Walking Wounded in Corsica…but Still Eating…

18-19 October 2017

I made my way to Corsica for a very short trip as a bit of planning cock-up required somewhere to go between Geneva and Toulouse, and Aiacciu (Ajaccio) was one that fit the picture. So why not, right? Despite my dislike for cruise ship towns, having just endured it in Juneau, I ended up at yet another…

Season is nearly done, so many places are already on slow motion. Got to my spartan hotel and wandered around quite a bit, exploring the old town and fort area. Nothing was open for food just yet, so I parked myself somewhere for a few glasses of wine before I went to look for dinner.

One place that showed up on my radar was A Madunuccia. Not much info for this or many of Aiacciu’s eateries online, but I saw enough to imagine this was more local cuisine than tourist-centric; for one it’s not focused on burgers or pizza. I got there and sat al fresco as the proprietor was just chilling out, happy to see customers.

I ordered and enjoyed a nice chilled flask of red…the way red should be enjoyed in this part of the world. And soon my starter arrived, some nice baby cuttlefish in parsley. I love cuttlefish, and get them whenever I can since it’s so hard to get them in the US. Nice stuff, wish there was more, but I had a big main coming…

A nice tripe dish, nice and rustic. Enjoyed it very much, and the portion wasn’t overwhelming (as I’ve heard it tends to happen in Aiacciu), so that was pretty enjoyable. I finished my wine, enjoyed a little tipple and headed off, thanking the proprietor.

Being out of tourist season the town was extremely quiet. Unfortunately, it also means it’s dark as hell. And idiots leave al fresco dining furniture all over the place, blocking pavements and other walkways. This resulted in me trying to get around some chairs and missing a slight, perhaps 2cm indentation on the walkway…and I went down hard… Cracked my right foot and twisted the living hell out of the ankle, and trying to brace from a harder crash I did some nasty damage to my left big toe.

Oh goody, both feet screwed up…this is just what I needed mid-way into a 2-week-long trip… And crap, I only have a few Advil in my luggage…ugh…

Wasn’t a fun night but in the morning things weren’t too bad. My toe was bruised in a strange pattern that made me suspect it was broken. My right ankle was bad, but I may have re-broken a bone in the middle of the foot. Damn it. Limped around all morning, but as I always do I never let pain stop me on a trip. Even if I am walking 1 step every 3 seconds…

I tried to explore the area, but it was not easy with the pain and the hilly terrain. I just decided to take it easy, and do a nice lunch. I kept reading about a place called A Nepita, which is helmed by a chef-owner originally from Britain. But it focused on creative French cuisine, so why not…

I made a booking to ensure I had a table, and went back to the hotel to rest my aching feet. Then limped back out and got to the restaurant. Today’s menu looked interesting and I made my choice. Enjoyed a little wine but there was someone with a baby that was playing some child’s entertainment thing in full volume…come on…

In any case, the food arrived soon. The first was a fricassée of sardine and octopus. Not bad, an interesting combination fortified by vegetables and chorizo. Not bad. Service was just 1 person, and when they got busy it dragged a bit. Really lame that the bread came out AFTER I finished this dish, which was almost begging for brea… Then after awhile my main arrived.

This was an excellent roast veal, the meat was nearly perfect. Flavourful and tender, just exactly how veal should be. Lovely stuff, enjoyed it very much. But the service was just a mess so I skipped dessert and just settled up. I guess the server’s assistant brought the bill…lol…

I limped back to my hotel to try not exacerbate this. And of course I had to spend some time trying to make sure my plans for Toulouse aren’t totally scuppered thanks to this unexpected set of injuries. Popped another pair of Advil and just tried not to push things too far the rest of the afternoon, catching up on reading…not the best way to spend the afternoon in Corsica, but not much choice.

For dinner I chose a place about a block away, which is what I think my ankle will allow me to do. Now that is the part that’s causing the most trouble…geez, but my toe’s bruise patter is really suspect… Anyway, I got to Bistrot Abbatucci — named for the Napoleonic soldier who has his monument right next to the eatery.

Quiet night, so I sat outside and enjoyed some wine. Looked over the menu, fought myself on the good choices, and made it. Then chilled and soon the food appeared — and geez the portions…

First up was a huge plate of éperlans — smelt. Lovely stuff, I love these little fried fish. I can eat them all day, but this was a huge portion… And considering my main was likely to be big too…

More cuttlefish, this time in a nice tomato broth with rice. Really a hearty, filling, yet simple dish. I enjoyed it but it was extremely voluminous. And by this time, some moron was sitting at a nearby table, not eating, but smoking up a storm… After enough time I was too full to continue, and starting to cough from the chain-smoking individual’s contribution to air pollution.

I went in to thank the staff to explain why I’m settling up and headed out…just as the moron actually leaves himself. Oh well, too late. I limped back to my hotel, suddenly glad my short Corsica trip is coming to an end. Popped 2 Advil, saving the last 2 for tomorrow morning.

