Zlatna Skoljka

My dear readers, Croatia is a wonderland. It makes perfect sense why the Romans made this their vacation spot. From the sparkling white marble city of Dubrovnik to the rough alleys of Split, it is something for everyone. I had many a food adventure, but the one noteworthy dinner during my travels was on Hvar Island.

Zlatna Skoljka, which translates to the Golden Shell, touts itself as a Slow Food establishment. I made a note to try this out, after sub-par meals recommended by others in Dubrovnik. We wandered only a few feet past the main square in town and found the entrance. I usually tense up at restaurants that are virtually empty, which was the case here, following that old notion that it equates to bad food. Not the case here! We were seated in the back patio with a couple celebrating their honeymoon after a wedding on the island of Lake Bled (not bad, not bad!). Overall, I think the four of us had the best meal in Hvar that evening.

I found the key to eating on the Croatian coast was focusing on seafood. They also take a cue from eastern European and Turkish cuisine, but I just can't get on board with heavy, artery-clogging dishes. Don't get me wrong...I can get down with the best of them, but I do that in the right places (see upcoming Berlin write-up), not in a fishing village.

Our evening at Zlatna Skoljka started with an octopus salad. At this point in the trip, I fancied myself a bit of an octopus salad connoisseur. You need the right amount of char, balanced with a steady dose of acid to really make this shine...and shine it did!

I then moved on to the goat cheese soup and let me just say, that soup and goat cheese are unlikely bedfellows....this is one of those situations where one would wake up in the morning and do a double take....and not in a good way! Yuck. The goat cheese kind of clumped a bit and every sip was painful. I left this one alone, but didn't have the heart to tell the server, who would relay it to the chef (who I could see by the way the entire evening...open kitchen) that I detested his soup.

Its ok, because next came the Mussels 'Buzara', which is a garlic, tomato, bread-type paste that is then cooked with either shrimp or mussels. A great 'Buzara' should be neither too thick or thin, but just the right consistency to "get stuck" inside each mussel, serving as a flavor complement to the mussel. It was a beautiful thing, this 'Buzara' and Dave and I sucked it all down.

Lastly, came the main affair....Amberjack in a saffron sauce and Squid in a wild orange sauce. Both were truly beautiful. The firm meat on the Amberjack filet somehow soaked up the rich, aromatic saffron sauce....each bite had a heady golden aroma. The squid was again perfectly charred. Each piece was delicate enough for fork only and further benefited from the accompanying tart orange sauce. I must say I wanted to steal both of these sauces to add to my fish repertoire.

We didn't make it to dessert and in retrospect I'm sad. Instead we hauled ourselves halfway back to the apartment and broke down for sub-par gelato. I guess the beautiful blue azure waters made up for the failed sweet;)

Coming soon....Venitian Chicchetti!

Anchor & Hope

Dear London,

I have been terribly remiss in failing to write about any of the amazing food establishments you have to offer. Many years ago, I prematurely wrote you off as a city devoid of any real culinary treats, but boy was I wrong.

You are a wonderland. Every year I come back, you have new treats and markets and chefs that aren't afraid to re-invent British food, because hey, whats not to love about black pudding?

I am going to start my homage to you with this review of Anchor & Hope, one of the first and still, in my opinion, best of the early 90's "gastropub" restaurants to open in your fair city.

Now, while I work on this, if you can get to dealing with that perpetual drizzle, maybe we can work out a more permanent arrangement.

Much Love,
Sheila

So Anchor & Hope is my Persian family's get together spot. It always, without fail, ends up at the end of the night with a tug-o-war for the check, which inevitably leaves someones father or uncle in Iran or elsewhere disgraced for having his respective family member lose the grab. This place, therefore, has that special magic that only certain places can have....the perfect mix of great food, but more importantly the power to impart lasting memories. I have only to close my eyes and I am transported to the patio on The Cut, across from the Young Vic theatre and elbows deep with the London financial elite, partaking in some serious beer drinking.

