Taberna de Jam, Grenada Spain - and again ...

It was hard to stay away ... Firstly because it was just across the street from our hotel, secondly because the food really was that good. It was a great place to start the evening off, we could gather together over a few drinks, a few tapas, and set out for the rest of the evening. They have an impressive jamón menu, with majority of the listing perched up on the counter. The top rating jamón was the Joselito. The Joselito is an acorn fed Iberico ham. The meat is a rosy pink, with streaks of fat marbled through each piece. Watching the meat sliced from the leg with a long knife, we are very impressed by the skill, and also the care taken. As a small piece is sliced off, it is draped on the plate, with the next slice laying directly beside it. It's as if the leg is coming back to life on the plate, with each piece carefully put together like a puzzle.



It's smooth and delicate, and almost sweet to begin. It's then you get a hit of salt and the creaminess of fat, which really elevates this jamón experience to another level.

Bite-sized little toasts topped with pate & apple puree arrive next. These little morsels pack a load of flavour all in one bite.



The same apple puree appears on our next dish, but merely adds a sweetness to the dish, and it does not feel at all like we are eating the same component. Toasted bread, apple puree, a blood sausage and raisin mix with a fresh herb oil. A little bit messy to eat, but very tasty.



We are discussing the rest of the evenings plans, over a few drinks, with good food & great company. One last little steak sandwich on toasted bread with baby leaves before we head out into the night ....




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Casa Pascualillo, Zaragoza .... our last night in Aragon region

The regional food of Aragon was present all over Zaragoza. It was our last night before heading deep into the Basque country, so we were after some traditional fare. We head out in search of Casa Pascualillo. We stop by the bar firstly ... as we are way to early to sit down and eat - it's only 8pm.



We get 2 glasses of white wine and the house specialty of fried young garlic shoots.



We can see the one large kitchen that runs the back length of both the bar and restaurant are shared. The chef's definitely getting ready for the evening's meal service, but not appearing rushed or stressed. A condensed menu is offered at the bar, so Miga's are soon on the cards. Miga's are a dish of breadcrumbs, humble yet oh-so-satisfying. Traditionally eaten at breakfast using leftover bread, they have now turned into a gourmet addition to menu's no matter what time of day. The crumbs are fried in olive oil, seasoned generously with salt with sliced of fried chorizo and a soft cooked egg. We expected the crumbs to be crunchy, but they are disappointingly soft and kind of boring ..... A fantastic idea, although in these circumstance at least, executed badly.



There's a small door at the rear of the bar, and right on 9pm it's opened up and people start spilling over from the bar. We make our way over. Once we are seated, again getting a servers attention seemed to be quite difficult. As soon as we get someone's attention, a bottle of red was ordered along with the evenings food. First up, Habitas saltedas con jamon y virtuas de foie de canard. Baby broad beans with jamon & foie gras. A nice light starter ......



For the main event, we cannot resist an Aragon classic - Paletilla de Ternasco asado con patatas, roast suckling lamb with roast potatoes. The lamb is covered in a crackling crust, tender juicy meat caged inside. Simply served with home style roast potatoes and a light sauce of the cooking juices.



A plate of Parillada de huerta, or mix char grilled vegetables, is the perfect accompaniment. Thick slices of eggplant, zucchini, potato, aparagus, peppers & onions are grilled with a splash of herb oil.



Aragon is quite famous for the peaches it produces, coming from the fertile lower valleys of the region. When we spot a dessert simply peaches, ice-cream & red wine, we can't resist.



Farewell Aragon ... see you next time around !!

Casa Pascualillo
Calle Libertad 5 - 7
50003 Zaragoza
T: 976 397 203

Los Victorinos

Los Victorinos is one of the most highly recommended tapas bars in Zaragoza. In the time it took to take a two minute walk around the block and back down the tiny lane way hiding this gem, waiting for it to open it opened and was half full with locals.



The heads of several bulls look down from the walls little brass plaques listing their names, fighters under each.



Every tapas looked delicious so we just picked the first four that were on the bar in front of us. These were whipped away and quickly heated before being presented for our appreciation.
Jamon with morels and foie is sweet and earthy.



