Mad in Manhattan

Apparently the only reason this place has been in business for 30
years is it takes that long to get served. Reservation for seven at
7:00. Menu arrived upon request at 7:40. 8:00 saw us walking out the
door. Seriously, no one wants to take our order? Good bye.

A nice surprise at SFO; Yankee Pier, T3

Due to a changed flight I had a long wait at SFO last night, and so ventured out for a proper sit-down meal. The receptionist at the Admirals Club advised either a sushi place that was "excellent", or just past that a place that did fresh fish that was also "very, very good". Since I knew I'd be dining at Le Bernardin the next night, reputed to have some of the best fish in the world (and certainly in NYC), I figured I'd skip the cooked fish and have it raw instead.

The sushi restaurant was unfortunately just a counter, with only pre-packaged arrangements and not a-la-carte. Not looking appealing, I moved on towards Yankee Pier to see what the fresh fish looked like.

What a brilliant plan that was. Yankee Pier is very, very good – being in an airport not withstanding. The waiter informed me of what was fresh that night, including one not on the menu – rainbow trout. I opted for that and a glass of wine (no half-bottles), and a small green salad.

Unfortunately, and this is the only area where the restaurant fell down, after probably at least minutes and my first glass of wine, the salad still hadn't arrived, so I flagged the waiter to ensure they arrived separately (I really find it irritating when a restaurant delivers the starter and the main together). He ran off to check it and came back apologizing that my order had fallen off the board. Oops. Had I been rushing to a flight, this would have been the end of diner, but fortunately I had time to spare.

The salad came quickly after, a simple green salad with oil and vinegar. No dressing options, which I can appreciate as I wouldn't want my dinner guests palettes tainted by an erroneous choice of Blue Cheese or 1,000 Island dressing before presenting a perfectly cooked and delicate fish.

Shortly after (but not too quick; the timing was good) the fish came. And I have to say, it was superb. Not just airport-food superb, but truly superb. The trout was butterflied and grilled, simple and pure. Served over a bed of sautéd squash and red potatoes, with a wedge of lemon, and a dish of tartar sauce (which I ignored). It was cooked perfectly. I relish in the slightly tougher 'jerky' edges you get when you grill a fat fish and the edges are inevitably overdone; to me these are almost a delicacy in themselves.

Yankee Pier
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Terminal 3
+1 650-821-8938
http://www.yankeepier.com/

rating: 4 feet
verdict: If you have time to kill in SFO, I can't think of a better place to do it.

'Nieuw Amsterdam', here I come

Tomorrow night redeye to JFK, followed by the Lucie Awards Monday night, and a string of planned dinners including Le Bernardin, Gascogne, Flor de Sol, and Domenico's.

It's gonna be a blogtastic week.

Breakfast of Champions

Mmmm... Bacon, egg (basically done like an omelette, only slightly mixed so there's still separation of yolk and white), and thick bread. Some HP sauce would have been perfect… too bad I didn't look in the fridge until after I'd scarfed it down.

Culinary Center of Monterey

A circle of chefs, ready to slap us silly

Last week I was with a group invited to attend a 'class' at the Culinary Center of Monterey. We had a fantastic time and learned a thing or two along the way. The agenda of the day was to basically cook our own lunch and eat our own mistakes victories. The menu was varied, from French Onion Soup and Tarte Aux Epinards to Boeuf Bourguinonne and Roasted Cornish Hens. I was assigned to the Roasted Beet Salad, the only item on the menu with no recipe. The chef insisted… "oh I don't know, do whatever you like!". Alrighty then.

Beets ready for the roastin'

Assistant chef Claire, poking my beets

The beet salad was a hit among all, even those who normally don't like beets. We washed, peeled, chopped and roasted a shedload of beets, candied almonds and made up a garlic/balsamic/red wine vinegar/honey vinaigrette dressing to go over it all, and it was gorgeous!

Roasted Beet Salad! Imagine red and green…

There was also a fantastically easy recipe for a Fresh Fruit Tart Tatin which I made at home last night… mmmm! Unfortunately it was devoured before I could get the camera on it… sorry. But it's so simple to make; just melt some butter, cinnamon and brown sugar in a pan, drop in some fruit (apples, berries, whatever), and top with a puff pastry sheet cut to fit the pan, drop into a 375ºF oven for 25 minutes… then invert onto a serving tray and serve. Delicious. That was your birthday dessert Alenka, so sorry you weren't here to enjoy it :(

Last day in Madrid

OK I never got back to posting about the final day in Spain, so here's a litany of photos and scattered comments to fill the 'missing day'. I spent my last day in Madrid wandering the streets, visiting El Museo del Prado, picnicing in the park, and enjoying the Spanish sun.

Fantastically colorful posters outside of El Prado

And some pretty paintings

I had to buy some local art from the artist

Ah, a picnic in the the Parque del Retiro

And a walk by the royal lake, Estanque del Retiro

EuroBasket07; European Basketball. Wait, Where's Slovenia??

Sushi & Pasta… are you f'ing kidding me???

Free hugs for all!

Salad with tuna, roasted red peppers and olives

I'll, erm, let you translate that one. A Mexican bar in the middle of Madrid. Love it!

Royal buildings, royal food

Cafe con leche. Zumo de naranja. Cereal.

I extracted the badly mangled, waterlogged, photocopied map from my back pocket and looked for something in the area to walk or metro to. The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) was not too far away, and seemed a good place to spend my morning. The metro was an exchange away, or I could walk to the another station La Latina for a direct line, which really was completely unnecessary as it was only one stop from there, but since I'd paid for the 5-day tourist metro pass, I felt I should give it a go at least once or twice!