Sadly, this short Corsica trip will be remembered for all the wrong things…sigh…

A Madunuccia
10 Rue des Glacis

A Nepita
4 Rue San Lazaro

Bistrot Abbatucci
66 Cours Napoléon
Aiacciu, Corsica

Review: Bayview

17 October 2017

When I was researching the Geneva part of my trip one restaurant kept popping up on my radar — Bayview. This Michelin-starred restaurant seems to have quite good write-ups, and the menu looked interesting enough. I had a nice lunch but was hoping the last dinner would be something memorable — much more than last night’s good food but challenged service.

I got to the Hotel President Wilson after walking through some less-than-nice areas…Geneva is a contrast sometimes. Got there and already service seems a bit messy at the start. I was seated and immediately they seemed flustered when I rejected the idea of a champagne. I’m sorry, I am not a champagne fan, I don’t like anything bubbly except Alka Seltzer. After that Chantecler disaster I’m staying away from these schemes.

Of course they brought me the wine list instead of the apertif list, which I had to ask. And I looked over the menu and frankly I had a bad feeling about this place already, so I decided to not do a tasting menu tonight. Plus, it featured boar, and I had boar for lunch. And more, the ala carte menu items looked far better than the tasting menu selections, which rarely happens. Hmmm…

Of course I ordered after they pestered me, and I pestered them for the apertif list yet again…and of course they brought the amuse out already…

That turned me off having any apertifs…what a timing cock-up here… In any case, the nibbles were pretty lame, nothing to write home about. I didn’t even bother to take a photo… This is turning into yet another Michelin clusterfuck I’m afraid…

After a little while the horribly overpriced ala carte menu started. First up bass crudo…

Honestly very boring, there’s little going for the fish nor with the unhelpful items strewn all over. This fish is supposed to be full of flavour — I know, I cook it at home. But somehow they made a rich, flavourful fish into something bland and boring. That takes some work…

Sigh…this is not gonna be a good night. So glad I didn’t do the tasting. Then the main course, the rib of pork.

Now this was excellent, a pata negra treat. Lovely meat, cooked perfectly. Now this is what a Michelin kitchen should produce! Being not a fan of truffles the potato may have been lost on me, but it’s generally a good dish.

It took awhile to get the staff’s attention, and I mentioned I wanted to do a cheese course. Of course took them 15 minutes to produce the cheese cart, and they buggered off, leaving the rather odourous cart sitting there unattended next to me for another 5 minutes… This is really not the way to do it… Several other tables were staring as the cheese fumes were overwhelming their spaces…

Eventually a good selection, very voluminous, although some of it (esp the blue) was on the salty side. But a nice set of local and French cheeses. At this point, for some inexplicable reason, the service turned 180-degrees and became quite smooth…just when I’m finishing. Great, eh?

They brought a small citrusy closer as I opted for no dessert. I’m not gonna press my luck. I paid the overpriced bill and headed out. Geneva certainly didn’t do much in my book, unlike Zürich and the excellent EquiTable. These 2 days were just overpriced drab items with really sad service.

Oh well, back to my overheated hotel room. Off to somewhere cooler than the room tomorrow — Corsica.

Bayview
Hotel President Wilson
47 Quai Wilson
Genève, Suisse

Review: Au Pied de Cochon

17 October 2017

I woke up early after that good-but-service-challenged dinner at Le Jardin not because of anything to do with dinner, but it was just hot. Even with the windows open, it was still ridiculously hot in Switzerland in October. Sigh…I really cannot travel outside of winter anymore…

I had a long day planned, which took me to various places all over town and into neighbouring municipalities. I was pretty knackered when I got to my lunch destination in Geneva’s old town. Lunch was at the popular Au Pied de Cochon.

I may have been one of the first there, but the place filled up very quickly with the lunch crowd this Tuesday. In fact, nearly every table was full by the time I left, which says much about this place. Mostly locals, with a sprinkle of tourists. The menu was nice and hearty, and I was thinking of having its namesake (as I do when I visit the similarly-named place in Montreal), but it was October and they had a special game menu, so…

I went with the game. Some wine was enjoyed and soon the starter arrived…

Mushrooms are some of the finest things to be consumed, and this dish did not disappoint. A nice selection, cooked rather well, bringing out their unique flavours. Lovely start. Then the main course, wild boar.

Not as good as the starter, but not bad. Enjoy having *real* wild boar, not the farmed “wild boar” you get in North America. The sprouts were not bad but the Spätzle were really nice. A pretty good lunch!

The place was just rammed at this stage, so I decided to head out and free up the table for more customers. A good place overall. You’d think with the location it would be a tourist trap, but it does its job very well — and locals like it, so it’s one-upped any of the real tourist traps within a few steps from this place.

Good stuff.