This place is what I consider an off-shoot of the Fergus Henderson, St. John empire. You will find any number of traditional British dishes on any given night. The menu changes to reflect whatever is seasonal, so you will never have to eat anything that was not pulled out of the ground within the week or recently butchered.

This last trip turned out to be a food extravaganza. We had pork wrapped in prosciutto, leg of lamb that had been roasted for hours with rosemary, duck hearts, and so many other things that are now lost to the haze of wine and beer that was also consumed. What A&H does best is meat. This sounds horribly vague and overreaching, but its the truth. Gross meats and delicate meats all come out of their kitchen fork tender, glistening with the right kind of fat, and more importantly always melts in my mouth. To be fair, I feel like fish is not so much their forte...not bad, just not great.

You must also be aware that some things on their menu are quintessential British. Take for example, Potted Shrimps....what we thought would be some kind of shrimp salad of sorts, turned out to be a ramekin of the most pathetically small shrimp, with shells intact, that we then had to proceed to take apart to eat. Needless to say, that has been a pass in all subsequent visits. Now if we had been proper Brits, we would have known immediately what this dish entailed. So, tread carefully, and feel free to ask the waitstaff...they don't bite.

Then there is the desserts. What I recommend is asking them what they have on offer the minute you sit down so you can immediately order it. This place sells out of things within the first hour of service. Some of their puddings and trifles go faster. If they have anything of any interest, just go for it! If you are visiting, chalk it up to vacation, if you are a local, chalk it up to "can't make this bugger at home."

I can't leave this review without a few words about ambiance. Its not fancy. Its wooden tables and chairs in a dining room, but when this place fills up and people are talking and laughing and eating, it just has it. You feel that energy and it makes you want to come back for more. Its hard to put words to a feeling, but I can say that this place has my full endorsement. Just go with some of your favorite people in the world, get a bottle of wine, and let London show you what its got!

I'm Part of the Industry!

So dear readers,

I am going to take a quick break from my travel writing to let you know that I have taken a job in the food industry working for a pretty cool endeavor. I am working as the lead server/semi-night manager at Local: Mission Eatery at 3111 24th Street in San Francisco.

I know many of you are tired of hearing about local, natural, organic, sustainable, blah blah blah....but these guys are salt of the Earth.

Yaron Milgrom, owner and semi-live in at the restaurant is all about the hood. His family lives a few blocks away and come in on a regular basis. Just a few nights ago, as we came in to set up for dinner, his son, Cruv, was sleeping in one of the corners. Yaron really cares about this often culinarily neglected corner of the Mission and through his efforts it is really starting to gain a name in the city.

Executive chef, Jake Des Voignes is the brains behind the food....and its damn good food. Yea, he has been around the block, but it is my sense that he is given full reign at LM to really let loose. His gnocchi is sublime, broths light and airy, and he basically makes magic with any form of meat product.

Jake's wife, Shauna runs the bakery in the back, Knead Patisserie, and also labors to create a really stellar dessert menu for us. David considers himself a dessert expert and he has as of yet to find a place he likes better. He ends up stopping in at times just to eat one of Shauna's newest creations. Much like Jake with meat, Shauna has a magic touch with pastry....I actually first stopped in to LM during a work break to pick up a sampling of her treats...let's just say after that I was hooked.

Finally, there is the space itself. Super cool design, without losing what originally made it awesome. So awesome that we were not only nominated as one of the best designed SF restaurants from California Home and Design, but we actually won! Let me suffice it to say, that you should just drop in to check it out.

So that is about it from my end. I meet great people every night I work and hope that this job falls in line with my hopes of working during the day in freelance food writing! Here we go!

