority of my trip tripping around the language, apologetically ordering or asking questions, but at CS this was nary a problem. English speaking Mecca!

I have been around the fine dining block and consider myself a pretty good litmus test for that special "wow" factor. I felt Cinc Sentits is well on its way, but for a few hiccups. I am not in a place to tout my wine acumen so I will merely say that my wine pairings were spot on, except for the overly syrupy sweet wine paired with the foie....that one was waaay too sweet even though I get the purpose was to cut the fatty foie...it just didn't work for me.

Also, my impressions of the dining room was that it was a bit sterile and dated with one wall of brown leather banquettes and strange red rectangular "grills" along the other wall. Oh well, I usually look past ambiance in favor of food so this was no issue for me. Service also amazed...definitely a step above Gelonch, but its hard to compare the two (except both had sous vide pork....and CS won for sure!) since CS has been around the block and back.

After a quick perusal of the menus I thought it was a no brainer to go with the 'Sensacions' menu over the more "rustic" 'Essencia' choice. For those of you who have not been, the 'Sensacions' is their nod to the molecular gastronomy craze overtaking the area, whereas the 'Essencia' is focused more on traditional local favorites. Since I had no chance of securing an El Bulli reservation, I made it a point to try as many other Spanish restaurants attempting the same style of cooking and creating. I think CS deserves some cudos and now to the menu:

Amuse: Maple Syrup shot with salt on bottom and Cava sabayon

1. "Pa amb tomaquet"; fresh tomato sorbet, garlic air, toasted peasant bread

2. Caramelized foie gras "coca"; crisp pastry crust; chive "arrope"; glazed leeks

3. Pan-seared scallop; sweet onion "escalivada" glaze; sunchoke; "jamon" chip

4. Wild Mediterranean red mullet; creamy basil rice; fresh peach

5. Iberian suckling pig; apple "textures"; ratafia

6. Artisanal farmhouse cheese

7. Citrus "snow"; lemon ice cream; effervescent lime sugar; yuzu foam

8. "Grand Cru" chocolate 67%; olive oil ice cream; shattered bread; macadamias

So what was my impression...favorites?

Actually, the amuse really opened the sluice gates for the rest of the meal. The shot, if consumed correctly, which entailed one small initial sip to incorporate the salt and then one clean slurp down the hatch, was a salty-sweet miracle. The rich, caramel syrup, cut with salt...however, my only change would be for them to find a way to actually suspend the salt midway through the shot for a more uniform taste.

I usually never talk bread service, but here the already delicious, soft and chewy rolls of wheat (choice 1) and olive & walnut (choice 2) came with two different olive oils. One was from the west of the city and the other from the north, but both were out of this world. The "western" oil was mild and nutty, whereas the "northern" oil was spicy with just the right amount of bitter. If I had enough room in my luggage I would have bought both....they put most of my California olive oils to shame.

The 3rd course scallop was a delicious buttery soft morsel that was finished with the most crispy "meat chip." This was one of those dishes where ten more of the same would have been happily accepted.

The 5th course pork blew me away. It was pure technique on display. I am a fan of sous vide, however, I am not a fan of sous vide mania...or using it to slow cook the wrong things. Pork is never the wrong thing and using the technique, and then finishing it with a quick sear produced the most sweet, salty, crispy, tender morsel of meat...pure heaven.

It is always smart for a chef to end their tasting menu with a bang and they really did this with the 8th course dessert. The plate came out and all I could smell was nutty, aromatic baked bread. Everyone melts at the smell of fresh baked bread and it set the tone for a finale of bread, salt, and chocolate, simple in its elements, complicated in the technique, and a total win in my books.

So I feel like I have done justice to Cinc Sentits and now readers, it is your turn to go forth and make sure to stop in when in Barcelona...you won't regret spending the cash.