Au Pied de Cochon
4 Place du Bourg-de-Four
Genève, Suisse

Review: Le Jardin

16 October 2017

I happily took a break from France after some lacklustre meals in Nice (not to mention the utterly disastrous one) and arrived in Geneva on a Monday early afternoon. The efficiency of this town is just amazing sometimes, from the free train ride from the airport to my hotel’s ridiculously clinical and perfect check-in that a robot would struggle to better. Wow.

Only issue for me for this otherwise good hotel is the lack of AC, which is not fun when Geneva is unseasonably warm — it was warmer than the Riviera… So not much fun after a long walk around the area. Cold showers are a godsend sometimes… Anyway, this Monday evening dinner was planned for a place called Le Jardin, just across the way from the Brunswick Monument.

I was asked to wait as they were not ready… I am not a big fan of late dining hours, especially if I skipped lunch. Ugh… Eventually I was seated and the original table was boiling hot, so they shifted me to a corner. It was much cooler, but it also was positioned that the service staff could not see me — which is good, and bad…

I ordered and soon the amuse made its appearance, an interesting combination of lentils and cheese…

Not bad actually. With a local white poured we moved into the dinner. First up was crudo…

Bream, really nice actually. The apple helped it along though the quality was good enough to not need much, but it was an inspired combination. Nice stuff. Too bad the service seems to be as messy as it began…

Anyway, the meal moves on. That was a nice start. Then the second dish, and it looked as good…

The blue lobster was excellent, the jus especially potent. A Swiss necessity with the added Piora cheese, but the crumble was a distraction. A good dish, pretty happy with the food so far. And we move on, with the next dish — pheasant.

I’m not a big pheasant fan, so perhaps this was lost on me. Nothing to write home about, pretty ordinary. That breading was terrible though, mushy and lacking in flavour but winning in the distraction department… There’s a long list of gamebirds I’d rather have over pheasant to be honest. But the pine ceps were quite nice.

At this point with the dining room busier, the service has utterly collapsed. Friendly staff, but they seem to be more keen on chatting out-of-view than anything. Really poor FoH training here. I had to stand up to get their attention a few times over the evening…

And it took ages for the cheese course to arrive, which I specifically added… Why wouldn’t I, I’m in Switzerland!

The selection was pretty nice — they do know their cheeses here. Three of the four were cow, the blue being excellent. A nice little set, enjoyed it. But again, I had to get up to get their attention… I’m starting to see why this place doesn’t have a Michelin star. The food is of good quality, and easily up to Michelin’s increasingly modest standards. But the service is a cluster, friendly or not. You can’t run a fine dining hotel restaurant in a city like Geneva like this. Frankly the lack of Michelin star is very, very telling…

The dessert finally arrived, a chocolate cep…topped by more of that crap… Come on, this has got to be the worst culinary trend of recent years. STOP WASTING MONEY ON EDIBLE GOLD!!! The chocolate itself was okay but the temperature was totally messed up. This was frozen solid and hard as a rock. Careless.

In any case, it was a weak end to an otherwise good series of dishes. The service kept failing, and I could not get anyone’s attention for the bill. No way I’m staying for a last drink… I settled up and left shaking my head. This place could be so, so much better — and earn their Michelin star — if they just bothered to train the FoH to a basic level of competency.

Le Jardin
Hôtel Le Richemond
Rue Adhémar-Fabri 8-10
Genève, Suisse

Food’s Not That Nice in Nice…

14-15 October 2017

I got to Nice after that lacklustre day of food in Monaco. Nice and the rest of the region has never really attracted me, as I am not someone who chases the sun and sea — which is why 99% of people come to this area. And frankly, the local cuisine has also never tempted me much in the past. But I had a reason to visit the region for a short stay, so gotta make the best of it food-wise.

I was already tired when I got to Nice midday, as although Monaco’s sole train station was not far from my hotel, the ticket machines on that side of the station were all broken (from possible vandalism), and I had to leg it to the other end of the platform (basically a third of a way thru the city-state) to the ticket office, where idiots in front were totally oblivious there were other folks queueing. Finally got my ticket, and had to sprint with my luggage onto the train…the elderly folks behind me in the queue had also just made it as the doors closed…

My plan was to visit the famous Cimetière du Château that afternoon, so I found a place in the old town to have lunch — ironically a Portuguese place called Le Barbecue. Unpretentious little place, I chose to sit outside as it looks boiling hot inside…

I wasn’t here for the service or anything else, just a nice quick lunch. It began with a solid octopus salad. Luckily no one smoking near me to ruin the meal, but the person next to me was slurping his food so loudly it was beyond annoying. Take a guess where this tourist came from. Emphasise SLURPING.

