December 14, 2004
Le Calandre and Da Vittorio, the two best restaurants in Italy? (Rating for both: 18/20)
Following our Alba trip we had 4 more outstanding meals in Italy: superb fresh seafood at Alla Testiere in Venice, some of the best charcuterie from cinta senese pork products at Pompiere in Verona and two unforgettable meals at the 3-stars Michelin Le Calandre in Rubano near Padua and at the 2-stars Michelin Da Vittorio in Bergamo. Le Calandre has been a favorite of mine for some time. I had my third meal there about 2 weeks ago on November 30. A friend put Da Vittorio on my radar screen, and our December 2 meal there was stunning. At the outset, I will make the strong claim that, of all the 2 and 3 stars Michelin we have been in Italy in the last 3 years (the list includes Dal Pescatore, Miramonti l’Altro, Perbellini, Cracco-Peck, Da Caino, Don Alfonso, Gambero Rosso and Flipot), Da Vittorio and Le Calandre are the 2 best, although none of the above have disappointed me.
The 2 restaurants could not be more different in style and philosophy. Le Calandre is modern, sleek and a touch avant garde, and the chef Massimiliano Alajmo is very young, tall and slender. His dishes incorporate some of the state of the art techniques he learned at Veyrat and Adria, while never imitating them. The Cerea clan at Da Vittorio, on the other hand (papa Vittorio and sons/nephews Francesco, Bobo and Chicco), are cooking a type of regal cuisine that in my imagination I associate with the grand style of the Risorgimento period. This is the place I would have liked to invite my literary hero, Giuseppo di Lampedusa, and I am sure that his Prince Don Fabrizio would have felt at home there. At any rate, you do not have to be a Prince or a Sultan to get treated there like one—in the tradition of the great Italian hospitality. In this sense, I cannot think of better hosts than the Alejmo family (Massimiliano’s brother Raffaele is in charge of both the dining room and the wine list), the charming Cerea ladies who are the daughters of Vittorio, and our captain Nicola who anticipated all our needs and displayed the most stunning acts of generosity I have experienced in my eating out career in a totally understated, refined and elegant Italian way. (Just think of the American restaurants when they do not charge corkage or give you and extra course; they list it on your check—which often comes before you ask —and they list the item with a capitalized “No Charge” caption as if you are too insensitive to understand favors.)
Stylistic differences aside, what unites these 2 institutions is their overriding concern for high quality ingredients and raw materials. Everything you eat, from a pedestrian vegetable to ultra luxurious Alba truffles or seafood, are very good, and so incredibly intense and delicate at the same time.
Alejmo is playing with some Adria-like textures, soft or liquid filled interior and crunchy exterior, and his amuses like a mini beignet filled with tomato juice, tomato juice injected with a syringe I guess, and, other goodies, such as ethereal potato and eggplant purees in thin pastries, are nice ways to start a meal.
His second amuse, the obligatory (in this season) pumpkin soup mixed with parsley cream was better than any other pumpkin amuse I have had in France and Switzerland recently, presumably because he did not need extra butter to highlight the natural sweetness of pumpkin. My only qualm is that pumpkin would have benefited from some thinly sliced white Alba truffles; they both flourish this season and call for each other.
Alejmo is a minimalist in the sense that some of his best dishes contain only 3 to 4 elements, and each of them shine and complement each other, rather than contrast with one another, a la Gagnaire. This simple looking ricotta mousse flavored with orange and topped with creamy mussels and shaved bottarga is a case in point. This is a very appetizing delicious dish. The minute details are well thought out, and the quality of ingredients is top. For instance, the bottarga is made from pressed grey mullet or cefalu fish rather than from a variety of tuna fish. The latter is more oily and less delicate, and for a Turkish, it is considered second quality. In Italy I mostly find inferior quality bottarga compared to Turkey, and I was surprised to see the best quality in Le Calandre, apparently from Sicily.
I was even more flabbergasted with the next dish. I have a special fondness for rock and deep sea fish, and they are getting rarer and sometimes extinct. If you have had a true rouget-barbet de roche, you will know how good they taste—a world apart from insipid farm raised sea bass and daurade or dorata which are now commonplace in Europe and are imported to the States and served with great fanfare in the US. (My last meal at the French Laundry on November 7 for instance featured a tasteless sea bass from Europe.) At any rate some rockfish, like capon, are rarer than rock rouget and you have to order them in great restaurants in France, such as Le Louis XV when you make the reservation. I did not know that the 2 now almost extinct species of the Mediterranean, the very ugly lahoz and orfoz even existed in Europe. I know some restaurateurs at Bodrum, a beautiful seaside village in Turkey, and they call me when they can fetch one of these rare and ugly species, which weigh 3 to 4 kg., and live deep, very deep, under the sea. Often they are caught by scuba divers, and this is a reason why they are so rare and expensive. To cut the story short, Massimiliano had the right contact to bring one orfoz or, what they called in Italian a Cernia (black variety which is even tastier than the grayish one) from Sicily. Thinking that I was American because we converse in English, they called it a “stone sea bass” which does not make sense. It is closest in taste to Spanish mero, which should not be confused with the ubiquitous and rather bland merluza (except its cheeks are good). They should have told me that it was “merou noir” which would have saved some confusion. At any rate the taste was as good as rock fish gets, and it was served with a “crouton” on top and in very Mediterranean style, with a confit tomato, tapenade and a light mousse from lima bean sprouts. I am sorry that the picture does not reveal too much.
The next dish was a tortelli di zucca. This dish is a classic at the 3-star Dal Pescatore where they mix squash with amaretti cookies. Here, they “deconstructed” the dish by concocting little jellies from amaretti and drizzling some coffee powder on top. It was very good, but not as good as the Dal Pescatore’s more simple yet heavenly preparation.
But then Massimiliano beat any egg-truffle combination I had had by serving a poached farm egg, sitting atop fried bread and surrounded by fonduta. Very classic and solid, a time tested vehicle for truffle slightly modified by the existence of crostini at the bottom and a very light parsley mousse for color and texture. The ample truffle slices were from rovere or oak tree, and although I did not ask the source of the fonduta, I suspect it was classic, 2 different kinds of fontina.
Massimiliano prepares the best risotto of which I am aware, that can be equaled but not surpassed. His risottos are creamy, firm and very flavorful without being too heavy. I had had his licorice/saffron as well as coffee powder risottos, and this time, the period being late November, he cooked to order for the 2 of us a risotto with white truffles and cubes of meat jellies. He grated truffles from 2 different trees, and the more white truffles below are from hetre (in French) or beech tree. My wife was served from the oak tree, darker truffles. We tried to compare them, but we could not make up our minds.
We always order piccione or baby squab at Le Calandre because the quality is better than anywhere else I had had squab, the level of the old good Robuchon-Jamin and better than what I have had at Grand Vefour, Gagnaire, and Les Ambassadeurs under Piege. They say that their pigeon comes from a special farmer who is a classical music fan, and he raises his pigeons by having them listen to Bach and Beethoven. This probably explains all there is to explain! Maximiliano also knows how to handle the squab, and it is one place where the breast is rare and the thigh is so crisp and juicy that it falls from the bones. Sauces vary. The first time it was with foie gras. The second time was with cherries and cherry liquour (my favorite of the 3). This time he became more “Asian,” (I noticed some Asian apprentices in the kitchen), and he crusted his pigeon with sesame seeds and made a soy and sesame oil based sauce and prepared a sesame paste as a dip. He also included fresh soy bean sprouts to complement the Asian style dish. The overall effect is to render the tender and gamey pigeon a bit more earthy and harder to match with wine compared to his other versions which I prefer.
Next course, suckling pig was as good as Da Renzo’s version. Massimiliano sources Piemontese pig, and it is slowly cooked for 48 hours. The skin is very crunchy. It is served with wild chicory, honey infused mustard sauce and some coffee powder which actually adds to the flavor. I thought it is the type of dish one expects from Passard, had he not been so stubborn about cooking meat. Maybe he just cannot find this quality in France!