Goats cheese slowly melted over more jamon with a sweet pepper relish.



Two types of cheese melted over pork crackling. Wtf ?? Seriously. Just too awesome.



A croquette? of mushrooms with foie.



After the success of our first choices we had to try another couple.
We return for another morel and foie combo.



As well as two types of porky goodness with a fried quails egg.



The whole bar was so much win we could have easily stayed the whole night through but there was so much of Zaragoza to see and such little time ...

Los Victorinos
Calle de José de la Hera, 6
Zaragoza

Tapaç24, Barcelona

On our first visit to Tapaç24 (yes, there will be more posts to come) it was our first realization that Easter weekend in Barcelona means not to many places will be open ... We headed over the the L'Example district with our maps marked of coffee shops, providores and lunch spots. It was early, but upon wandering around it looked as though the whole town had closed up shop for the entire weekend ... After about half a dozen failed attempts at finding anything, we decide to try our luck over by Paseo de Gracia. As we turned the corner, the big glass doors plastered in the words "TAPAS 24" were open, and lights were beaming through onto the street.



It's here my walk turned more into a skip, the excitement to much for me to handle ... I know we were probably only wandering around for an hour and a half, but the prospect of not finding somewhere to eat, let alone have a coffee was frightening. We run in and perch at the counter and order 2 cafe solo before you can even say Beunas.



It's not even lunch time yet, so this is just a mere mid-morning snack. I pick a flauta with chorizo from the counter.



and we also order the Bikini24. This is perhaps one of the finest examples of a toasted ham & cheese sandwich. Spanish jamon, cheese & a hint of truffle sandwiched in slices of crustless white bread that has been lathered with butter - cut in little bikini triangles. Yum!



We're still going on our cafe solo's, which have to be a whopping 60-70ml, so choose a pastry from the counter as well. Not to sure what it was, but am certain it was delicious. Crispy sweet pastry with a custard cream in the centre doused in icing sugar.



At least if nothing else opens over the Easter Weekend we know we can come back here ...

TapaÇ24
Open 8am-Midnight
Diputacio 269, Barcelona 08007
(near Paseo de Gracia)
Tel: +34 934 880 977

Best sandwich in the world ??

... Well, that's what Mark Bittman from the NY Times said back on October 15th, 2006.

He was talking about the Iberica Flauta at Cafe Viena. We wanted to find out for ourselves of course, so upon arrival in Barcelona we barely threw our bags in our apartment, which was conviniently located on Las Rambla, had ourselves a hot shower (so good after a long flight!) and hit the streets in search of this said sandwich.

We headed off down Las Rambla, pausing for a moment when we reached La Boqueria, in awe. All those jamons hanging in the grand entrance, and fresh fruits & vegetables for miles, but we resist the distraction (until the walk home, anyway) and continue on in search of Cafe Viena.

It's actually closer than we thought, and we've reached it in no time. They're obviously quite proud of the praise they received, as posters are plastered everywhere advertising "the Best Sandwich in the World". Menu's are even available in in several languages ... We perch at the bar and order 2 Iberica Flauta's. They arrive extremely fast, I'm sure they're pre-made and waiting out the back.



Now, is it the best sandwich in the world? Well, I think it could be one of the best concepts for best sandwich in the world ... Freshly baked, crunchy flauta (baguette) that has a nice crisp and taste of olive oil as you bite it, rubbed with plump, ripe tomato, and piled with sliced Iberian ham.



Was it the best executed sandwich in the world? Sadly not ... I think they have gotten so busy, and lost the soul that may have been there 4 years ago when Mark Bittman was.





Café Viena
La Rambla del Estudis, 115
Barcelona, Spain
T: 93/349-9800

Bistro CBD, Sydney

It's Thursday afternoon and we swing by the stylish CBD hotel for a quick lunch.  We're headed for Bistro CBD, located on the first floor of this CBD hotel which is part of the Merivale empire. Bistro CBD has been awarded one chef's hat from the SMH for a few years running.