Then the main came out, some nice grilled sardines. Simply done, a tad big of a dish with all the additional greens. But good for what it had to do — fill me up. I headed out satisfied and climped up the old castle hill to the cemetery. Very recommended, spectacular monuments and amazing views of the city…

That evening, of course, was the horrendously expensive mistake at Le Chantecler… I won’t say more about it, though I may when my credit card statement arrives in 2 weeks…

The next day I had a tough schedule as I had to get to the outskirts of town during the afternoon for the main reason visiting Nice. But first, I had to find food on a Sunday…not an easy task when you want quality. One of the issues with eating in many parts of Europe are the weekend closures of many good restaurants, which is especially endemic in France. This problem plagued me here in Nice and elsewhere during this trip.

I usually don’t do non-local ethnic food when I travel, since I really want to enjoy the traditional local fare, but this time I made a rare exception and ended up at Mad’in Viet near the main rail station. There are a lot of Vietnamese places in town, and many of the reviews I read were good (although there was a hilarious one where a Chinese tourist berates a restaurant for not having Chinese-speaking servers — and the owners reminded in a reply that they were NOT a Chinese restaurant…).

A simple, again non-pretentious little eatery, I was first in at 12 midday but very quickly the place filled up. I think I made the right choice here, and when my rolls arrived I smiled.

Perhaps not as nice as the ones I had in Vietnam, but still excellent. A hefty portion. After eating a few of them the proprietor came up and indicated that the best way to eat was wrapping it in a leaf, but I replied saying it was too hot to eat with my hands — which is why I was using chopsticks. Lol. Then the main course…

This was excellent, a rice pot with various seafood. The flavour of this is absolutely lovely, and the seafood extremely generous. The best thing I ate in Nice, though that’s probably not saying that much… I thanked them and headed out pretty happy — and full.

Got myself to the other side of town near the airport to the Caucade area, where I went to visit the Russian Orthodox Cemetery. It had very limited hours, which is why I had to time it correctly with the limited weekend bus services. The cemetery is extremely historic for those of us who studied the region, especially the Russian Civil War. Those buried here is like a who’s who of Imperial Russian military history.

An excellent afternoon, worth all the woes of this part of the trip so far. Dinner choices again were limited this Sunday evening, and I had booked at one of the few places open — La P’tite Cocotte.

In the old town about a block from my lunch yesterday at Le Barbecue, it seems to be very popular especially when so many places are shut for Sunday evenings. Fellow diners ranged from locals with their dogs to foreign partiers who couldn’t stop talking about who they hooked up with the night before… And like the terrible edible gold on that ridiculous dessert last night, to top things off some privileged American girl was moaning about “white privilege” loudly…FFS…

In any case, the food was a little lacking, sadly. The escargots for start was lacking in seasoning, extremely bland polenta beneath. Too bad, this could have been excellent…

And the duck, although cooked pink, tasted like it sat there under a warming lamp. Tough and bland…sigh… I skipped dessert, seeing they are beyond busy and I can’t imagine it being that great after these 2 dishes. And I didn’t need to hear more of the awful convos around, so I headed out and closed my Nice account.

Can’t say this part of the trip has been good, but it’s done. Now off to Switzerland in the morning…

Le Barbecue
3 Rue du Four

Mad’in Viet
2 Place Saëtone

La P’tite Cocotte
10 Rue Saint-Augustin
Nice, France

Not Even Worth the Price in Monopoly Money! (Review: Le Chantecler)

14 October 2017

To be honest, the Riviera has never really appealed to me. I’m not a sun person, I’m not a beach person, I’m not a casino person, I’m not a poseur person. But I had my reasons to drop into this part of Europe for a short stay. After some lacklustre food in Monaco, I was hoping for far better in Nice.

The only place I planned ahead for on this segment of the trip was this evening, and my destination tonight is the 2-Michelin classic Le Chantecler. I’ve read various things about this place, and the mixed comments did concern me a little. But this opulent restaurant in the Hotel Negresco has been a classic for some time, so I can’t imagine it being as weak as some have suggested.

I arrived in a rather over-heated dining room. The opulence was lost on me as I was constantly trying to fan/cool myself down. One thing I do not like about places that insist on pouring bottled water for people is that they are CONSTANTLY NOT THERE when the glass is empty…and here we have the same issue…

Well, I looked over the menu and the most important aspect — I gasped at the price. Really? This makes Switzerland look cheap. Frankly, this dinner is gonna cost about the same as my Lasarte AND Xetra dinners in Barcelona COMBINED? This better be darn good…

It’s definitely one of those places for special occasions, and you can tell that from the diners who were drifting in slowly. I went with the tasting and let’s see where that goes. They really pushed hard to get overpriced champagne on you, and that was not appreciated — strike two, after the water debacle which continued all night. The amuse arrived soon after…

Looks nice, but all three pretty meh to be honest. The cauliflower cream on the bottom right was probably the best of the lot, the foie in the centre pretty ordinary, and the black pudding on the left was weak. Not the most impressive start. Then the second amuse…

Celeriac and haddock. This tasted odd the first bite, but grew on me as it went on. Not bad. But really, nothing very impressive for the taste buds so far.