We were kind of getting full, but they wanted to show us the last meat dish on their menu, testicles of young bull in a very Venetian Valpolicella wine sauce and served with a heavenly chestnut/ginger puree. Had I closed my eyes and not known what I was eating, I would have said I was eating some kind of fish’s liver, possibly a monkfish liver that I have in Japanese restaurants. Bravo Massimiliano for not caving in to the expectations of international clientele and for preparing rustic dishes.
Desserts are improving at Le Calandre. Or, they understand my taste and advise us better. Both the 3 layered grapefruit dessert with 3 kinds of grapefruit and home made jellies and lemon-gin sorbet on top and Massimiliano’s take on cassata with layers of ricotta mousse, white chocolate, pistachio cream and apricot mousse with thin cookies on top were light and explosive in fruit taste. When we finished our dolce we certainly were no longer hungry, but not uncomfortably full either. So we did what was called for: move to the champagne bar to finish a great meal with espresso and aged Calvados.
Gastroville rating of le Calandre: 18/20
Two days after our feast at Le Calandre we moved from Verona to the beautiful old town of Bergamo where we stayed at San Lorenzo which is a converted monastery, instead of staying in a business hotel in downtown Bergamo. I wanted to get hungry by visiting some beautiful places, so we drove in the early afternoon to Bellagio by lake Como. We got caught in traffic in our return and made a wrong turn into the Commercial Center in Bergamo which turned out to be outside Bergamo rather than in the center. Given the traffic problems, instead of feeling relaxed, I became tense and edgy. Not a good omen before a meal with high expectations.
My mood changed as soon as we stepped into the holy abode of the Cerea family (not much longer though—this summer they are opening a Relais et Chateaux). Genuine smiles and the existence of a voiturier so that you do not have to look for difficult parking are good things. As soon as we were seated in a very nice corner table in a beautiful cozy room full of flowers, all my senses were awakened and I almost had a headache from the intense perfume of that most intoxicating product on earth, the white truffles from Langhe. I could not see them, but their aroma was all over. Upon my questioning, our gracious captain Signor Nicola whose qualities would reveal themselves gradually but surely into the long journey into the wee hours of the night, showed up with a basket full of incredibly aromatic truffles, each weighing a pound or more. They had come the same morning, as this was a Thursday, and the restaurant is closed on Wednesday. At that point my facial expression had totally changed from a sour face to a genuine smile:
When I am in a good mood and in a special restaurant I derive more joy from the process of planning my meal than anything else. I try to lengthen this process, weigh the alternatives, ask a million questions, relish the sheer joy of visualizing various possibilities in sequencing and wine pairing, etc. Here my preferred activity was under serious challenge as Da Vittoria is known for seafood, but they had a crustaceans and molluscs menu for 2 with no description. I did not want to miss shellfish, but I also wanted dishes with truffles and I did not want to miss the veal cheek mentioned by by my friend, etc. We had only eaten a couple of clementines the whole day, and we were very hungry. I stated all my preferences to Nicola and to Vittorio’s (he was also in the dining room with his wife) charming daughter. I asked insistent questions about the source of ingredients (where does your aragosta come from? Do you have gamberi di San Remo?), and then I let them put together a menu for us with shellfish, truffles, veal cheeks, and suckling pig.
After some bacalao croquettes and little anchovy tarts which they serves as amuse bouche they brought the first set of four cold antipasti. They were wild sea bass carpaccio with salmon caviar and truffles; Passard style soft boiled egg with what I thought was maple syrup and truffles; incomparably fat seasoned and not smoked raw Scottish salmon with chive-cream and toast; and sashimi grade tuna with carpaccio.
Then came the second set of four hot antipasti. These included a Robuchon-like creamy potato puree with leeks from Cervere, melted brie cheese and…of course truffles; some very small and deepfried lake fish sandwiched between two layers of crisp hash browns and topped by velvety Béarnaise; Atlantic lobster tail and claw in an intense Nantua sauce that the French rarely make nowdays; and finally 2 big langoustines (scampi), as fresh as the ones at Alla Testiere but bigger. They were not hidden in phyllo sheet as is a la mode nowdays and nor unnecessarily embellished by caviar. I think that the langoustines had never seen the ice and have been kept in salted sea water to be that fresh-sweet tasting and non-iodized. They were simply served with home made mayonnaise.
I was not expecting any more shellfish, but a miracle happened and 6 mid-sized gamberi di San Remo arrived. For those who know how they taste, since they are now very rare, there is no need to reiterate. For those who do not know, I can only say that they are adorable. The photo below may give an idea about the freshness and the accuracy in timing when cooking them.
One gets very picky about the quality of pasta when one eats artisanal preparations in Italy. Pasta dishes in multistarred Italians sometimes disappoint me: they end up a bit fussy by trying to be original. This was not the case at Da Vittorio. We had simply the best gnocchetti, made different from gnocchi by mixing cheese with the dough, ravioli with castelmagno, my favorite Piemontese cheese, and hand cut tagliolini, with duck stock. They were all topped with a generous quantity of ripe, perfumed Alba truffles.
Da Vittorio serves porchetta a bit like Da Cesareserves baby goat; they want you to taste different parts of the animal: the leg, shoulder and ribs. The skin was glazed with honey and the intense sauce contrasts with Spanish pine nuts and raisins which they include in ample quantities. This dish was less refined than what we had at Le Calandre and Da Renzo, but equally tasty. It reminded me of the Basque Zuberoa’svery intense and non-compromising roasts. Porky intense pig.
Caramelized veal cheeks were as good. Accompanied by an intense red wine sauce, they were full of flavor and very tender at the same time. Baby vegetables were all fine, esp. the fennel added a welcome exotic touch to the dish, but especially noteworthy was the best soft polenta I put to my mouth, which was topped with homemade salsiccia or very firm veal sausages. Another triumphant dish.
I do not think anybody can accuse Da Vittorio for being less than generous with desserts. Before they brought our desserts they wheeled two carts in front of us which were filled with all kinds of little bonbons, chocolate truffles, caramels, liquor filled round chocolates, orangettes, etc. Well, since the days of Robuchon-Jamin, I have never witnessed such a gesture in the grand old European tradition.
But before moving on to the little goodies, we were served 5 sorbets, on par with the level in Dal Pescatore which serves superb sorbets. They were: chestnut, campari, passion fruit, lemon and a mix of berries.
Then seven little sins or desserts arrived. There was a 3 layered fruit-chocolate mousse that you see in the middle with the spoon which was interesting because it was offered with wasabi icecream. Ripe raspberries with sabayon were very good. In general their desserts made me think that the dessert chef went to Gagnaire and was influenced. At the moment, the desserts do not reach the level of Gagnaire’s grand dessert.
But the little goodies, esp. the nougatines and the sambuca, cognac and grappa filled chocolates were very good. But they were overshadowed by my after dinner digestive: an 1899 Bas Armagnac Laberdolive. Such a once in a lifetime drink is not only an apt finish to a memorable meal, but makes you contemplate about the transient nature of pure joy but more durable bonds of friendship. We left the restaurant feeling bonded with the Cerea family who, with no doubt, are trying to give their guests all they can. This was a fitting ending to our one week trip to Northern Italy.
Gastroville rating of da Vittorio: 18/20
/VM
Posted at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)December 13, 2004
French Haute Cuisine: Dead or Alive?, Reflections from L'Ambroisie and Le Cinq
Following some stunning meals in the Spanish Basque country, and in Northern Italy that I have already reported, we stayed in Paris to dine at L’Ambroisie and Le Cinq. Recently there has been some speculation about the demise of top end cuisine in France (for the lack of a better word, let’s call it Haute Cuisine or HC). Moreover, the remarks attributed to Berasatequi by a perceptive reviewer of the Spanish scene (Berasetequi, when asked whether or not he considered the backbone of his cuisine to be French quipped: “No. Besides, we all know that French cuisine is on the verge of its death!”), is hardly an unorthodox statement anymore, as the French themselves are nowadays undergoing some soul searching and are no more oblivious to gastronomical developments elsewhere.