The Opera station lets out in front of the Royal concert hall, which oddly enough completely obscures the palace. It isn't until you walk around the other side of this building that the magnificent structure emerges.

View Larger Map


As I wandered past the empty cafes facing the grand structure, I approached the fountain that sits front and center to the palace. At least three tourist groups surrounded it, but what caught my eye (or rather, ear) was the guitarist playing Spanish flamenco music sitting in the small courtyard surrounding the fountain. I found a shady spot, within ear of the guitarist, and sat to write.

Palacio Real de Madrid

Mmm, Roman soldier (?) for lunch!

Laying about for 250 years

Right, don't piss off Fernando 1!

Yep, me

Once the grumbles in my belly overpowered the strums of Spanish guitar, I made my way from the Palace to find something to eat. As I wandered away from this regal venue, playing Frogger with Spanish traffic, I spotted a little tapas bar with promise, called La Mi Venta. As I ducked my head in, my heart lept… this was finally the type of place I'd been looking for! Large drying legs of Jamón Ibérico hanging from the ceiling, a small asador in the corner, and a few grumpy old Spanish men running the place. Perfect!

Hanging Jamón Ibérico

Gorgeous food counters

The food here did not disappoint. The food counter illuminated a trip down memory lane, with tortilla, boquerones, caracoles, and even… yes there they were… pimientos de padrón! [link - because they are so good yet so few people outside of Spain know them]

Boquerones en vinagre

Jamón Ibérico

Pimientos de Padrón

This place was so good, I vowed to return.

La Mi Venta
Plaza de la Marina Española, 7
28013 Madrid
+34 91 559-50-91


View Larger Map

rating: 5 feet
verdict: superbly authentic and delicious. Maybe a little pricey, but what the hell… you're on vacation!

After this belly filling lunch, I wandered many of the smaller streets rising above the palace until I stumbled back into Puerta del Sol. The streets of Madrid are a veritable maze, but I was finding that I knew my way around quite quickly. Perhaps the Spanish street names were proving easier to remember as they tickled a part of my brain barely used for nearly 25 years, or maybe I was simply so enthralled with Madrid that committing it to memory was to be expected, but I found that I could very quickly find anywhere I'd been on the map, or find my way back to the hostel from any random street I found myself on. Simply put, the meanderings of the day always comfortably led me back to Calle de la Cabeza.

The last two days...

It´s been an amazing last two days and there is so much to write, I haven´t found (or more accurately, haven´t been willing to sacrifice) the time to write. I board my long fight(s) home in a few hours, and will endeavour to write there.

Arbitrary restaurant rating system explained

I've been playing with the format a bit and I think I've settled on something. Yes, I make this up as I go along, and yes I might change it… but here's a basic guide.

5 feet : Sell your own children if you have to, to get there. It's that good. Reserved for the best of the best.

4 feet : Great food and atmosphere, would definitely go again.

3 feet : Acceptable food, really just somehow slightly better than "good enough" but intriguing enough that I might go again.

2 feet : Good enough; if you're invited or can't find anything better, go ahead. But don't go out of your way.

1 foot : Really not worth walking to; I'll never go again.

0 feet : Horrible disgusting place I wouldn't take my enemies to.

To find all restaurant reviews, click on the "restaurant review" link under Blog Labels in the sidebar. Similarly you can find all of a particular rating the same way.

Finally I'll include as much information as I can about the place so you can find it, including where feasible, a map link.

Name
Address
Tel
URL
map

rating: 0–5 feet
verdict: my summarized opinion of the place

PS - Why feet? Because I like to walk, and I especially like restaurants I can walk to.

Restaurante Madrid I Catedral

Recalling last nights misadventure of finding no real Spanish food aside from occasional tapas, I asked the couple at the front desk where one could go for chuletas. They seemed genuinely surprised at such a specific request, and had a very hard time coming up with anything of the sort in the area! Finally one of them recalled passing a traditional looking Spanish eatery on his way home every night, and struggled to draw on a map where he thought it was. I diligently followed and fortunately his memory served correct; I found a very traditional-looking restaurant called Restaurante Madrid I Catedral.

The non-smoking side of the restaurant was packed; the smoking side nearly empty. A sure sign that even at 9:30 at night, only the tourists were out eating. As there were no seats left in the tourist-zone, I sat in a near empty dining room that, within 20 minutes, was completely packed. Apparently I timed it just right.


The menu was another three-course fare, with a varied selection of starters and mains to choose from, then desert or coffee to round it off. And here, as I laid eyes upon the menu, did I smile from ear to ear upon seeing gambas y angulas in garlic. Gambas are shrimp, and angulas are baby eels. Yes, that's right, baby eels. And they are simply gorgeous to eat. These were cooked very well, although a few of the shrimp were a bit dry.


Second course was what I'd been waiting so long for, chuletas. These were a bit less meaty than the really good ones, and while the flavor was superb there was a little bit of disappointment in eating them as they weren't quite as special as memory served. Also the vegetables were tasty but overcooked. Anthony Bourdain, my culinary hero, said in one of his books a line about vegetarians that I think applies quite well to the Spanish as well… "they can't cook a fucking vegetable to save their lives" (probably badly misquoted, but there you have it). The Spanish do amazing things with meat; vegetables are often for decoration.



Anyway these chuletas were good enough to satisfy my hunger, and naturally washing it all down with a half-bottle of a young Rioja always helps the experience. A café con leche and half bottle of water added to the tally came to an impressive €21… really quite a bargain for what I had.

I left happy.

Restaurante Madrid-I-Catedral
Carrera de San Jerónimo, 16
28014 Madrid - Madrid


View Larger Map

rating: 3 feet
verdict: worth going until I find something better in the area