Simun Dragicevich is the man behind the stove, a friend of ours from my time at est. and we're actually popping in to say 'Hi' to him as well. Unfortunately (for us) he's back home in New Zealand for his birthday. We take a nice quiet seat in the corner and browse the menu. We remembered seeing something about set lunches on offer at CBD on the Merivale website (which I'm looking at now, and they are indeed offering the 'Fixed rate feast' of 3 courses for $40) but we don't see this anywhere on the menu and weren't verbally notified of any such thing, so just decide to go al a carte. I have trouble selecting my appetizer as there's a few things I like the sound of. I start with King salmon with spiced melon and ginger. There's 2 generous slices of salmon that are crusted with fresh herbs and resting on a nice avocado and lemon mix, with some spiced melon slices and fried ginger off to one side. I have trouble trying to work out what has been done to the salmon ... it didn't appear smoked, but was slightly cooked, perhaps sous vide. The flavors are all nice, it's just nothing exciting.



Kim chooses a classic, Jamón Serrano with Manchego, fresh figs, witlof and escarole. There's 3 slices of Manchego, a few slices of Jamon draped delicately, a black fig cut in 1/4's and a escarole and witlof salad. An extra slice of sourdough is in order, and I do manage to get a pick. All beautiful ingredients, and a classic combination.



With the trouble I had choosing which appetizer to order, and no main taking my fancy, course #2 for me is another appetizer. I settled on the seared scallops with cured duck breast, celeriac puree with fennel and watercress salad. I see a bit of Peter Doyle in the plating of this dish. The scallops were okay (I guess after now being spoilt with Hokkaido Diver scallops nothing really compares) the cured duck breast, celeriac puree and little salad were a nice combination though.



A big hunk of beef! That was what Kim was after. We both really miss just having a good steak. That's one thing we haven't got to indulge in since being in Japan. As wagyu is the standard breed of cattle, the beef is just so rich, that no one would sit down and eat more that 60 or 80g at one time. It's another classic, simple bistro pairing of grilled fillet of Angus beef with jerusalem artichokes, green shallots and red wine jus. I know it's lunch time, they're super busy and want to churn through the guests, but the steak wasn't even rested. We would have been more than happy to wait an extra 10 minutes while the meat was rested. With a combination this simple and classic, it needs to be executed perfectly, and it was not. To boot, the side order of fries that got sent to our table were horribly undercooked, so we sent them back. It was terribly disappointing to see that the bowl of fries, that was already seasoned with salt, was thrown back into the fryer for a few minutes before being returned to us. The result, a horribly oily, semi crisp shoestring chip. Eew.



With the way lunch was going, we didn't decide to stay for cheese and dessert, which we had full intentions of doing.

Simun's pressence was definately missed in the kitchen on this paticular visit, as his passion and enthusiasm shines through his food, usually elevating these classic bistro staples to something sublime.

Bar Espana, Suskino, Sapporo

We’d spent the day wandering around Odori Park for the Yuki Matsuri (Snow festival) in Sapporo, and golly me it was cold.



After a shower and a freshen up it’s over to the Suskino end of town where we’re told the Ice Festival takes place. And indeed it does. Upon reaching the Route 36 / Suskino intersection as far as we can see it lit up with lights and there are some amazing ice carvings. We have a little wander around, we’re trying to find Blanc, which is a little wine bar over this side of town. We wander around for a while and don’t manage to find it (we later find out its upstairs in one of those vertical buildings housing a whole range of things, duh). It starts snowing quite heavily, which is very picturesque, but we’re now in desperate need of 3 things; shelter, drink and food.



Right on Suskino we see a very welcoming sign “Bar Espana”. And as we look in its bustling with Japanese couples and groups sitting and drinking but there’s a little spot at the bar for the 2 of us, perfect.



That’s the first thing sorted, now we both need that drink. There’s a fair sized wine list with about 12 by the glass. Kim starts with a glass of ’05 Motersierra Rosato. I decide on a fresh fruits sangria. (yes I know I said fruits, but it on the menu like that, and it’s cute.) A single ice cube is placed in the glass then topped with the red wine sangria mix. A generous spoonful of macerated berries is then added, which are sitting in a nice rich syrup. A splash of soda is added and then it’s checked for seasoning. All good! Then a little tray of fruit emerges from the fridge and artfully crafted and displayed on the top of the drink. A single orange segment, 3 perfect slices of apple and slice of kiwi fruit, a plump strawberry and 2 blueberries are threaded onto a tiny toothpick. As I pick up the glass I’m already impressed, its paper thin Japanese glassware and a fair size. I take the tip of the little toothpick and stir through the fruit then take a sip. It’s sweet, a little tart but still a nice robust wine flavour and is oh so soothing with the snow falling just beyond the door.