But, sensationalism and marketing gimmicks aside, is it true that the HC in France is on the verge of death? My answer to that question may sound equivocal at first: Yes, and No. Yes, it is dying when the French cater to the level and expectations of an international clientele and start cutting corners in classical dishes, or, supposedly move in a “fusion” and creative direction by, say, imitating techniques and using ingredients from Asian cuisine in a superficial way without dedicating themselves to develop the required new skills and holistic understanding of these foreign cuisines. It is also dying when top French chefs, partly to justify hefty bills and partly to respond to demands for “luxurious” ingredients on the part of unsuspecting and inexperienced clientele, start to utilize out of season, frozen or second rate ingredients. Worse still, the cuisine suffers when, in an effort to please everybody, top French chefs sail against the winds and compose very large menus with 15 appetizers, 20 fish, 30 meat dishes and so on. What we end up with is a technically proficient but soulless cuisine where more than an optimum component of a complex dish is precooked. I call this an assembly line three star meal. But please do not mistake one thing. I believe some current 3 stars in Paris who are guilty of caving in to market pressures are extremely capable and great chefs. If they choose to or if you are important to them, they can concoct extremely satisfying and grandiose dishes. Hence, having an unsatisfactory meal, say at Lucas Carton, means nothing about Senderens’ ability and capacity. At gun point I would say that Senderens is a greater chef than the 30 years of Massimiliano Alajmo at Le Calandre (which may change though as the latter extremely talented Italian matures) in the sense that he has created more dishes which have become classics. But you are much more likely to dine better and cheaper today in Le Calandre than in many of the Parisian 3 stars because Massimiliano will give any unknown diner 90% of what he is capable of, whereas you will be lucky if a Legendre or Senderens are even in the kitchen when you dine there.
But, on the other hand and fortunately, there is the other side of the coin and old habits die hard. There are those great artisans in France, who are unwilling to give any concession from the search for perfectionism. Perfectionism for them means, above all, a constant search to seek the most pure flavors of natural products. They know that a great dish can be made of simple, inexpensive produce if it is of exceptional quality. But the converse is not true. That is to say, a truly great dish can not be made of second rate products even if we are talking about luxurious products, such as white truffles, black truffles, caviar, lobster and what not. Perfectionism for these chefs also means staying in the kitchen and trying to patiently perfect the dishes before they are included in a menu. These chefs are not carried away by the temptation to create new and newer dishes all the time and to impress the inexperienced diner with a series of small tapas which follow one another in dizzying speed. Their menus, even in the 3-stars, are generally shorter and change often according to season. But, at the most exalted levels and when we are talking about the greatest of the great chefs, such as the old Robuchon at Jamin and Girardet (although not French) and Pacaud and Passard, these chefs are not conservative. They stay abreast of new culinary developments, such as in molecular gastronomy, and they are not threatened by, say, what a culinary “enfant terrible” is concocting in Catalunia or the Basque country. If new and previously undiscovered combinations are suggested by looking at the molecules present in various ingredients, these chefs are willing to experiment. But they experiment carefully. Indeed I will go out on a limb and suggest a tentative conclusion that being an avant garde chef does not necessarily mean that one is a non-conformist. Innovation for innovation’s sake to the detriment of natural flavors is also a conformist attitude when it achieves the status of a cult following, and we see plenty examples of that not only in Spain and the US, but also in France…somehow not in Italy though.
Let me now illustrate what I am saying with reference to 2 meals I have recently had in France: December 3, Friday, at L’Ambroisie, and the next day at Le Cinq. Of course the positive and negative models I developed above are what the great social scientist Max Weber would call “ideal types” in the sense that they are just a heuristic approximation to make comparison possible. I can also attest that Legendre is a great cuisinier and if he chose to, he can prepare epicurean meals. The dining staff team in the hotel George Cinq is not just, merely good. They are absolutely perfect. They give no concession whatsoever from the grand tradition of French hospitality cum professionalism and the way they organize and orchestrate different aspects of the meal service reaches a level that only happens in France (assuming Monaco is in France), if you know what I mean.
And the food is just good enough not to lose its exalted 3-stars rating. But there is an assembly line, precooked quality to most dishes. Even the famous lobster dish with a heavenly combination of chestnuts and cepes is probably precooked and then finished quickly in a smoker to emulate the incomparable taste of a la plancha or grill or parrilla cooking I just reviewed. Hence the chopped off lobster tail itself by no means compares to the heavenly taste I had at Etxebarri which I reviewed and posted the pictures. But the dish itself, with a frothy nantua like sauce and the contrast/complementarity endowed by two great ingredients which are both seasonal, i.e. the cepes (porcini) and chestnuts is a triumph of conception. This is the best one can do to serve the dish in one portion and as part of the tasting menu. (It was part of the tasting menu but we ordered it from the a la carte menu.) But what is best under these circumstances is not good enough to deliver the sublime level this dish is potentially capable of achieving. As such, and if you want to eat “sophisticated” preparations of lobster, head to Arpege for his whole lobster in vin jaune and turnips preparation, or to l’Ambroisie for his matelote with red wine and new potatoes when new potatoes are in season in Spring, or to Cancale to eat at Roellinger. Or else, pay less and have a la plancha lobster in seafood brasseries anywhere in Brittany!
I gave the example of the lobster dish because it was still very good and showed some tensions between the concerns of a luxurious hotel and the demands of international clientele on the one hand, and the requisites of perfectionist French HC on the other. Other dishes were less good at Le Cinq and the desserts were just above average. Even the tourte de gibier, wild game torte that was a Legendre classic at Taillevent was no better than you would get at the best bistros in Paris, and it was clearly precooked and reheated. The restaurant also serves black truffles frozen (and they are imperceptible in the dishes that cite them). We were dissuaded from ordering a dish with white truffles because the quality was not very good (acknowledging this shows the integrity and honesty of the captain, so I am actually happy about being told this).
But then, given the Michelin’s unfortunate overemphasis on technique at the expense of ingredients and also given the expectations of the clientele which sure will be impressed by the superb setting and service, is there any reason to try harder? I can not think of any. To put it in the parlance of new theologians that I interact with: “what are the incentives to upgrade?”
Well, frankly I cannot think of any monetary incentives given that all 3 stars in Paris are doing well even though some operate below the level of the best 2 stars (like Meurice and Le Bristol). But there is something else. There is an inner drive for perfectionism and perhaps reputational concerns which still enable some French chefs to create a cuisine at a level that, how to put it, is at a level which makes the discriminating diners feel blessed and ensures that they comprehend that cuisine can have a transcendental dimension.
From the mid-80s to mid-90s I had this feeling of transcendentalism at Robuchon more than in any other restaurant. And, in the last 10 years, it is L’Ambroisie which ascended in the ranks and more often than not makes me ecstatic.
I do not want to dwell on the details and make a painstaking analysis of each dish, but let me say a few things. First, L’Ambroisie, contrary to general opinion, is not a temple-like place. Under Monsieur Caimant, the old Jamin was such a place, but not L’Ambroisie. The setting in the ancient Place des Vosges is very refined and apt. The service and the general philosophy of the restaurant though, under the direction of Monsieur LeMoullac, who is also a true connoisseur of great wine, is actually very professional and full of humor and joy of life at the same time. Second, the chef Monsieur Pacaud is almost always there (he may greet you when you come), yet do not expect him to make rounds with a smirk on this face as this is a shy man who expresses himself with his work. Third, do not expect to find all luxurious ingredients all the time there. Pacaud menus typically consist of 5 appetizers, 3 to 4 seafood courses and a maximum of 5 meats. They also change seasonally. What does not change is that Pacaud always sources the best products, and he will not offer, say, black truffles, even in mid-January, if they are not ripe enough for his taste. Fourth, do not expect 10+ course tasting menus at L’Ambroisie. If you make your preferences or your dislikes known, Monsieur Pascal,the Maitre d', will put together a menu for two which will emphasize balance and harmony, the very qualities French HC amply display when it is that good.