The wine service also started, with a nice white from Provence, and we start with the first item — a pair of dishes featuring the scallop…

The cold dish was quite tasteless to be honest, the quality of the scallop was pretty weak. And the jelly really just muddied what little flavour the bivalve had. The hot one was far better, with a touch of samphire that was oddly low on taste (and salinity). Very mediocre stuff, not impressed at all…

I’m starting to worry a little, so far this has been really boring stuff. A nice chablis is poured and we went to the red mullet.

Now I’ve had a lot of good mullet from the Mediterranean, but this did not stand out. The bottarga was utterly tasteless, almost like it was shaved, and put away — and re-applied. The pickle did not complement, not at all. Not bad the fish itself, but again, very mediocre. I’ve had better at Lebanese holes-in-the-wall. Really staring to worry me. Are people just so overwhelmed with the room that they forget about the taste of the food? Sigh… A cool (thank goodness) red from Corsica is poured and we have our third dish.

Finally something good! A nice lamb dish with cep, with the meat tasting true and flavourful. Finally, a main ingredient that is sourced well and tasty. Not too thrilled it took so many dishes into this already nearly over dinner, but at least it’s here. I savoured this more than I would have at any other place, just because this was such a rare moment…

I had forgotten this was the end of the main courses already! It took awhile before we got to the cheeses as the dining room was becoming far more busy. And what was annoying all night was the bleed-through of loud bass from adjacent venues in the hotel. Not worthy of this place, not at all. A pinot noir is poured for the cheese spread…

Well, they do know their cheese. Some nice ones here, the camembert in calvados was the best of the lot. This was very nice. But it was also time for dessert…

I almost didn’t eat this when it came out. About the most tacky looking dessert I’ve ever seen. Silver (or is it platinum) leaf? Come on…this abuse of edible metals is really getting ridiculous. And that stupid name-plate? I crushed it and left it with the silver for them to see what is utterly unnecessary. I barely remember eating the rest of this… And, unnecessarily, there was a second dessert…

MORE CRAP! What is with this constant reminder where we are? You think we won’t remember? And all this WASTE OF FUCKING GOLD. This is the epitome of what’s wrong with Michelin dining. This was a joke of a night to be honest… This dessert was nearly abandoned…

I had enough. I saw my bill and this is probably the most expensive dinner I’ve ever had in my life by myself. And it was 6 short courses — with 2 horrible jokes of desserts that probably accounted for the cost due to the WASTE of commodities. There were very few highlights, the lamb was nice as was the cheese, but most of the other stuff was mediocre at best. A short menu for this price?

I have never been so insulted by a restaurant before. No, not by any individual, but just by this concept of ripping people off with mediocrity, living off some 1980s notion of “fine” Michelin dining. This is an anachronism that I would not pay 50 francs for. To pay over 400 euros for this is beyond an insult to decent taste.

After this dinner I’ve made a decision to start avoiding Michelin places, especially anything over 1 star. This is a total joke, and it further wrecks the Michelin brand.

AVOID AT ALL COST. Don’t waste your money here!

Le Chantecler
Hotel Negresco
37 Promenade des Anglais
Nice, France

Who Goes to Monaco to Eat?

13 October 2017

Despite the best efforts of that mess called Barcelona Airport I made it to Nice, and ran and hopped onto the bus for Monaco. We rolled into the Principality after a visually engaging ride, and I went to drop my bag and hiked up the Castle Hill. It amazes me to see young people waiting for the “bus” to go up…are people that lazy these days?

I got up to the top dodging the hoardes of tourists haphazardly coming down the other way, nearly wanting to elbow a few of them… I pushed past the crowd heading for the palace as I went to Castelroc, the restaurant across the parking lot. I guess it’s the slow season, as they told me they only opened for lunch. I had planned about 24 hours here in Monaco, and that also means two meals.

I walked in and they told me they were booked up…but was empty. I told them I had told them I was coming by email, so they reluctantly seated me. The service was a mess as I guess they were preparing for something, as there were a few sunglasses, dark-suit-wearing goons wandering around. Probably Russian oligarchs…geez…

In any case I finally got their attention and ordered. I chilled out with a glass of questionable wine when my starter arrived.

Chou farci, done in a local way. It’s not unlike the Ukrainian holubtsy or Polish gołąbki, but the stuffing was more rustic. Very filling. Then the main course arrived, the John Dory.

Mmm, surprisingly good, over a bed of pickled vegetables. The cream sauce was pretty nice. Not a bad way to start this short Monaco trip — though for some reason I got quite sick later on… In any case, took me about 20 minutes to get their attention to pay, and there were more goons walking around, so I got myself out of there.

I spent the afternoon wandering the old town but the hoardes of brain-dead tourists wore me down, so I headed back to the less-than-expected hotel for a rest. Dinner tonight was at a much-liked, off-the-tourist-track brasserie called Huit et Demi.

