Tapaç24

 Tapas24 would be our last tapa meal for the trip. Frankly, I'm near tapa'd out. As much as I love jamon and goodies on toast, there is no way I can live like this everyday. Wine.. tapas... pinxtchos.. wine.. cava.. jamon.. olives. I'm only glad tonight's meal will NOT be another "toast" centered feast.

Tapas24 is sister to Commerc24, which is the more formal of the two. Both establishments steer towards modern, fun tapas yet retains some of its Catalan heritage. Fortunately, we arrive early, 8 pm early, and able to get a terrace seating immediately. A 30 minute line,chock full of tourists start to form as we get comfortable.

You would think this being Spain and all, the sangria should be excellent. To our dismay, the sangria we've had so far have all been diluted with fruit juice. Just about ready to give up on sangria, this white prototype saves the day. Refreshing, natural tasting, perfect!

Bikini Sandwich - shaved black truffles, jamon, cheese. Small, delicate, full of flavor!

Potato Bravas - spanish fries, garlic aioli, spicy tomato sauce. Meh

Beef carpaccio, capers, lemon cream sauce. Very fusion'y. Very familiar. Maybe a little too familiar..

They call it the McFoie Burger. A beef patty cooked to medium rare, sandwiched between brioche toast, with a dollop of foie gras whipped cream. It's sinfully good. Although, a slab of foie hidden between the bread would have been even more exciting.

Senses dulled by now with the onslaught of too much sangria (wine for me is like overdosing on sleeping pills), we decide to make our way to the renowned Barcelona beach.

El Club Allard (The Club Allard)

El Club Allard will be our first fine dining, michelin star experience in Spain. We have been told that it holds 2 michelin stars and is located in a prestigious private club. Private it is... We walk down the block, from one end to the other, countless times, with no signage of El Club Allard. Finally, after asking multiple people, we realize we are standing right at the front door!

Chef Diego Gruerro makes an effort to introduce the menu personally to each customer. A nice touch that is unheard of in LA. Chef in the kitchen?! That's sacrilegious!

We arrive at the table to find 2 white business cards sitting side by side on the table. A few minutes later, the servers brings a bowl and instructs us to dip this card into the sauce and munch on it, like you would nachos! Hesitantly, we abide with his instructions. Crunchy, tasteless, like rice paper. Ok... I get it. Molecular Gastronomy. But I'm from LA and I had better.

game truffle with foie and mushrooms

Another mo-ga moment, black truffle by appearance but game-like meat in taste, accompanied by shaved, freeze dried foie. Not impressed. But the dish is elevated by the smoking presentation.

"perretxico" mushrooms and Navarre asarragus papillote

This wild mushroom papillote is an example of simple but very well executed dish. No smoke and mirrors, just simple good food.

skrey

Skrey is a Nordic fish, a common staple of Icelandic folk. Vague memories of having dried Skrey in Iceland still remain. But frankly, they weren't fond ones. Today's skrey is clean, firm and laced with wild mushroom broth. Much better.

veal cheek doughnut

Veal cheek doughnut... which my dining companian, lovingly, called "poop". The veal is stewed to soft, thready consistency, then shaped into a doughnut. Not the best presentation and the flavors do not pop.

the fishbowl

Now onto the fishbowl. Cute, ingenious, tasty. Now this is molecular gastronomy! True to its name, you have the tank, the coral, the kelp, and the abalone shell. Taste? Green tea sponge cake, cream, chocolate, foam. Chef Gruerro, we need more of this and less of veal doughnuts!

poche egg

The poached egg is another one of his signature dishes. White chocolate, coconut gelee, and the yolk is a mango sauce. This is a dish which elicits oohs and ahhs as the spoon gently cracks along the egg shell.

Has Chef Gruerro fallen to the trap of signature dishes as many famed chefs eventually do? Probably. The clientele appeared to be mostly tourists and his menu, suspiciously, never changes. After much research, and after seeing countless fishbowls and poche egg, I came to the conclusion that his menu has barely changed in the past year. Ergo, the high number of tourists and waning number of locals.

http://www.elcluballard.com/

Mercado San Miguel, Madrid

Of all the markets, Mercado San Miguel may be the most cosmopolitan of them all. Only recently refurbished, the steel beams are the only remnants of the original market.

San Miguel is a food lover's playground. You can find anything from cocktails, wine bars, champagne oyster bars, fruit stalls, cheesebar, jamon, and of course.. tapas y pinxtos.

cocktail bar - mojitos, cairpirihna

This prawn is the most memorable of our market excursion. Bright red in color and much more sweet than the prawns in the US, I found the hefty price tag of 15 euros acceptable. Pointing a finger and grunting "uno", the vendor immediately tossed the single prawn on the grill and sprinkled some sea salt. Clean, simple, delish.

Jamon Museo (Ham Museum) - bellota bellota!

In response to my constant requests of jamon, jamon, our friend showed us the crème de la crème of jamon shops - Jamon Museum. The plethora of jamon, sausage, pâté were jaw dropping. We were able to taste all sorts of cured meats and paired with a generous serving of sangria.

Once again, complimentary chorizo sandwiches were passed out with the libations. The bellota is by far my favorite iberico ham and one of the most prized. Fed only on acorns and cured for 36 months, the glistening fat is melt in your mouth and the taste is subtly sweet and salty. Not surprisingly, I found myself ordering bellota everyday, everywhere it could be found. Hell, why not? We are in Spain after all.

"French chef Joël Robuchon informed me flatly in Paris, 'The ham and pork of Spain are the best in the world.' (We were speaking at the L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, his idiosyncratic—and mobbed—version of a sushi or tapas bar, where a plate of unadorned jamón ibérico is the most expensive dish on the menu.) In New York the telegenic Mario Batali recently opened Bar Jamón, which features Spanish tapas. Because of import restrictions, Bar Jamón can serve only jamón serrano, a cousin of jamón ibérico. Still, serrano is more than respectable. Chef Andy Nusser, who runs the kitchen at Bar Jamón, says that serrano ham is superior to prosciutto from Parma. However, he readily admits, 'Once you taste ibérico, you can't compare it to anything else.''

*After some research, the white blotches on the jamon I bought turned out to be the natural crystals  protein produces after being aged. It is these crystals that give jamon that umami flavor, much like aged cheese. I ignorantly complained to the vendor, asking him to exchange my packages for the jamon with less white spots, believing it was mold. I could slap myself in the face for this.*

                                                                                   http://www.museodeljamon.es/

Day one of España

As the plane touched down, I barely managed to restrain myself from leaping into a cab and stuttering in broken Spanish, "Take me to the nearest tapa bar." Twelve hours is a long flight, even for someone who frequently travels to Asia. And it feels even longer when the meals consist of microwaved trays of muddy stews and limp vegetables.

Fortunately, our friend/guide/native of Madrid, steered us to a local wine bar stacked with a panorama of aged and young vino. A complimentary plate of tapas appeared magically with the wine. Much to my surprise, it is common to have a few simple tapas of olives and pinxtos sent out with orders of wine. Who doesn't love that?!

rivera de duero, favorite wine!

The tangy pickled olives tasted nothing like the preservative laden olives of the US. The plump mejillones (mussels) were prepared ceviche like, with chopped bell peppers, tomatoes and a dash of lime. But my absolute favorite, even to this day, are the white anchovies! It is umami in every bite.

                                                               El Anciano Rey de Los Vino
                                                                  La Paz, 4, Madrid, Spain
                                                   http://www.elancianoreydelosvinos.es/en/