Here is what our last menu for the two of us composed of: “soupe cremeuse d’ecrevisses au celery, chutney de poivron et ananas” or crawfish soup with celery and a chutney of pineapple and sweet red pepper, followed by “corolle de noix de St. Jacques, a la truffe blanche, mousseline de broccolis”, or scallops with a broccolis mousseline and white truffles, and, finally, “tourte de Canard Colvert au foie Gras, wild duck torte with duck liver. Then a cheese course, then a fruit-rhum baba combination and finally the world’s best “tarte fine sablee au chocolat”to finish. And to accompany the dishes, first we had a bottle of Pernand Vergelesse from Chandon de Brialles and then a bottle of Cmambolle Musigny Les Fuees from J.F. Mugnier. Both were vintage 2000.
What makes L’Ambroisie in general and this menu in particular exciting is that each dish contains only 3 to 4 elements which all shine and complement one another, but they are there not to subtract from the main focus, but to enhance the main ingredient. Each dish is harmonious in itself, but in progressive succession they create a crescendo effect. All of the dishes respect the ingredients of which they are made, but when all are combined together they are calibrated in such a way that the overall effect is greater than the sum of the ingredients. And on top of it, this is by no means heavy, butter laden cooking. It is classical cuisine but calibrated to modern taste, but with no short cuts.
Take the scallop dish. I wish I had a picture of this dish to look at like I admire good paintings. Brocolis are young and tender and emerald green, and the olive oil based sauce is so limpid and green that the white scallops in the middle and the very white and large truffle pieces on top (sliced from half pound aromatic truffles) look like some large and flawless diamond has been planted in the middle of a ring consisting of small, leaf shaped emeralds on the outer ring. And the dish tastes as good as it looks. It is the clarity and the intensity of the tastes that strike you, and there is nothing you can do to this dish to improve it further.
Take the wild game tourte or game pot pie. Different parts of duck (leg and breast) are done to perfection, which is pretty amazing since they all require different cooking times, and they are all in the same pie. There are 3 colors ranging from very pink (the duck liver) to light brown and dark brown (the leg I guess). You can taste each of them separately, they are thick; the pie is made to order and cooked to order as all the 6 slices are going around to appreciative diners. The crust is clearly homemade and very tasty in itself. The sauce is very intense but it is the natural intensity of game, enriched with an ample quantity of wild mushrooms (cepes) and mushroom stock, not mounds of butter. This is a type of dish where it is better not to prepare it because it will amount to overreaching in the hands of lesser chefs. It is also a dish that nobody dares to prepare without shortcuts in the 21st century. It is also a dish that you will appreciate more if you like real game and you sequence your menu carefully. When all these factors converge, and when cooking is so good, you start realizing that the grand old Haute Cuisine only reaches this level in France, and this will probably continue to be the case in the foreseeable future.
/VM
December 12, 2004
Gastronmic trip to Donostia/San Sebastian
The Basque region of Spain has never disappointed us. Whenever we (my wife and I ) near this region, we make all acrobatics possible to spend there a few days. This year the opportunity presented itself in terms of a 3 day conference in Bordeaux scheduled for November 23-26. So we have decided to take advantage of the weekend and Monday and headed to Donostia (San Sebastian—now Michelin lists restaurants there under the Basque name) for 3 nights. We had a long trip: direct flight from Atlanta to Paris. Then a few hours at Roissy and another flight to Bordeaux. There we rented a car and drove about 2 and a half hours to our destination.
It was about 4 PM when we arrived to our hotel in Donostia. We had left at about the same time the day earlier. This being our 6th time or so there, Hotel Niza gives us very nice rooms with a balcony and a beautiful concha view. When we arrived the weather was beautiful and we are 50 yards from the sea. End November and believe it or not some “crazy” Basques were taking a dip in the sea. There is nothing as relaxing as standing in your balcony after a long trip and enjoying this view:
This time I had a different strategy. In the past, we almost always run from one multi-starred Michelin restaurant to another for dinner and had tapas for lunch. There are different reasons that I do not want to go into detail that I had been disenchanted with Arzak (under Elena—although we want to give it another try after having heard positive reviews), Berasategui and Akelarre. We figured that we could have 5 meals maximum and wanted to repeat the old favorite Zuberoa. We were also interested in the 2 rising stars: Fagollaga and Mugaritz. I wanted to try what my friend, John Whiting, had recommended very strongly: Elkano in Getaria. I always had wanted to try a traditional venue: Casa Nicolasa. Finally after looking at the pictures in Garcia Santos’ LMG I decided to have a Sunday lunch in the beautiful valley of Axpe at Etxebarri.
We had one restaurant too many. At my peril I decided to drop Mugaritz—a right or wrong decision. I will rectify hopefully in our next trip to the area planned for mid-March.
What I was trying to do in this trip was to avail myself of the best ingredients the Basque country offers in plentitude: esp. game, shellfish and of course angulas or baby eels, which have a short season like game. I was advised that my favorite Zuberoa would have becada or woodcock, as it was season for this. I called them and they said they would try their best. Just in case, I also mentioned to both Casa Nicolasa and Etxebarri about my interest in game and esp. sorda (the Basque name for becada). They said it was difficult. For the record I do not speak Spanish and I tell them on the phone that I can speak English or French or Turkish. Somehow French is working best there—although I think in terms of character and looks there are so many parallels between Turkish and Basques, one reason why I like this area so much.
Overall our meals more than reconfirmed our passion for Basque cuisine. Not a single meal was poor. However, if I can rank the 5 meals we have had this will be my ranking in descending order: Etxebarri, Elcano, Fagollago, Casa Nicolasa and Zuberoa. My least favorite this trip, Zuberoa holds 2 stars in the guide Michelin. Etxebarri is not mentioned.
Let’s start with Zuberoa. We had a nice surprise there in that, a very good friend and her husband saw my inquiry in egullet and they contacted me. She is a food writer too and they were going to be in Donostia at the same time for Garcia Santos’ LMG congress where Ferran Adria was going to make a presentation. Another friend of theirs, an Italian food writer and his girl friend also joined us, and we had a special meal prepared for us at Zuberoa. Overall, the meal did not have the well-timed crescendo that one expects from a menu degustation from a restaurant of this caliber. Early on in the meal we had quite a few very reduced sauces and stocks. The raw materials and ingredients failed to shine as they used to in Hilario Arbelaitz’ cooking. My best guess is that this great chef is now trying to prove that he can cook with small portions and imitate the modernism (or post-modernism if you wish) that leading and younger chefs in the country has been advocating. The problem is that Arbelaitz’ value added is impeccable roasting skills and he is a first rate saucier –as good as classic French—and saucing is a relatively weak point of Spanish cooking. Bigger portions and dishes for two is what made Arbelaitz excelled in the past and his last courses, i.e. roasted suckling pig and lamb and woodcock were all top. The problem is that we had no appetite left at this point because of the ill-conceived menu. A case in point is his first course pictured below: oyster and caviar with lemon gelatin. The oyster was too dry and muscular and somehow the 2 elements in the dish stood in opposition to one another and the sum is lesser than the 2 parts. For anybody familiar with the Thomas Keller’s masterpiece, oysters and pearls, the 2 dishes, which look similar on paper, could not have been more different. I would later learn from an acquaintance that this dish had won a prize in the gastronomic congress, LMG.