It was a nice evening, so I happily sat outside. No one was eating (yet), so I won’t be annoyed by smokers sitting outside, so I took the seat. Ordered a half bottle of red and enjoyed the quiet evening after I ordered. Chilled out for a bit before the first item arrived, one of the day’s specials…

Fried stuffed courgette flowers. Geez this is a huge plate. Sadly it was not very good. The batter was done okay, but there is no seasoning at all. The sauce was lame and didn’t help. I asked for most of this to be boxed…I can eat this as a snack later. Sipped on more wine before the main arrived, and it didn’t really impress me…

Côte de veau in a boring mushroom sauce. Really typical, nothing special, nothing to write home about. Adequate. Not expensive, so there’s that. But I was done. Jetlag is not playing nice this evening, so I drained the wine and headed out — and of course forgot my courgette flowers. Oh well, it would have gone to waste anyway.

Monaco may be impressive for many, but it’s totally missed on me. I deliberately didn’t want to book at the Alain Ducasse place even though I could have had dinner there, but I have no interest in dining at any of his places ever again. A few other top places just seemed uninviting. I guess my choices didn’t work too well, but who goes to Monaco to eat anyway?

Back to Nice in the morning, hoping it’s nicer…

Castelroc
1 Place du Palais

Huit et Demi
4 Rue Langlé
Monaco

Review: Xerta

12 October 2017

Had a good migdiada (siesta) and felt good, though still tired from all that climbing this morning. Dinner tonight was at another highly-anticipated restaurant, Xerta. Although “only” with 1 Michelin star, this was one of 2 places (alongside Lasarte) I planned my short Barcelona stay around — and I’m happy to be dining there tonight.

It’s not far from Lasarte, so I nearly repeated my journey and got there just as it opened. From the onset I knew this would be a different experience, as the service was all over the place… This is what I call the “Spanish disease” as restaurant staff seem unable to cope at their opening time — which is already later than anywhere else on the continent.

If you cannot run your service at a certain time, don’t open at that time. This reminded me of the cluster at Álbora in Madrid, where the service was so utterly frustrating and incompetent it overshadowed the fantastic food. Let’s hope tonight is not a repeat, I don’t need the BS…

I skipped the apertif and went with the tasting and pairing, so then the amuse set arrived…

Not bad really. The prawn in cream tasted nice but the texture of this dish was absolutely messy… The crispy bits were all okay, though the dumpling with razor was the best. The dashi in the glass was meh. Definitely not like last night…

In any case, with a few more guests arriving things started to flow far better, and the service improved significantly — thank goodness. The first wine was poured and the first dish arrived, listed as a selection of the day’s seafood…

Well, only here on the Iberian peninsula you get this at a Michelin-starred restaurant — with wet-wipes on the side. A nice set of clams and razors, the latter being especially nice. It was even better than this afternoon’s excellent ones, and the clams were delicious — as good as yesterday’s lunch. Nice start! As a sherry was poured we went to the next dish based on foie.

I’m not the biggest foie fan, so this didn’t really wow me. Not bad, although the crunchy corn was really a distraction. So far nice, but definitely not like last night — and I didn’t expect it to be. Next pour and next dish — tuna belly.

There is way too much going on here, which is a shame because this is a very nice slice. The citrus was a little too much, especially as the “wonton” under the belly basically neutralised the fattiness of the belly to a point of futility. Sigh… Oh, did I mention the pairing was a local (!!!) sake? It needs some work, though it is interesting…with an odd touch of acidity…

I didn’t know at the time that things are about to move far, far better, but was already really appreciative of the generous pours on the pairings. And clearly they are running at speed now, the service is now excellent and perfectly smooth. Perhaps a lesson — if you’re about to run a F-1 race, perhaps having your engines warmed up is a good idea instead of trying to start it at the waving of the flag…

The next dish is one of the early examples of the humour that the kitchen employs. This dish is called the “rich man’s breakfast”…

It’s a piss-take on a porridge, but with some very rich ingredients amongst the potato mash, such as foie and duck egg. An excellent dish actually, I like the whimsy too. Went down well with the glass of amontillado paired, working very well with that duck egg. Nice stuff. Then up next one of my faves, cap i pota rice…

Can’t see it, but the tripe flavour came out nicely, with the accompanying black pudding crisp. This was the first dish I wish was bigger, as it was really nice and I really wanted to get into it…but knowing there are more dishes coming I relented. That’s good, cuz the next dish featured a nice chunk of fish…

I’m not a great fan of sea bass, as I mentioned before, but again cooked very well and tasted very nice. The aubergine and miso flavours brought a lot out of this neutral fish, an excellent preparation. But I was also drooling in anticipation for the next course, which is something that caught my attention 2 months ago when I looked at the sample menu…

Oh my, was this eel good… Similar themes with aubergine and miso, but my goodness this eel was utterly divine. Skin solidly crispy, the flesh melting in your mouth. One of the very best pieces of eel I’ve ever had, and I’ve had many, many, many… Oh my…

I was making a lot of noise and one of the servers nodded with approval. I could have eaten more and more and more of this dish…goodness it was good. But then we had to move on, to the last main course of the evening, suckling pig.

