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day 2 :![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
monday, 12 septemberThis was the big day of the trip, the day we were so looking forward to, the day that Dawn arranged a year earlier, when she suggested we try to get reservations at El Bulli, a restaurant that is considered by many to be the "best restaurant in the world." Eric told Dawn that she was just setting herself up for disappointment - we had heard that the restaurant was expecting nearly 500,000 reservation requests for a mere 8,000 seats for the six months that they're open in 2005. But, there was nothing to lose in just sending an email request, so she did, asking if they had any openings in August, September, or October. (We hadn't even begun to plan our trip to Spain, so we figured we'd give El Bulli all the flexibility we could, and then see how it went - we didn't realize at the time that October is one of the six months in which they are closed.) Four weeks later, they asked us if September 12th at 8:00PM would work for us. Yee-haw! We picked up our Renault Scenic rental car from AutoEurope, and headed up the Costa Brava. We stopped in a pretty town called Tossa de Mar, strolled the beachfront and had lunch by the water. The town had a beautiful medieval section that we wandered through for bit, but we could have easily spent a half-day seeing the sites there if we had had the time. But alas, we didn't want to risk being late for dinner that night (it's not like we could reschedule for the next day!), so we got back on the road and headed to our hotel in Roses.
We had a bit over an hour to settle in at our hotel before dinner. As was recommended by numerous people on eGullet.org, we took a taxi to El Bulli, and were thankful that we did. The narrow road wound along cliffs for 15-20 minutes, not something we'd want to drive in the dark after a long meal! We arrived at the idyllic setting overlooking the sea, but even before we stepped out of the taxi, a photographer was taking pictures of our arrival. Someone from the restaurant greeted us, explaining that their photographer was taking pictures of all of the guests' arrival that evening for the next El Bulli book, and would we mind if she took photos of us? "No, not at all," we said, although being photographed as we took every step towards the restaurant made us feel a little self-conscious. We entered the restaurant and were greeted by several staff members, one of whom asked us if we'd like to tour the kitchen. Next thing we know we're shaking hands with Ferran Adrià, and getting a brief overview of how things work in the kitchen. Although the kitchen was full of people preparing innumerable dishes for the evening, the room was incredibly quiet, no one looked rushed, and everything was simply orderly and relaxed - reminiscent of what we witnessed in the kitchen at The French Laundry.
El Bulli is not a conventional restaurant. As mentioned earlier, it is only open six months of the year. During the other half of the year, Adrià is a food scientist, inventing and testing new recipes in his laboratory in Barcelona. A meal at El Bulli showcases these inventions, and is an experience that alters your perceptions of food. You don't receive a menu until the end of the meal so as to not spoil any surprises during the evening, and there certainly were many pleasant surprises. When we sat down, we were presented with a margarita. This had to be explained to us, though, because it looked nothing like the traditional drink. Instead, it was presented in a square block of ice with a hole in the top and a tower of white foam on top. The waiter grated fine salt over the foam, causing it to fizzle and collapse into the margarita, which was frozen and similar in texture to a granita.
Melon was part of a drink called "Melón con Jamon 2005" which was a twist on the classic combination of ham and melon. Tiny melon balls made like the olives we'd had earlier were suspended in a ham gelatin drink. Somehow, the balls were suspended so that every sip had the perfect balance of melon and ham. Each little ball of melon exploded in your mouth and combined with the ham - this was unlike anything we'd had before.
The simplest dish was exquisite: "higado de rape en fondue con kumquat al sésamo." Very thinly sliced monkfish liver was presented with a hot broth, which we used to briefly cook the liver before dipping it into a foamed soy sauce (so good!). The photographer wandered by our table during this course and took photos of us eating, which added to the entertainment of dipping and eating the fish. We finished the course with a single bite of kumquat with a juicy filling.
Near the end, a waiter wheeled over a cart with a metal box containing liquid nitrogen. After scraping off the frost that had formed on the surface, he squeezed two dollops of whipped cream onto the surface. After allowing a frozen crust to form, he gently flipped them over, pressing them slightly to flatten, then topped each with a fruity caviar and presented one to each of us on a spoon.
![]() ![]() As memorable as the food, the service was the best that we've ever experienced, and not at all impersonal. The staff kept a watchful eye on everyone, made sure everyone was taken care of, and yet you never felt like you were being watched. You just knew that every time you returned to your table after taking a break, someone would magically appear and help push in your chair. It was noticeably impressive.
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