Casa Nicolasa is actually very good. The chef Juan Jose Castillo is following in the foodsteps of the legendary chef Nicolasa Pradera, and he is preparing classical dishes that you are not likely to find in tasting menus of the Michelin (and tourist) favored restaurants with gusto. Upon arrival, we were told that they had our becada woodcock. They prepared it with great skill, and their preparation was almost as good as the best becasse I had eaten in a game specialist near Geneve: Michelin 2-star Domaine Chateauvieux. The foie gras certainly adds to the dry and appropriately roasted very rare bird, and the apple-chestnut sauce was heavenly.
Another example of classic preparation without cutting corners was the txangurro a la donastiarra or the spider crab that is seasoned and finished in the oven. I liken this preparation to the way Galicians prepare their incomparable scallops, and when it is good the minced onions and other ingredients (here garlic, white wine, tomatoes, bread crumbs) do not detract from the sweet fresh flavors of the shellfish, but they bring out the best qualities. This dish was very very good:
We also had alubias de tolosa, a kind of cassoulet composed of creamy red kidney beans, guindilla peppers, salt pork and cabbage. I have not had this dish at the Fronton in Tolosa where they are famous, but I cannot conceive any tastier preparation or better blood sausage or beans. The less successful dishes in Casa Nicolas were home made goose foie gras, which came cold and was not the level you can get in the best French restaurants, and green peppers stuffed with baby squid. When I investigated I learned what I should have known: the squids were not in season. But then they should not have been on the menu or they should have alerted me.
Fagollaga is a rising star, although the restaurant has been around a very long time. Everything about this restaurant enchanted me. It is not far to Donostia, about 20 min. drive, but it is a farmhouse in the attractive countryside:
The menu is composed of dishes from the old menu that the current chef’s mother used to cook and the new dishes inspired by modernism. The chef, Isaac Salaberria, receives 9 out of 10 in the Garcia Santos bible that promotes New Spanish cooking. This is as high as the score for Arzak and higher than El Raco de con Fabes (both Michelin 3 stars).
Salaberria’s cooking can be defined as refined cuisine du terroir. He makes ample use of internal organs of the meat, pork belly, pork and veal feet, pork ears, etc. But the preparations are not gutsy or literal. He “refines” some potentially offending (to non-Basques) flavors, presents his dishes in geometrically intriguing now almost customary (for the avant garde cooks) plates, makes ample use of infusions, although he has the good sense of serving infusions separately from the main dish rather than pouring on top, and he keeps on his menu time tested classics such as roasted suckling lamb without tampering with them. He roasted the lamb with a very fresh and tasty mesclun salad on the side, and this dish was even more successful than Zuberoa’s and came close to rivaling roasted spring lamb from the churra breed that you can have in the Ribera del Duero region.
His avant garde dishes are never bad. I had a number of dishes ranging from fine to excellent. To give some examples his tuna with roasted melon is just fair. Here the tuna is fine but not the Sashimi quality tuna belly (toro). You can get the best Japanese toro in the States, and the melon neither detracts nor adds to it. The infusion they serve the dish with is also neutral and, poured over the tuna. It does not render it more complex in taste, but compromises the texture. Japanese cooking may be a la vogue and de rigeur for New Spanish chefs, but certainly it is not the forte of Isaac Salaberria. (Even the physical looks reveals something: as opposed to slender Aduriz of Mugaritz, it looks like Isaac enjoys traditional cooking.)
A more successful but not brilliant modern dish in Fagollaga is the scallops with wild mushroom infusion. Here the infusion is poured on top, but no offense is committed. It is a fine example of another (and IMO successful) compulsory marriage of modern cooking a la terre et mer. Scallops are almost first rate, appropriately raw, and the infusion is welcome here. The dish is very good but somehow it is not as titillating as some of the similar dishes I have had at Troisgros and Arpege.
Then a brilliant modern cum traditional dish: panceta iberico con leche de Almendra tierna. Bacon with almond milk infusion. The bacon is full of flavor and the infusion is so well thought out that it renders an already very good dish a classic. A bite from one, a sip of another and when you repeat the process you discover new tastes and wish well to the chef with all your heart. My provisional conclusion is that this is a chef more or less the level of Pascal Barbot of L’Astrance, now delivering about 16/20 level food or the high end of one star, and over enthusiastic friends can cause more harm than good if they are unqualified in their enthusiasm. Let’s hope that Salaberria is wise enough not to fall into the trap and perfects his brand of refined-rustic without imitating more Japanese influenced cooking.
At Elkano some friends joined us and we started our dinner at around 11 PM, a very appropriate time to dine, and we finished around 3 AM and then we were invited to see the seawater tanks where they keep shellfish and where our friends had the most animated conversation with the owner’s son.
Elkano is very serious about its seafood and the fish is daily caught and does not see any ice. We had cocochas de merluzo (hake cheeks) in 3 different preparations: sautéed in butter, simply grilled, and in salsa verde. The last one was like a pil pil where the gelatine from the fish acts as the gelling agent. (I am still very skeptical whether Adria’s experiments will emulate the quality of the natural agents). All 3 were successful and different (for grilled and a la parilla cooking, they needed big hake and it is rarer). The incomparable angulas were also the freshest and firmest and prepared traditionally, fried in an earthenware casserole with fried garlic, red pepper flakes and parsley. The so-called camarones are extremely good too. I hesitate to call them shrimp or prawns because taste wise they resemble the hormone grown and farmed prawns in the States as much as a Mediterranean rouget tastes like snapper. (This is how they translate it.)
But the reason we chose Elkano was to have their whole grilled turbot pictured below. They grill the local turbot slowly to preserve the natural gelatin, and you have to suck the bones to get the full taste. Being 4, we were able to choose a bigger turbot, which is fatter, thus better. I will still contend that the best turbot is from the Black Sea, when it is caught in the second half of March in the Bosphorous in Istanbul when they are the most fat. But this is almost as good, and I do not know any restaurant in Istanbul where they can grill the turbot with such skill. Turbot, in my book, is one of the 4 to 5 tastiest fish to be found, and it was a privilege to have it at Elkano in the characteristic fishing village of Getaria, which is about half an hour drive to Donostia.
I am not talking much about desserts in this trip, but I will mention Elkano. The sheep milk sorbet with berry sauce tastes as good as it looks, and besides it is very appropriate after such a meal. Most important the desserts capture the gist of this restaurant: very honest with no gimmicks.
Now Etxebarri. I kept it last because I had one of the most memorable of my meals there. I would rate is 19/20 and on par with my other very favorites in France and Italy. As far as Spain is concerned, it was as memorable as when the father was cooking in Arzak and when Adria in ‘98 had prepared a meal different than his tasting menu for us and included his ethereal tuetano con caviar. (I am not sure about the spelling. but it is bone marrow with caviar.)
To begin, Etxebarri is located inland, in the beautiful valley of Atxendo in the town of Axpe (or the other way around, the town is Atxendo and the valley is Axpe!). It took us 50 min. to drive from Donostia to Durango and then another 10 to 15 min. The last non-autoroute part is beautiful because you are in the countryside: not a manicured countryside full of expensive villas, but a more natural countryside where animal husbandry is well and alive. Etxebarri itself is a simple farmhouse:
The restaurant is on a hillside surrounded by mountains, and when you look from your window (they gave us a great table and the day was sunny and pleasantly warm) you can see sheep lazily grazing:
Inside the tables are well spaced and comfortable.
The chef Victor Arguinzoniz (the taller man in the picture) and his assistant Maxime (he is French and has worked in starred places) oversee the grilling which is attached to a very large kitchen. The chef is easygoing in person, but a perfectionist in his profession, and he concocts his own charcoal from different trees’ branches every morning in an oxygen controlled oven. The exact combination of branches may be a secret like the Coke formula! Another secret is that the chef has designed his own grill to apply heat evenly. I do not know if Mr. Arguinzoniz is interested in molecular biology but, perhaps without availing himself of Hervé This, he knows how to optimize heat transfer so that all parts of the food reach the correct temperature.