Sadly this wasn’t a great close. The skin was nowhere as crispy as it should be, and that’s disappointing after the amazing crispy eel we got. I had a flashback to that amazing lunch in São Paulo at A Casa do Porco and sighed a little with this rendition…

I relaxed a bit. That was a pretty good series of dishes. A few were somewhat weak, some were excellent, and of course that amazing eel…all is forgiven with that eel! Then a selection of local cheeses…

And excellent set. I’ll apologise for not having more details but the same doc that had all my wine notes got deleted. I later found out that the notes app on a Galaxy S7, when the notes are too long and you close the app, it does not ask for the item to be saved…ugh…so I lost a lot of notes this trip. But I do remember the softs were good, but the blue was quite too salty for after all those savoury dishes.

I caught my breath as we now moved into the desserts, and I began laughing when the rice pudding was presented…

It’s a mini-paella! This is so absolutely cute! The mussel is chocolate, for instance. Cute and tasty! Again, enjoying the whimsy here! And into the final dessert, which is jokingly called “soap and water”…

This is a joyous coconut-centric dessert. Yes, I ate the piña colada-inspired “sponge” along with the very tasty soap (I’ll be happy to swear all day if I get to put this in my mouth!). In fact, the “soap” reminded me so much of haupia, one of my childhood favourites from Hawai’i…what a wonderful series of desserts!

Well, that was a good dinner. Again, a few issues here and there, but when it got good it was extremely good. Service was flawless a few dishes into the chaotic start, and despite a few weak dishes the good ones were just awesome. I’d heartily recommend this place.

A little final treat from the kitchen and I thanked the staff and headed on out. A very good dinner. Not as good as last night, but not much is. But this was perfectly nice, and a good way to close off this short Barcelona trip.

Off to the Riviera tomorrow. Gràcies, Barcelona!

Xerta
Carrer de Còrsega 289
Barcelona, Catalunya

Review: Escairón

12 October 2017

Woke up early still dreaming about that amazing Lasarte dinner…oh that trotter dish… Anyway, busy day today. I had forgotten today is one of Spain’s national days…and in this environment I was wondering what we’ll see in Catalunya. But first of all, I had a trek to make — to Montjuïc Cemetery.

One of the most amazing cemeteries you’d ever visit, the vista is already amazing but the monuments are amongst the finest you’ll ever see anywhere in the world. Again, those who think Recoleta in Buenos Aires is one of the most impressive has obviously never bothered to climb up Montjuïc. And it is a hike.

Most importantly, I hiked up to the Fossar de la Pedrera annex and visited the tomb of Lluís Companys, the executed leader of Catalunya. I was eyed suspiciously by the security guard, probably wondering why I was visiting a Catalan legend on a Spanish national day.

But a few hours of hiking this very high hill, up and down several times, I’ve had enough — especially my aching knee. I’m happy it’s not blown up like on previous trips involving elevation hiking, but it’s telling me don’t push it. So 3 hours later, I’m waiting for the bus in a surprisingly hot sun to get back towards Paral·lel.

My target for lunch wasn’t quite open so I quenched my thirst with a beer nearby before heading back. I was determined to have lunch at Escairón, a well-loved Galician place in the area. I love Galicians and they seem to like me, and I seek Galician places out wherever I go, so this was a natural place for me to have lunch.

I was sat upstairs (more climbing) and for the first half of my lunch I was the solitary figure. With a bottle of wine, I ordered my lunch and chilled out. After a little while my food began arriving.

Oh, a heavenly portion of razors…fresh from Galicia, these were just awesomely good. Meaty and full of their unique flavour, I was in heaven… My Galician friends back in NYC would be so jealous of these… Then my next course will probably piss off many of my instagram friends, which is why I’m not posting it there!

Mmm, grilled mountain hare. This was so full of flavour, deep and unlike poor farmed rabbits you get elsewhere — where they are fed badly and kept inhumanely, btw… I only eat them when they are sourced right. This was delicious. And yet I still had some wine left. So when the server asked me about dessert, I told him, and he smiled — and agreed it was the best Galician dessert. And it soon appeared, and several diners near me smiled with approval…

Yep, grilled sepia. I love cuttlefish to death and will eat them at every possibility. So hard to get them in the US, so whenever I am here I eat it liberally. Far better than any “dessert” for sure, ¡el mejor postre!

I headed out full and happy, but body was sore from all that Montjuïc climbing…and the spectre of jetlag is starting to make his voice heard, so I headed back for another migdiada…

Escairón
Carrer d’En Fontrodona 5
Barcelona, Catalunya

Review: Lasarte

11 October 2017

I had a good stroll after that wonderful and big lunch, but the lack of rest from the red-eye flight was catching up, so I headed to the hotel for a much-needed migdiada…that’s siesta in castillian… Having caught a little shut-eye, I headed out for dinner.