And lastly, food. We love these sorts of places, we just order a few things with no idea about where the night is heading. First up, we can’t resist the Spanish Anchovies with Bucket. We were both curious about this one …. A plate arrives with 8 plump little fillets that are doused in olive oil with a little chopped herbs and cracked pepper. Then there’s a little basket with 2 thick slices of crusty baguette, ahhh, bucket. It’s a case of JapEnglish translation and not some bucket filled with something exciting.



Mmm, pig. We’re already drooling over the leg of Jamon, sitting on the bar top that waiters are just slicing chunks from, filling little plates and delivering them all over the little tiny room.



But firstly, fried pig’s ears with garlic. They are deliciously chewy on the inside but a crisp crackly outside is coated in fried garlic. Mmm.



While we’re savouring each moment the delicious pigs ears are in our mouth, a plate of Iberico chorizo arrives. 12 paper thin slices are laid out on a little wooden tray. There’s a few caperberries, cornichons, parsley, dill and chervil to one corner and it’s spiked with a few toothpicks for easy eating.



Ah, rather than ordering a plate of sliced Jamon there was something else that caught our stomach. Jamon sandwich. We had seen this little beauty crafted in front of our eyes, the anticipation almost becoming too much ….. As one waiter is slicing chunks of Jamon from the bone someone else is grilling a nice chunk of baguette. The baguette is then rubbed with a garlic clove and a sliced tomato. The smell on the hot bread is amazing. It’s then drizzled with virgin olive oil and the sliced Jamon piled between the 2 slices. Wow! The hot, crusty, garlicy tomato baguette is such a nice contrast with the room temperature, chewy and smooth Jamon. Amazing.



We order some more drinks and some olives. There’s a jar of them sitting on the counter, a scoop of olives is placed in a boat and topped with some fried shallots. There were 3 different Spanish olives all marinated in a strong garlic oil and they were all delicious.



We see a paella being served behind us. They have about 5 different ones on the menu. It looks and smells incredible. We will be back some other time just for this ….



But for now, back to the drinking and tapa’s. Slices of barely cooked octopus are sprinkled with good Spanish paprika. They are resting a cute little terracotta pot. The octopus is so fresh and tender! And underneath we discover some boiled potatoes and garlic dressing.



We get talking to the bartender, who’s really nice and asking all about what we do / where we’re from. We then get to asking him about all the stuff that written around the walls in Japanese. Ah, of course, today’s specials. We manage to get a fair idea of what’s on offer with our little Japanese and his little English. Wagyu carpaccio. Eh? We need one of those now! The meat is so tender, I just love the way with each chew a good wagyu gives you the flavour from the fat, the texture from the meat and an all over body excitement … There’s a little squeeze of lemon, salt flakes, cracked pepper, a few mini tomatoes and more garlic oil (we won’t have to worry about vampires tonight!).



Well, we sure are glad we asked about the specials. The next up, some local Hokkaido deer that is seared to a golden crisp with a deep red gamey flesh. There’s a nice pink peppercorn sauce, roast garlic and purple potato.



While we’re sitting there enjoying our last drink, we ran into some customers I had served at Sekka. It was so funny as I was telling them they had to go to the Suskino end of town to see the ice carvings…. And there they were! They snapped a nice happy pic of us, we shared some stories over our extremely cold adventurous day we’d both had and then we confirmed directions to Blanc from our bar tender.