The results are stunning. The only non-grill item was the crostini with jamon and tomato. The grand reserve jamon bellota from the house of Joselito in Salamanca is quite good.
Following the jamon amuse, we started our Sunday lunch with quisquillon, the translucent and firm local shrimps. Please note the color of the eyes and the erect antennas which give ideas about freshness:
Then came a 1.3 kg. female langouste. (I requested female because of the eggs.) I prefer langouste to homard (spiny lobster to lobster) and the best spiny lobsters are Mediterranean. This had never seen the ice, and it was as sweet as the Mediterranean langouste you can find in Iles de Perquerolles and Corsica—both very rare. The taste puts to shame anything I have had in the States, including at the French Laundry. I fault many lobsters being either too cottony in texture with little flavor or too tough. This was neither. One detail I have to report even if politically incorrect is that, for maximum flavor, the langouste is grilled whole and alive.
Do you like the gargouillou at Bras? A pure vegetable dish and a benchmark dish for many. Victor’s take on his vegetable dish is different. He grilled some carrots, white and red cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, scallions, yellow squash and wild cepes (porcinis). Overall Spain may not have Italy’s variety and quality in vegetables but everything Victor included had tremendous intensity and the taste I associate with my childhood prior to the World Bank/IMF interference in Turkish agriculture. A great dish.
How about an egg dish? Not cooked soue-vide like the modern dishes at Arzak, French Laundry, but I guess fried. The yolk from farm egg intact, the best fries with no oil, crisp and juicy, slices of bacon and sweet and intense red peppers. A simple looking very complicated and delicious dish.
It still is the season for angulas. Victor cooks them in a special pan that he has invented. They come with nothing. No garlic, pepper, olive oil, parsley. You just have to concentrate and pray for its unadulterated flavor.
Having some bacalao is a must in the Basque country. Salted and preserved bacalao is often tastier. But, if you get the chance, try the classical version at Etxebarri with Espelette peppers. I had the same dish at Fagollaga too which was very good—but this is better.
They actually had taken note of our becada request and wanted to grill it for us. But before they wanted to show the quality of their cote de boeuf. The meat indeed was full of character: supple and flavorful and gamey,
But the woodcock or becada was the piece de resistance and the best of the 3 I have had in 3 days. Cooked rare and not dry at all, full of metallic-gamy flavor with no concession to the modern sterile taste, with a no nonsense sauce of internal organs and its own liver, paired with superb squash puree and even more interesting with caramelized crunchy quince which adds texture and wonderful contrast. Also wild cepes as a garni.
The dessert was a fine milk pudding with dried figs and then very good macaroons.
The feast lasted only 5 hours, a bit short by my standards (at FL we usually start at 6 and finish at midnight) but acceptable given that their timing was perfect and nothing needed to be reheated.
I did not talk about wines in this posting—as important for me as the food—but let me say that Etxebarri has a good list. 2001 Artadi old vine El Pison was the best wine of the trip and it was offered at a very fair price of 93 Euro. Last year I had seen the same wine from 2000 for 250 Euro or so at La Broche where we have had a conceptually interesting but ultimately frustrating meal.
5-6 trips in the last 7 years and we are as thrilled about the Spanish Basque country and cooking as we have been in the beginning. Perhaps more so as we have finally understood well that what made this place a gastronomical mecca is more than the existence of a few internationally renowned restaurants but the prevalence of a culture, which sustains a way of life that puts a premium on community and tradition over full capitulation to the forces of globalization.
/VM
December 11, 2004
El Bulli 2004 - Rating (16/20)
No chef in history has received as much publicity as Ferran Adria. He is called an artist and is compared to Dali, Picasso and is often called a genius. The acclaims are such that one wonders if he is soon about to get the Nobel Prize in physics or chemistry.
Is all the hype justified? Is he the greatest chef in the world? Is he the best chef of his generation or maybe even the best chef ever?
We will give a few thoughts on those questions. We have together eaten at el Bulli over several years in the late 90’s and in May 2004. The purpose of this post is to make an overall analysis of el Bulli and speculate about where it is going.
The fundamental methodology behind the reasoning and our analysis are described in our standards.
The food that was on the 2004 menu can roughly be divided into four categories:
The first category is dishes that are foremost based on morphing, a concept which means that an ingredient is transformed into something else or into another state. Successful examples of this in the 2004 menu are a yoghurt jelly and the chips made of beet juice. Both are very good examples of creations that show a great respect for the ingredient – although it is turned into another shape and form and a different taste angle - and where the taste has a very high level of clarity. The beet chips were truly exceptional. But there are other less convincing or even catastrophic examples, such as the frozen Parmesan fluff with cereals with raspberries that can only be described as a massacre of good Parmesan cheese, since the only association it gives is that of frozen fermented (poorly stored) milk. It is easy to be puzzled by the presence of raspberry muesli on the table. The problem with morphing as Adria practices it, is that, the majority of dishes prepared by this method result in creations where the taste of the finished ingredient is often a shadow of the true taste of a particular ingredient or the excitement that such an ingredient can give in an un-morphed state.
The second category dishes are based on various earlier concepts developed by Adria mainly creations with an appearance different than what we normally associate with the name or looks of a dish. Some examples of this are the use of agar-agar jelly to make transparent pasta, using thinly sliced fat as a pasta wrapper, a baguette that is really a cracker with Serrano ham, an onion peel that acts as a ravioli wrapper etc.. The baguette was quite successful and it was one of the better dishes of the meal expressing and even enhancing the fantastic taste and appearance of Serrano ham. On the other hand, the egg put inside an onion wrapper served with truffle oil and shaving of a cheap truffle, was a humiliation of the true taste of truffles since it had a pronounced artificial taste of truffle oil that gave quite bad aftertastes which lingered far too long. Let us stay with this truffle dish for a while. Why would this dish be served at all? Is there a meaning with it? Adria writes in one of his books that the dish is a “homage” to the real Alba truffle. There seems to be no other meaning with it. It is expressively stated that the truffle oil used with it is not particularly good and that they would not go at length to acquire good oil (if there is one (doubtable there is)). It is often alleged by people defending Adria that these type of dishes are intellectual and that he is an artist and that there is a lot of emotions in the dish. Well, since there – according to Adria's own account – is no deeper meaning with the dish and the taste associations more resemble that of truffle varieties that are not commercialised due to there lack of interest, claims that dishes such as these are intellectual or emotional becomes quasi-intellectual at best.
The third category consists of a few dishes that are more normal dishes but where a less than normal taste combination plays a part in the dish. Examples of this category were the civet of rabbit and the chocolate dessert with a black sesame sauce. Both these have been on the repertoire for a long time.
Finally, a disturbingly large number of dishes for a multi-starred restaurant, could be put into a category that should be called “pointless”. One example of this is the balloon filled with fleur d’oranger air, which, despite its sensual evocation apparently with the aim of recalling the smell of Andalusian orange trees, ends up leaving a pretty nasty residual smell of rubber. Another example of this category is the use of Blumenthal’s (of the Fat Duck) nitrogen bucket. It is useless from a culinary perspective and, besides, it endangers freeze injuries in the guests’ mouths!
There are a few widely used techniques that kept coming back on several occasions during the 2004 meal. It is worthwhile to make some general comments. First the overarching technique is the use of alginates to create liquid balls or ravioli like creations. A second is the use of bathtub like foam in dishes to create a visual effect as an end in itself, rather than any taste enhancement. A third often used technique is the use of agar-agar based jelly.