Tonight’s much-anticipated dinner is at Lasarte, a 3-Michelin gem in the middle of Barcelona. Now I’ve had some bad luck over the years with 3-Michelin places, many I didn’t bother to review, so I’m not sure if my Michelin curse continues or not. I got to the classy location just as it opened, sweating slightly from the extremely hot Metro…

With cava in hand, I relaxed and looked over the menu. The tasting looked fantastic, but there were stuff on the ala carte that looked tempting. So I asked if I could do the tasting, with one substitution — and my server said of course, but it was his smile that told me that was a very approved decision.

I relaxed as the service was about to start, and the chief for the front of the house came by for a greeting before the procession. So far service has been smooth, about as perfect as I would want. The bread came in a cute cart, but they were not very good…little did I know that was the only miss of the night…tho the butter service was cute. The procession of amuse came at one, first up was a nice prawn crisp.

Then some sunchoke and beet — with caviar…

Then the best one, the tempura ortiguilla…

Oh that last one was heavenly…and it continues with another heavenly item…

Eel and foie…oh goodness was this just fantastic. Then finally, one of my favourite things, razors…

It’s deep in the jalapeño cream (wish I took a pix before it was poured!), with a touch of licorice gelato. Lovely combination of flavours here, I am sold so far! The service has been smooth, not pushy, not too fast, no dragging. No waiting for water, no utensil issues. THIS is exactly what a Michelin experience should be!

After a proper moment to ready oneself the first wine pour came and soon followed the first dish in our tasting festivity — scallop.

This was a fine specimen, accompanied by strong essence of truffle and cauliflower, graced with a quail egg. Really a nice combination of flavours, nothing is overwhelming but it’s like they are all on the same team. Too many places overdo the ingredients and it turns conflicting rather than complementary. I rather my ingredients work with each other rather than trying to outdo each other. Great start!

With a nice pour, we move onto the second dish, the langostine. More specific, la cigala.

Another beauty, this time accompanied by the oft-derided colinap — or rutabaga (or swede). Cream had a touch of lemon and beef broth, which oddly worked well with the sweet cigala. Again, a lovely combination with the supporting cast making the already delicious cigala even better. This kitchen is killing it tonight.

Another good pour (sorry, I was taking wine notes but for some reason I may have not hit the “save” and I can’t seem to find them 2 weeks later) and we get to the meats — starting with the presa.

Thin slices, but perhaps this was the weakest dish of the night — when the flavours fought each other. The presa didn’t find its maximum with the oyster, foie, and mustard all trying to say I work best with this delicious pork. Tasty, but it wasn’t the solid combination of ingredients as the previous items.

That was rectified very, very quickly by the next dish as we move back to seafood — the sea bass.

A delicious piece of fish, cooked to perfection. Sea bass never one of my favourites, but this was delicious. That mantis shrimp broth made a huge difference… The wee snail was a nice addition. Another nice dish. Then a big red was poured and this is where I had asked for a substitution from the beef…

Yeah, trotter. Now this is just heavenly…amazing, deep, rich flavours… Just look inside this beauty…

Oh my, right? Still drooling as I’m writing this… A beautiful duroc pork, just graced in such a delicious sauce, stuffed with baby broccoli, quince and black shallot. Apparently I was moaning in pleasure a bit too much over this dish, even the head of the service team came by to voice his approval for my substitution, “our take on a real local classic” that’s mostly ordered by local guests. Smiles all around!

A bit of a rest as the savouries end. The portions were excellent too, I have to say. And the service? Spotless, perfect. Not one hiccup. Very rarely would I say that, and this place has easily earned its 3-Michelin stars in my book. Let’s see how this closes. The first dessert is based on ginger and passion fruit.

Lovely flavours, helping to cleanse the palate especially with that very heavy final dish…oh, still dreaming about it…I almost don’t want my palate cleansed! But this was nice. Then the main dessert…

The cocoa is graced with some of my favourite things in dessert style, from creamy coffee to black garlic garnish. The raspberry sorbet was delicious, complementing the strong dark coca. What a wonderful way to end things!

What a fantastic evening of dining! Fabulous food, excellent service, this is one of the best nights of dining I’ve had in many years. About as perfect as it gets. Then a really nice brandy and a little last treat…

This was so good. The head of the service team took me to visit the kitchen, where I thanked the crew for the excellent cooking. We kept talking about those trotters as he walked me out to the door. This is service, this is classy, this is how I would sum up about a perfect a night of dining as it gets.

Wow. Just wow. Probably the ONLY 3-Michelin place I’ve ever visited that DESERVES its 3 stars in my eyes.

Lasarte
Carrer de Mallorca 259
Barcelona, Catalunya