Les Papilles

I must admit, Les Papilles made it on the list due to another Anthony Bourdain episode. I watched that show with hungry eyes, itching to jump on a plane to Paris. I had been to Paris before, but felt like this was my chance to do it my way. I must say, since this is one of my last posts for this trip, that Paris is all that and more. Not only the food, but thanks to David I was able to experience the amazing art scene as well. Parisians deserve to be snobby...I would be too if this was my hometown. Instead, I get to be snobby about skiing and hiking :)

Les Papilles is in the Latin Quarter. Its teeming with students, French hipsters, and tourists streaming south from Notre Dame, looking for the "West Bank" experience. The night of our reservation David and I found ourselves caught in a blitzkrieg snow storm, so we jumped from cafe to cafe, waiting for the fooding hour.

Once 7:30 hit, we ducked from doorway to doorway until we finally made it to our spot. The inside immediately reminded me of Antico Roscioli in Rome. Small narrow space, with a larger alcove in the back. One side of the narrow space devoted to wine/beer/bites, and kitchen somewhere in the back.

The menu is set each night. Three courses for 30 some odd Euros....STEAL! This place is also known for its wine, which lines the walls. One word of warning....pick your own bottle. I let the manager pick for us, and then I noticed as I walked the restaurant, almost every other table had the same bottle. I am not disputing the wine was not good, but definitely not great, plus it makes everyone feel special if they think something was picked just for them....just some words of advice:)

The course break-up was as follows:

1. Sweet Potato Soup with Chorizo, Croutons, Paprika, Quenelle of Cream & Crispy Parsley
2. Beef Roast with Carrot, Snap Peas, Wax Potato, Sun-Dried Tomato & Onion in a Red-Wine/Beef Stock
3. Chocolate Mousse with Caramel Foam

The beef roast was achingly good. Perfect morsels of fork tender beef, dripping with rich and balanced red wine juice, cut with sweet medallions of carrot and peas. Everything about this was perfect, in the most simple sense. There was nothing elevated about this...It came out in a huge crock and could easily have fed two, but due to its sheer goodness, not one piece of meat was left. Unfortunately, this meant I could not finish the mousse, but I made sure to scoop out all the caramel foam, which had the ubiquitous French inclusion of the right amount of salt!

Would I come back to Les Papilles....Yes. It is on par with Le Chateaubriand, as one of those places that would be on regular rotation if I were to move to Paris. Ah, how I miss it!

Taillevent

As I said before, I could not visit Paris and not make at least one reservation at an old standby. I did my homework, scoured the "foodie" boards, and finally settled on Taillevent, mere steps from the Arc de Triomphe.

It is super white tablecloth...jacket required kind of place. Also, because I made the reservation for Turkey Day, the place was filled with wealthy WASP-y Americans. Dave and I kind of had a kick talking about and guessing what everyone else's story was.

So on to the food/service/ambiance.

Food was gooood. There was a lot of restraint in each dish. What could have been excessive use of certain new techniques came out with a great counter-balance of French culinary tradition. I am going to apologize in advance for my woefully inadequate descriptions of the food. I somehow failed to grab a menu and therefore only have my hand notes to go off of. Suffice it to say, this is another Sheila "must go" recommendation.

Amuse: marrow with celery mousse

1. Scallop with grapefruit marmalade

2. White fish with eggplant puree

3. Passion fruit souffle

I must say my favorite, was the scallop dish, which was raw brilliance cut with the nuanced acid of the grapefruit marmalade. Also, although I am not a souffle person, this one was great with a passion fruit cream.

I think I also owe a bit on the service at this place. Awesome! It was not in the ass-kissing sort of fine dining school of thought, but just seriously tight. It was a smooth symphony, with everyone chiming in when necessary. Dave is not a fan of any of this, but I appreciate it given my own service background.

Also, although the ambiance is a bit stuffy, the place has definitely gone through a decor overhaul in the last few years. It is done up in a non-offensive melange of creams and browns with comfy banquettes...which I like! They also sit people side by side, which is great if you are with a special someone...or close friend!

So all in all, this was a win, albeit an expensive win....save this one for a special occasion or holiday, but make sure to give it a go.