We did make it to Blanc and wished to continue the night with drinking and eating. The menu was all in Japanese and we tried to get some help. They blantantly said, No help, Omakase. We reluctantly agreed. Then we tried to order a bottle of wine. The first one, no stock. Second one, no stock. Third one, no stock. Finally we’re in luck, the ’96 Vin D’Alsace Pinot Blanc was in stock. But then the waiter tried to tell us we not like this wine, very very sweet. What the?? And the food was about the same…

Tortilla Flat, Sapporo

Wandering through the little underground villages in Sapporo that link various parts of the city to subway stations & shopping centres is always full of surprises. The little arcades are lined with funky little shops, and of course, countless little eateries. We had just stocked up on some books at Kinokuniya and crossed the road, entering JR station from the street we headed one floor underground. We were both captured by an entrance labeled "Pleasure town". Most of these little arcades tend to have names, like "Pole Town" "Fashion Lane" etc. We had to venture in to see what "Pleasure Town" had to offer. They must of course be talking about the 'Pleasure of Eating ...'

Wandering through we found this awesome little dumpling place (which of course we went back to. Blog to come) and various other eateries... But the one that took our fancy was Tortilla Flat.

I don't know what drew us in the first, the giant wine barrels, the hundreds of wine bottles, or perhaps the numerous Iberico legs hanging from the roof.



We poke our head in, it's allready quite full. We're happy to settle at the counter. There's quite a large menu with some fantasticly humorous translations and most of the drinks are in English.



We start with an order of one white sangria and one red. Sitting at the counter we see each drink crafted in a stemless riedel. Sugoi! The drinks are then passed from the bartender directly to us over the counter.



She then takes an cheese pick and peels back a white towel to reveal a half wheel of aged Parmigano Regiano. The heady aroma of the cheese escapes as she lifts the towel. Mmm. She takes the pick and hacks some chunks from the inside of the cheese. These chunks are then taken out with a spoon, placed in a little dish with a few toothpicks and handed to us over the bar. Wow. I think the whole experience of seeing it produced made it taste even better. A nice sharp kick to awaken the palate for what lay ahead.



We immediately order the marinated Spanish olives. A large jar of olives is produced and the bar tender just takes a spoonful into a dish and hands them over the bar. There was plump salty black olives and little stuffed green ones that were marinated in a garlic olive oil.



We had seen the leg of Iberico sitting on the counter, so next is plate of fresh sliced Iberico. Sitting at the counter we have a great view straight down into the kitchen. There's a young Japanese girl with awesome hair taking charge. She takes the Iberico from the counter and starts slicing.



Taking her time she fills the plate generously with the chunks of delicious pork. It's then drizzled with some virgin oil and finished with a large sprig of chervil. It's nice and firm, salty and full of flavour.



We then couldn't resist the slow cooked pork trotter with a sherry sauce. The pork meat is encased in an almost crackling like skin, but just tears apart with a fork. It's juicy and just has that porky flavour that we've not experienced outside of Japan. The sherry sauce is a nice sweet reduction of the cooking liquid. A few crisp vegetables sit to the side.



The drinks keep flowing and we keep on ordering dish by dish. We both love eating this way .... Next is garlic mushrooms. We see them getting prepared in the kitchen and the smell of them cooking is intoxicating. They arrive on a cute little terracotta escargot plate. 6 plump little mushroom caps sitting in an intense garlic & pepper topping. They're stabbed with a few toothpicks so we dive right in. Yum yum. The little pieces of toasted baguette to the side used to mop up all the garlicky goodness left in the plate.



Next to arrive is the anchovie and potoato dip. It's like a brandade, with warm potato puree mixed with Spanish anchovies. It's nicely seasoned, and scooped up quickly with some toasted bread. The little dressed salad on the side a nice bit of acidity.



We then order smoked salmon and quails egg. The quails egg is wrapped in the smoked salmon and sitting on a little round of toasted bread with a generous dollop of mayo. There's a thin strip of roasted pepper on top. The combination works really well and they're both devoured in no time.



We finish with a generous chunk of grilled Iberico pork. It's seared nicely, with a good crust, but juicy and a little pink in the middle. As we're eating it, we're assured this pig had a great life, it was as if you could taste the acorns he'd enjoyed. The meat had a delicious nutty flavour that just lingered ..... There was a decent spoon of mustard to smear on as we went and some steamed green beans and broccoli.

After an hour or so of this grazing we know this little corner of Spain in Japan will be added to our list of Sapporo staples ....