How interesting is the repeatedly used alginate trick? One should admit that the liquid balls in the cocktail, served very early in the meal are very nice and certainly justified. When in the mouth they burst and give the sensation of an unmixed Pinacolada that is mixed in the mouth. This was an exceptional creation. On the other hand, other uses of this technique, such as the melon caviar, the liquid pumpkin ravioli or the coconut milk ravioli have little culinary value. This is not only because they are not made from absolutely pristine raw material, but because they did not capture the extraordinary clarity and taste of the initial raw material. Even if they had, more than one snack or course made with this technique would have been too much and superflous. From a culinary point of view, serving a liquid in this manner is of little interest and it is an overkill to do it many times during the course of the meal. Furthermore, many creations made by using this technique at el Bulli end up becoming dull tasting shadows of the original tastes. It is also enigmatic that Adria is getting recognition as if he has invented this technique, which has been used in the food industry and have been published and documented for years prior to Adria’s use of it.
The widespread use of bathtub foam is also quite questionable since it provides little improvement from a taste point of view and, in most cases, the desired visual effect was not there since the foam had largely turned into liquid when the plate arrived at the table.
Using agar-agar jelly is also a technique that Adria seems to be getting credit for discovering. But again agar-agar is nothing new. It can be very interesting but the problem is that in some of the preparations, too much agar-agar is added so that the taste of it is traceable and the texture becomes too firm, causing the diner to lose the sensation jellies should provide by melting in the mouth. The visual effect of having clear transparent pasta rarely outweighs the down side of forsaking the benefits of encapsulated taste and a crunchy texture, not at all comparable to the desired al dente texture in real pasta. Agar has many interesting uses rather than acting solely as a jellifying agent. Strangely such uses seem not to have been explored by any chefs.
Surely, Adria should be credited for his researcher-like exploration for certain concepts, such as the above mentioned, or that of finding alternatives to traditional pasta, such as using thinly sliced fat. The major question is why other top restaurants in Europe rarely copy these concepts or techniques. The answer may be that many, but not all of these creations, lack culinary interest, simply because they provide little excitement from a taste point of view. The difficulties with using agar-agar to provide a top-notch dish were touched upon above, but it is not to say it does not have an important role. The same goes for using thinly sliced fat as a pasta wrapper. It is difficult to use as the taste of the fat easily takes the upper hand. Surely Adria should have credit for conducting focused experiments around it. But his oysters wrapped in smoked pork fat, included in the 2004 menu, provide just another example of how difficult it is to make this concept work. The smoked pork fat effectively kills any positive taste sensation that the oysters could and should have provided. Gagnaire, where both of us had eaten in March 2004, in contrast, had a similar dish on his menu but he was using top-notch very thin lardo di collonata as a wrapper. Gagnaire’s dish also had a more pronounced component of iodine and he used a larger and higher quality Militon oyster that had a much clearer taste and crispiness. Finally, to counter the presence of fat and to impart a complex and harmonious taste, Gagnaire wrapped the oysters in crisp and garden fresh spinach leaves.
The most disturbing memory from the 2004 menu is the lack of real ingredients. Much of what is being served is made with what could be called generic ingredients, that is ingredients where the quality of the individual ingredient matters little, such as coconut milk, corn, eggs, pumpkin oil etc. The “real” or rare ingredients included 2 small morels (Admittedly the small ones are the best), 2 small shrimp tails (had little taste but it did not matter since they were paired with a sharp tasting bathtub foam), a tiny portion of sea cucumber, two small oysters, a small piece of rabbit leg and some tiny pieces of lamb’s sweetbreads, that indeed were so tiny that the taste of lamb’s sweetbreads was undetectable much to the delight of one person at the table who hates them.
We also believe that, if one looks at the progression of Adria’s cuisine, certain generalizations are in order.
1) There is a progression away from the use of rare ingredients towards generic and pedestrian ingredients. In the past Adria prepared some dashing dishes from a good dose of cigalas (langoustines), percebes, gambas, foie gras, caviar, espardenyes. Recently the use of “fake” caviar (from melon, from apple), or “fake” Alba truffles dominate. The problem is not that they taste different than the imitated object, but in the case of the fake truffle they border on taking the clients for idiots.
2) Especially with decreasing portion size and an increasing number of dishes, Adria’s menu is becoming too repetitive. It is now quite common that one dish or technique is over used and a good thing is becoming overkill. Quail or salmon egg with a caramel sheet is very good but having them both as an appetizer and dessert is overkill. Similarly, Adria’s ajo blanco is a revelation but having it twice in the same meal with a slight variation leaves one with the impression that the second is superfluous. The repeated use of alginate-based preparations tires the palette. One can add that, Adria has a continuing bias to overuse sweet and citrus or citrus-like flavours. This may appeal to some diners but repeated use of citrus or citrus-like flavours upsets the overall harmony which should be a character of great dining.
3) In order to be classified as a great chef one should improve upon traditional dishes and create some dishes that will become part of the culinary cannon. Admittedly such creations are rare. Early in his career, Adria had some fantastic dishes with the potential to become classics. Oddly, these were his more “simple” dishes, created without morphing or without an intended pun or surprise effect. Examples include tuetano con caviar, exceptional quality bone marrow with a dollop of caviar and celeriac puree and his percebes preparations which retained the pristine taste and enhanced it, his version of ajo blanco, etc. The common element of all these dishes was that they were based on, what another contributor called, “true associations” in the sense that ingredients were in a symbiotic relationship with one another where supporting elements (say caviar) responded well to the main ingredient (say bone marrow) and the sum was greater than the individual parts. Adria succeeds most when he does not try to impress using wow techniques.
4) Adria’s cuisine is becoming more risk free in two senses. First, his recent offerings, which are based on generic ingredients, should appeal to most international diners who have a limited repertoire and are afraid of new tastes (percebes, espardenyes, offals, game birds, etc). Everybody likes sweet-caramelized and citrus-like flavours. Second, by privileging the visual over the primary taste, Adria appeals to the largest common denominator of diners. He gives people what they want: familiar and well liked taste combinations disguised in avant garde forms. The lingering impression is that one ate “interesting” things, “can not quite remember what but nothing offensive” and that the chef has great “style”.
5) Compared to the past, Adria is serving smaller portions(not tapas really but raciones) and more of them. In the beginning, while one is sipping the aperitive, this works well. Relaxing in his terrace watching the sun recede against the background of Montjol Bay while gulping down little caramelised tidbits of rice, nuts, fruits is a sensual experience second to none. Adria’s deconstructed cocktails are fantastic. But later on, when one sits at the table and the meal proceeds, we are under the impression that Adria gets away with offering many taste combinations which are not well worked out. Only very rarely does all the work put into making snow out of parmesan for instance or fluff out of this, crisps out of that or liquid ravioli out of whatever(the filling has been changing over the years) make any sense as the true taste and exceptional quality of a divine ingredient in its original state and shape is masked and becomes diluted by this, most of the time superfluous, process. Adria gets away by serving a lot of second rate dishes because they are served in very small portions. Inexperienced diners can take a bite and think it was great. Had the same been served in larger portions, the same diners would have thought otherwise. By spreading the amuses throughout the meal, Adria avoids a great deal of critical scrutiny.
The current menu for 145 Euros is not necessarily cheap for what is being served. The average food costs at a multistarred restaurant are in the region of 26-30%. The food cost of el Bulli’s 2004 menu is hardly close to that figure. Adding to this the large number of unimpressive dishes the price feels rather steep. It should be noted that the price charged at el Bulli is roughly equivalent to that charged in the French countryside by 3 stars such as Bras who serves superior and more expensive ingredients.
Gastroville rating: 16/20
December 09, 2004
Recent trip to Alba, Not only good truffles
It is a very reassuring feeling to begin to be known in a locale. This was our fourth trip to Alba and always the same hotel but miraculously we seem to graduate to better rooms. We are also getting quite good in driving from a small town to another and distances that seemed to be an hour driving took only 25 mn. or so this year(such as driving from our hotel in Alba to Albaretto della Torre or to Cervere).