Breizh Cafe

Ah, crepes. I have a love/hate relationship with crepes, specifically, if they suck I am not happy, but oh if they are good...I am in heaven!

Breizh Cafe is about as close to a traditional Brittany crepe as you can get. It is in a great neighborhood in the Marais, quite close to the Picasso Museum (still closed...le sigh). Word of warning, however, it is a sardine can of a place. It is built for svelte Europeans, not us supersized Americans, but Dave and I managed.

We ordered a carafe of local, organic Cider, that was just the right amount of musty bouquet and sweet-tart taste. We also went with crepes from the "local" board. My crepe with bacon was unmemorable, but Dave's with local scallops was divine. Think sour, buckwheat crepe, nicely crisped, with sweet succulent scallops and a white cream/wine sauce.

Of course, after such a high we were worried dessert may not live up to our new expectations, but this was blown away by a crepe finished with salty caramel and crispy sugar. So simple, yet somehow exactly what we needed. Its as if Breizh has a gustatory telepathy...they are the best kind of food pushers.

Breizh was not a fancy spot, or one you would linger at, but you could tell this was a locals place (aside from the other foreign food fanatics) and rightfully so.

La Gabinoteca

Ok, so Dave and I follow Anthony Bourdain...a LOT! I have had a mini-crush on him since the publishing of Kitchen Confidential. Dave tried to clear out some of my books awhile back and this one was not going anywhere. When Travel Channel announced the inception of his show, "No Reservations," I nearly wept for joy. So it seems natural that when the Madrid show aired, conveniently a few weeks before our trip, that at least one (but in our case two) spot made my list.

La Gabinoteca is a cool place. Its one of those spots where you feel kind of awesome for finding it and even better after you try the amazing food. This place is headed up by chef, Nino Redruello and I would call the format, "nouveau tapas." Another thing that moves this place high up in the ranking is the affordability quotient. This was one of our favorite restaurants on our long trip, but also one of the cheapest at the end of the night.

So here is a rundown of our meal:

1. Tomate de Almeria en ensalada

2. Berberechos al natural

3. Huevo, patata y trufa

4. Bocata de calamares

5. Carne roja gallega con sal inglesa

6. Fideado con pulpo y sepia

In this instance I am going to recreate my notes for each course. This may seem unconventional, but I don't think I can really elaborate without giving you my first impressions.

1. Heirloom-esque tomatoes with a magic combination of salt, oil, + acid!

2. Cockles served in a can with homemade chips...super oceany; not a fan with the chip, but without it is a chewy, briny morsel

3. Wow...truffle mania...creamy potato; yolky egg; touch of salt

4. Calamari sandwich; Crisp and crunchy tentacles with mayo and a green bell pepper relish

5. Medium rare, rich, velvety, medallions paired perfectly with salty crystals

6. Pasta made from octopus...cross between pasta and octopus in mouth feel with a casserole-esque taste...kind of breadcrumb, cheesy goodness

Sorry if these descriptions seem disjointed, but first impressions are the ones that matter and these are mine. All I can say is La Gabinoteca is one of those places that would make a weekly rotation on any locals list. Anthony did not lead us astray!

La Abaceria

So after my day in Ronda I took a three hour bus to Seville to meet up with the boyfriend. He had been in London visiting a friend and we agreed it would be good to have him around to stave off all the sexy Latin men that were supposedly hounding me;) Unfortunately, I came down with what I thought was going to be a game changing cold. I was shivering, sick stomach, cold sweats...awful! I told Dave to go out with a friend we were meeting up with and that hopefully things would look up in the morning. Somehow, a higher power intervened, knowing how much this trip meant to me and I was up and rearing to go at 9 am.

Dave and I started with a stop at a churro stand. I made the mistake of not asking for a sprinkling of sugar on my packet and therefore made do with bland dough-y fried nuggets. We made up for it at lunch, however.

