Destination: Spain

review: inside his mind… (quique dacosta)

I’ve never tasted terroir as intensely or unequivocally as I did in Dénia, Spain earlier this year. Eating at Quique Dacosta is like doing a faceplant on the shoreline not a hundred yards from the restaurant’s door.* It is a dynamic experience, where prehistory meets the future, where the land meets the sea, and where […]

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review: inside his mind… (quique dacosta)

I’ve never tasted terroir as intensely or unequivocally as I did in Dénia, Spain earlier this year. Eating at Quique Dacosta is like doing a faceplant on the shoreline not a hundred yards from the restaurant’s door.* It is a dynamic experience, where prehistory meets the future, where the land meets the sea, and where […]

Continue

suitcase party…

Eleven months ago, I took a tremendous leap of faith. I quit my job. Life will catch you, my friends reassured. I wasn’t so convinced. I went to Europe soon thereafter, to think, to eat, to explore, and to spectate. Certain that it was my last hurrah for a while, I was thankful for the […]

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suitcase party…

Eleven months ago, I took a tremendous leap of faith. I quit my job. Life will catch you, my friends reassured. I wasn’t so convinced. I went to Europe soon thereafter, to think, to eat, to explore, and to spectate. Certain that it was my last hurrah for a while, I was thankful for the […]

Continue

review: ever after… (sant pau)

Good chefs tell stories. They convey a sense of time and place. Great chefs tell fairytales. They create time and place. Carme Ruscalleda is a great chef. And at her restaurant by the sea, a meal unfolds like a storybook, full of romance and wonder. It is a capsule, a world unto itself, Sant Pau […]

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review: ever after… (sant pau)

Good chefs tell stories. They convey a sense of time and place. Great chefs tell fairytales. They create time and place. Carme Ruscalleda is a great chef. And at her restaurant by the sea, a meal unfolds like a storybook, full of romance and wonder. It is a capsule, a world unto itself, Sant Pau […]

Continue

review: anthology… (elbulli)

My wish came true. I got to have lunch on that patio by the sea after all.* Having already had the extraordinary fortune of getting a seat at elBullí in February, I was invited back in early July, last-minute, by my friend Adam of A Life Worth Eating, who, having eaten there last fall, found […]

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review: anthology… (elbulli)

My wish came true. I got to have lunch on that patio by the sea after all.* Having already had the extraordinary fortune of getting a seat at elBullí in February, I was invited back in early July, last-minute, by my friend Adam of A Life Worth Eating, who, having eaten there last fall, found […]

Continue

review: landscape of memory…

There are three rocks on every table at el Celler de Can Roca, presumably one for each of the brothers Roca. There’s Joan, the chef; Josep, the sommelier; and Jordi on pastries. Together, they’ve built upon their family’s restaurant, where all three worked as youths, and made it one of the world’s most acclaimed dining […]

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review: landscape of memory…

There are three rocks on every table at el Celler de Can Roca, presumably one for each of the brothers Roca. There’s Joan, the chef; Josep, the sommelier; and Jordi on pastries. Together, they’ve built upon their family’s restaurant, where all three worked as youths, and made it one of the world’s most acclaimed dining […]

Continue

review: fugue…

John Shields, the chef of Town House, was unnaturally familiar with the forty-two dishes that were recently set down before us at el bulli. Having tried unsuccessfully for years to get a reservation at the restaurant, he had spent a considerable amount of time reading about and canvassing the internet for pictures of Ferran Adria’s […]

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review: fugue…

John Shields, the chef of Town House, was unnaturally familiar with the forty-two dishes that were recently set down before us at el bulli. Having tried unsuccessfully for years to get a reservation at the restaurant, he had spent a considerable amount of time reading about and canvassing the internet for pictures of Ferran Adria’s […]

Continue

travel: brave new world…

When the clock struck 2011, I quit my job and lept into a brave new world, vast and endless. Scared?  Out of my mind. Excited?  Brimming. Unfettered, a free agent to the world, I shrugged off responsibility and began my adventure in Europe, grabbing life by the cheeks and squeezing as hard as I could. […]

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travel: brave new world…

When the clock struck 2011, I quit my job and lept into a brave new world, vast and endless. Scared?  Out of my mind. Excited?  Brimming. Unfettered, a free agent to the world, I shrugged off responsibility and began my adventure in Europe, grabbing life by the cheeks and squeezing as hard as I could. […]

Continue

photo of the week 2: the church of mushroom…

Since España won the World Cup this week, I dove into my Spanish collection for inspiration. In 2005, I was a student of the world, traveling extensively and eating my way gluttonously through Europe. How could I not stop in Barcelona? A hajj to the tapas Mecca seemed not only prudent, but necessary. I never […]

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photo of the week 2: the church of mushroom…

Since España won the World Cup this week, I dove into my Spanish collection for inspiration. In 2005, I was a student of the world, traveling extensively and eating my way gluttonously through Europe. How could I not stop in Barcelona? A hajj to the tapas Mecca seemed not only prudent, but necessary. I never […]

Continue

best dishes of 2005…

Best Dishes of 2005 Click on any of the photos to see all of the Best Dishes of 2005 Wild wood strawberrys, Nicoise olives, basil chiffonade, & basil ice cream at Mosconi. Luxembourg. Click on any of the photos to see all of the Best Dishes of 2005. My gosh does time fly… It’s been […]

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best dishes of 2005…

Best Dishes of 2005 Click on any of the photos to see all of the Best Dishes of 2005 Wild wood strawberrys, Nicoise olives, basil chiffonade, & basil ice cream at Mosconi. Luxembourg. Click on any of the photos to see all of the Best Dishes of 2005. My gosh does time fly… It’s been […]

Continue