I am starting to develop some firm beliefs with regard to which dishes go best with truffles. The list is actually quite short. Heading the list is fried eggs(sometimes with fonduta) with truffles. It is not possible to have this in the States as I have never tasted eggs that good here, even the farm eggs. A close contender is hand chopped raw veal. Carne crudi. Again it is not possible to have such a thing here as the Piemontese veal is very special and the labor intensive process too costly. Third, some vegetable flan, such as cardoons with fonduta is a good match with truffles. Among the pasta dishes, the traditional thin noodles called tajarin is the best, even better than risotto as a match for truffles. The traditional agnolotti is good too, but perhaps a tad less suitable for truffles than tajarin. Apart from what I mentioned, you can serve white truffles with whatever you want(quail salad, raw fish, potato soup, veal scaloppini, even game)but Piemontese will sneer at you and for good reason.
A harder question is to gauge the quality of truffles. Alba truffles are attached to the roots of 3 kinds of trees: oak, beech. and cedar. When you scratch the surface, you can surmise the origin: beech is lightest, oak is brown and cedar is reddish. I used to think that a light color is associated with the degree of ripeness but this is clearly wrong. Actually some of the most aromatic truffles are very light in color. But my provisional conclusion is that beech tree imparts a more delicate and perfumed aroma to the truffle. Oak, on the other hand, gives an aroma which is more garlicky and pronounced.
Besides two qualities clearly matter: freshness and size. Size is important aesthetically and also when you grate it you get larger slices and, everything else equal, the aroma is more pronounced. Truffles which are not consumed within a week or so start losing their aromas and the texture becomes softer. I am afraid most of the truffles we eat in the States are simply not on par with what you get in the reputable places in Piemonte.
This time we tried some old favorites with friends and I convinced them to give a shot to Antica Corone Reale di Renzo in Cervere. Besides, we dined at Da Cesare and had lunch at Trattoria della Posta in Monforte d'Alba. My wife and I had a quick meal at Antine in Barbaresco too.
My strategy in these meals consisting of ordering one or two portions with truffles only, instead of a full truffle menu. This way we tried some exceptional dishes.
Da Renzo, IMO, is the best restaurant in Langhe today. Their is a father and son team in the kitchen and the cooking is both intense and refined. Even the amuse, fonduta with cotechino sausage is extraordinary. The local snails with young leeks from Cervere is a signature dish and perhaps the best snail dish I have tasted. I had a taste of the fried eggs with fonduta and truffles that somebody else has ordered and this was the beginning of the conversion for me to see the happy marriage. The hand chopped veal they use for truffles is simply garnished with olive oil and the taste is stunning. The gobbi pictured below is so transparent and the hand chopped veal so tasty that it is the contender to the best pasta dish after the demise of Guido(their hand cut agnolotti was rightly legendary).
Main courses are equally successful. Roasted suckling pig with balsamic vinegar is as good as one can get in Spain(say at Zuberoa) and the pork is the noble Cinte Senese variety(very rare and an endangered species). They also prepare a traditional dish called finanziera consisting of internal organs of very young veal and cock's comb, held together by cooking juices and cream. Brain, sweetbread, kidneys, heart, liver, tripe and gelatinous feet all vye for attention in this memorable dish. Certainly a cardiologist's dream(pictured below).
I was also very fortunate that the group I was together with let me order the wines in all places we visited. Ordering wine is a source of potential tension and this is one reason why I am sometimes reluctant to dine out with people whose wine taste I don't know. My meal gets ruined if I set my eye to a bottle and if the other party thinks otherwise. Fortunately this was not a problem in our little group as both Robert and Ulrich turned out to be ideal dining companions, deferring to my judgement. I hope I did not let them down and of the four bottle we drank, I strongly recommend the 1999 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate to friends. This is a wine that hides its 14.5% alcohol well and the new oak is perfectly integrated in the overall structure and the creaminess that I associate with old vines. A delight with suckling pig and finanziera. Too strong for the delicate truffle(IMO the best match for Alba truffles is an aged Meursault from the likes of Jobard or Coche or Roulot but I can not find them in Piemonte and settle for a Barbera)
The following day we had lunch at Trattoria Posta It seems like I like the restaurant more than Robert did and this maybe because we ordered different things. Their onion fonduta with salsicce was very good but the porcini and bacon with tomatos baked in chestnut leaves even better(picture below)
The agnolotti del plin with ground veal, reggiano and herbs was very good too--but it did not have the ethereal quality of the similar dish at Renzo. I included this picture to show 2 different truffles(beech and oak) in the dish. Because I was asking too many questions they let me see for myself and compare the 2. I still could not reach a conclusion other than concluding that they were generous with portions and charged less per 100 grams than what Robert and I paid to a dealer when we bought a mid sized truffle to take to a Swiss restaurant/inn near Lugano when we spent a night before they returned to Nice and we moved on to Verona (Motto di Gallo)
The best dish at Trattoria Posta though was the roasted goose breast with goose liver and balsamicoThe goose liver was well integrated in the sauce and the goose was caramelized outside and juicy inside. Basically the dish was a confit and it was deeper in taste than a duck confit. It went extremely well with the 2000 Masseto which was perhaps a crime to drink but at the price an understandable crime. To be honest this is the first Masseto I tried and I was impressed by its breed and iron backbone. It is neither like a Pomerol or an opulent Washington Merlot but not a strange animal either. It has some hints of complexity and I would like to hear from somebody if they know how Massetos age. I liked it more than Redigaffi that I know better.
The same night we went to Da Cesarefor dinner. It was a delight to see Cesare in good shape. This is my third time there and my good memories held. Of course I had come for the capretto the young goat Cesare spit roasts in the special fire place. How does that look?
While writing this I remembered that SteveP had gone to great lenghts to describe the taste of this dish at egullet. The one detail I remember he had said that it is between veal and lamb but like neither of them. If this is what he said--or if I attribute to him--I can not add much. They hack it up to pieces and serve in a large platter. You choose a few pieces and they serve a second later. The skin is wonderfully crisp and smoky and the meat is moist and a dash pleasently chewy. It is served with nice chips.
One problem with Cesare is that he does not have a dish which goes very well with truffles. He has a risotto but his risotto is of average quality. In return, what he calls langithat is agnolotti with castelmagno cheese is exceptional. It explodes in the mouth. The only problem is that the castelmagno is a bit strong for truffle.
We also had a small wild duck. The same day, we had seen hunters on the road with their funny hats chasing game. I was careful to eat my duckling just in case a bullet was still inside but this did not turned out to be the case. Joke aside, the last baby wild duck I had eaten was a lackluster preparation at l'Esperance in Burgundy. Cesare roasted it to order and to perfection with a medley of vegetables and lots of roasted garlic. A delight.
Desserts are very good at Cesare. I like their extremely rich zabaionewith moscato but Robert found it too sweet and he prefers the preparation with spumante. In his turn Robert raved about his sorbet with grappa and wild herbs and he ordered a second. The small bite I had made an impression. My favorite on the other hand was the semifreddo of mandarino which was as intense and flavorful as the rest of Cesare's cooking.
Of the 4-5 bottles we ordered at Cesare the most noteworthy one was again a Barolo Roberto Voerzio. Another 99 but Cerequio not Brunate. This is more opulent and ready to drink but a tad less concentrated than the Brunate.
We went to Antinein Barbaresco for lunch and ordered only a tajarin and fried eggs with truffles. The latter is so simple yet satisfying:
We shortshifted Antine but they made a good impression. Is there any one star in France that you can order only 2 appetizers and 2 espressos with half bottle of red wine? You can but they will let you know that they are unhappy. Not in Piemonte. They actually served some very fresh chocolate truffles and petit fours with the espressos and they were extremely kind. This is a place I would like to return.
Prices were very reasonable despite the weak $ and the quality of truffles very good.
/VM