La Abaceria is a hole in the wall. But this hole in the wall made a damn good paella. The rice was a beautiful golden yellow, from the infusion of saffron and interspersed with a generous serving of chicken (only thing I could have done without), fish, shrimp, and chorizo. The color was a precursor for what turned out to be butter in my mouth! It was well worth the trip to Sevilla just for this dish (but the magnificent Alcazar was a close second:).

Tragabuches

As those of you who know me realize, I will travel for food. This sometimes means a short detour from a pre-scheduled outing, to an all out, 180 degree turn from the course. Lunch at Tragabuches, in Ronda fit somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. I ended up convincing two Americans I met at my hostel in Granada to join me (not at Tragabuches mind you) on my adventure.

To start, Ronda is really a great idea for a day trip, but only that. It is a beautiful city built directly abutting a deep canyon. The city snakes and winds around dipping down all the way to the valley below. It was one of the major sights for Inquisition trials, which gives it a creepy factor that is hard to shake. But what really gets my heart pumping is not the beautiful canyon vistas, or the crazy Catholic history, but a one Michelin star outfit run by executive chef Benito Gomez.

Tragabuches is traditional. Traditional walk in and have your coat and scarf immediately whisked away. Traditional seated with chair pulled out and pushed in. Traditional with someone virtually walking into the bathroom with you. Traditional crumbing and marking and blah blah blah. I have to get this off my chest, but I felt so bad for the front of house staff that day. There was another solo diner who was downing glass after glass of what seemed to be pretty nice wine, while a bottle of something real nice was breathing. Well once that happened and a taste was poured for this guy, he disputed the quality! Then not only did the sommelier come over, but so did the manager. They stood there and discussed for a good fifteen minutes before the bottle was whisked away! Yikes is all I can say. The bottle was then offered to a table of about twelve lively Spanish men already enjoying their own wine, but I saw them happily polish that baby off. So much for a "turned" bottle.

I could go on, but rant aside this is what my tasting menu looked like:

1. Cod Fish Yogurt with Trout eggs and Red Sichyo

2. Tomato "Alinao"; Tomate sorbet; black olives and Picual Olive oil

3. "Ajo Blanco" of Pistachio; Cherries in lavender perfume and meringuer pistachio

4. Foie with goat's cheese with caramelised green apple

5. Season Mushrooms

6. Roasted Sea Bass; Truffled cabbage and Jabugo mayonnaise

7. Iberian Pork Cheeks, Caramelized root vegetables puree

8. Coffee cream; Muscovado sugar, bananas and white chocolate ice-cream

9. Textured Chocolate with Jamaican flavours and black beer sorbet

I must say course number two was almost identical to what I had at Cinc Sentits for course one ("Pa amb tomaquet"; fresh tomato sorbet, garlic air, toasted peasant bread). This one was better...there was an olive base that gave the sweet tomato sorbet a perfect foil, finished with just the right amount of salt.

After looking over my notes, all I have for the Ajo Blanco soup is OMG...and that's about it. I wrote that the sweet cherry meat and the creamy cold ajo blanco explodes in one's mouth, with a texture contrast provided by the crispy pistachios. It was a bowl licking dish.

The fifth course came out as a magic mushroom forest. Now if someone had slipped real magic mushrooms into my aperitif, then this dish would have really garnered a wow factor, but alas it was merely whimsical at best. The mushrooms, although clearly fresh and local, had little flavor infusion and in this setting were crying out for something. There was a white powder "jam" and quail eggs that I rationed for each bite to give the mushroom a boost, but once these accouterments ran out, so did my mushroom consumption.

The protein courses ranged from O-K (pork) to off putting (sea bass) so not much to report on there. After all that I was praying dessert would steady the roller-coaster ride I was on, and at least for the finale it did. The chocolate dessert came with a brown beer ice cream, chocolate "truffle" and dark chocolate sand. The beer was rich and complex, like a good stout and it really complemented the dark chocolate represented in two different formats.

All in all, I was happy to say I have been to Tragabuches. I think Gomez is on to some good things, but needs to step up his game when it comes to the proteins and infusing flavor into certain ingredients. Many of the dishes were playful or had one or two "cool" elements, but at the end of the day it is my taste buds that need to be convinced.

Restaurante Cunini

So after a few glorious days in Barcelona I hopped a Spanair flight (circa 1987 plane...my knees were literally locked into the seat pocket in front of me and cold air blowing on my feet) to Granada. Heading from the Catalan capital to the heart of Andalucia was definitely a change, but all I can say is wowo! Aside from amazing FREE TAPAS (the people of Granada pride themselves on this...calling the rest of Spanairds cheapskates) Granada is breathtaking. It is in a valley that snakes up and around the surrounding hills with the majestic Alhambra towering over it all from the highest perch.

The first night I arrived I was worried I was going to have to scrap my plans to visit Restaurante Cunini for the next night because I set up a special Flamenco booking that ruined my food plans. Somehow, the food gods intervened, because I left my hostel the first night to wander the streets without my guide and let my nose guide me. Well, it led me directly to the Plaza de la Pescaderia where the twinkling lights of Cunini called my name. I really couldn't believe it because I had taken such a round-about way to get there. Clearly, it was meant to be that I eat at this place.

I did not eat in the dining room, opting for the more casual vibe at the tapas bar. Let me warn you Americans or other travelers not used to standing while eating....this is the only option, but you will be rewarded with amazing food at even better prices. This place had a really cool, local vibe with a bit of a 50's flashback...all waiters (no ladies) in vests and bow ties. This is another English language barrier spot, so I really recommend having a small dictionary or come in ready to point and mime your order.

Another tip along the food line is to go slooow. I made the mistake of ordering about three things at once and then noticed that I would get free plates of whatever would be rotating out of the kitchen. This happened about once every 20 minutes so the best bet is order one item, wait and get two other free things in the interim.

I started with the infamous Gambas a la Plancha. If you have not been to Spain, then I think it is less than likely that you have had the pleasure of tasting the most sweet and juicy prawn of your life. This is achieved by leaving the shell on, slathering the prawn with a ton of oil and salt and a quick grill job. You, the eater, are then required to peel that shell off and savor the magic inside. I had already enjoyed a seafood platter at Kiosko Universal in the Boqueria Market in Barcelona, but Cunini killed.

I then had fried Hake filets that came gratis out of the kitchen. These were light meaty joys with a perfectly balanced salt-kissed crust.

I noticed that Cunini was touting Jamon Iberico Cinco Jotas, which for all of the uninitiated is the Rolls Royce of Spanish ham. This is the acorn fed, free range, etc. etc. variety. Anywho, once you put a piece of this in your mouth you taste a "meaty fat explosion." It is hard to adequately describe the perfect combination of complex, gamey pig with the supple, melting fat that accompanies each bite, but trust me, if you see this on the menu in Spain you should order it at least once, or twice. After awhile, however, David and I were so overwhelmed by Jamon that we stayed away all together. We surprised many Madrilenos by refusing to order Jamon Iberico at any of the restaurants we dined at during our last outpost before jetting off to Paris.

I then found a plate of Boquerones fritos in front of me. Boquerones are anchovies and in Spain you will find them in fried, grilled and "marinated" form. I must say I tend towards the marinated camp, but these little fried nuggets were a happy union of salt, crispy batter, and acid from a sprinkling of lemon.

Lastly, I had another "free" plate of what seemed to be a fried cousin of the squid. It had short, stumpy tentacles, but unfortunately, it suffered from a timing issue because it tasted cold and the squid itself was too tough...probably would have shined with a short grill job and a slathering of local olive oil.

Aside from some mis-steps, Cunini proved to be a solid seafood contender and a very welcoming opening night to a wonderful side trip to Granada....a must see in my book.

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.