As is wont, we saved the best for last and for a good reason. Four and a
half years ago, I had the best lunch of my life at BOHEMIC (www.bohemicbistro.com)
and I have recommended the spot to dozens and dozens of folks who have all
come back RAVING. You can go back to my first rave at the blog and see why, but
this review is all about last week.
This time I was so excited to take my husband and son back to my favorite
dining spot in Spain, so I started e-mailing the chef/owner Francesc almost a
year ago.
He told me that he was unsure of his August vacation schedule and to
contact him back again in late spring. In April, I was e-mailing him again,
explaining that we were only in
Barcelona for four nights and that we had to leave on Sunday morning August
25th (and be at the airport at 530AM!). He emailed me back and said that while
he had previously planned to reopen
on Monday, but that he would indeed reopen on Saturday for us. Phew!
We arrived at 828pm and the door was locked, but that is because they open
at 830pm. Francesc's mom, whom I had met on my first visit, saw us from inside
and unlocked the door and in her cigarette-toned
voice said "ALAN!" and gave me a kiss on both cheeks, and did likewise to
Sam & Will. We were home.
We sat down and after a bit, Francesc came out and introduced his cousin,
Torrenz, who would be his server; this has always been a family operation. I
asked him if his father was still helping and he said that he was upstairs
taking care of his newborn nephew (or was it niece). In four plus years,
Francesc has really improved his English, so now we knew exactly what we were
eating, although I never had an issue
with that cause everything was fabulous. I asked Francesc why he signed his
e-mails "Mandu" and he explained that often the locals use their mother's maiden
names as nicknames. I never did find out his mom's name, but Torrenz is also a
nickname as well.
Couples came in, but the place never did fill up (there are still only 8
tables seating no more than 20 people), although there were a number of
additional seats outside which we did not notice were full.
My first visit was in January, and at lunch the place was jammed. Torrenz
proffered two glasses of CANALS Y CANALS CAVA which was dry but fruit forward
and a great start. Samuel had his several last Cokes in Spain for this trip and
we settled in for a culinary journey which was accompanied by soft, jazzy or
popish music that never interfered.
POTATOES arrived, but not just POTATOES. This recipe is so cherished that
Mandu refuses even to give some of the ingredients other than what we can figure
out. These were nubby pieces of French fries with TWO SAUCES, one brown and
spicy and the other white and slightly creamy. We guessed that the dark was
Sun-Dried Tomato and Chili, but Mandu would not even blink. It is a secret he
will never reveal.
Samuel saw the sauces and immediately refused to try the dish; this despite
our oohing and aahing with culinary orgasms over each forkful. He finally gave
in and tried to catch up as he had missed the top layer!
When Mandu asked if we wanted another plate we respectfully declined as we
knew there were going to be multiple "orgasms" to follow.
We had enjoyed Pa' TOMAT so much on this trip that we thought we had seen
every version in Catalunya. WRONG!
Mandu makes his with crunch and a huge tomato infusion bursting with
flavor. he then adds FOIE GRAS MOUSSE, CUCUMBER CREAM, CATALAN CHEESE, DRIED
TUNA, Micro greens and even small edible flowers. This is a TOMATO BREAD that
will go down in history! Even Samuel, who has loved the bread everywhere, but is
not a fan of foie gras, said is was truly amazing. His eyes rolled in his head,
and I think he would have eaten a horse head if Mandu brought it out next!
Next came ROAST BEEF with MUSTARD ICE CREAM. This was again a local dish
with a modern turn that we saw the earlier in the week as a tartare with mustard
ice cream. Here the beef was rare and sliced thin and rolled with Mustard Seeds,
Caviar, Garlic, Roasted Scallions and tiny little jelled pearls of Jugos
Iberico, as we were told, or Iberian juices....whatever that is. If this is deli
food, I can eat it forever.
We switched from the Cava to VALL DOLINA XAREL-LO 2012. We knew this would
be our last XAREL-LO before leaving its homeland, so I just keep thinking more
and more about how much I was going to miss the food; and more and more of how I
needed to get back on my diet as soon as I got home! It was sublime with more
citrus that usual and ideal with what came next.
I had enjoyed the Bottafega Negra or BLACK SAUSAGE the previous day for
lunch in a terrine with octopus. Even Will who does not care for this said it
was great. Here, Mandu has recreated breakfast; SAUSAGE & EGGS gone CATALAN
is what I call it. The black sausage has a slow low cooked egg on top which
oozes as it is burst at the table. A sprinkling of crunchy sweet mullet makes
the texture complete with chewy, oozy and crunchy. You won't find anything for
breakfast (or any meal) like this anywhere on earth!
The 5th "course" or tapas was something Samuel would not touch (I guess I
was wrong about the horse head--he didn't want the Bottafega Negra
either).....
Head-on SHRIMP GRILLED tableside which had been seasoned and salted
perfectly. It was a fun show for sure which even Samuel liked (we got it on
video). These were paired with SHRIMP TAILS poached in ELDERFLOWER. Pairing the
head and tail together made an amazing contrast and a perfect blend of two
different aspects of the little guys.
I had praised Mandu on my first visit for the amazing CLAMS & PEAS, and
especially for the visual drama and presentation of that dish. This night he
brought us CLAM from GALICIA (we are going to miss them as well) in a SMOKED BBQ
SUACE with a FENNEL & DILL EMULSION. The crustaceans were smoked just past
raw so they were not chewy, yet still very tasty and the sauce was
sublime.
We moved to an excellent red wine from 2006 called S'ALQUERIA which is a
blend of Carignan, Llebre (Tempranillo), Grenache Noir (Granatxa Negra) and
Macabeo Blanco. I guess this is the Spanish version of the Rhone blend, but it's
much bigger. I doubt anyone could tell this big red blend has any white grape
varietals in it. It was served slightly chilled which was really great as it was
a warm night and we welcomed the 58degree cellar temp of the wine.
CHICKEN CANNELONI was a hit around the table, even if Samuel did not know
at first that it had a FOIE GRAS and CHEESE SAUCE! OMG! This dish would make any
pasta chef jealous.
CALAMARI arrived with PEAS, CORIANDER FLOWERS, EARS of JUDAS MUSHROOMS, in
a SQUID INK SAUCE. The peas were actually formed into a slice of a disc with
more fresh local peas scattered around. If I were a pea, I would die to be in
this dish! Samuel said it was one of the best pasta dishes he had.
The last truly savory dish was a LAMB and POTATO dish with a sauce that did
not overwhelm us, but was not bad at all. Sine we had such an amazing meal, I
can't recall why I didn't like the sauce.
Our cheese course was a revelation. It came hot and consisted of CARROT
& VANILLA CAKE with MELTED MIMOLETTE Cheese, which is an intensely strong
French cheese that we do get here from time to time. The combination was amazing
and it will stay in my mouth forever; I just hope I can get the real thing again
without waiting 4-1/2 years.
Torrenz and Mandu's mom who had been so sweet and helpful all night brought
over DOLC MATARO 2010 from Alella nicknamed "De Puta Madre." If you know what
puta means you can guess that this is not a nice nickname. The wine is made from
Verdelho Dolce and reminds me of the Italian Vin Santo (so much for the "mama
prostitute" name, compared to the saintly wine of Italy). It was excellent
with
the CREME CATALAN (aka flan--but of course, here flan is a whole new
story). Main with Fried Pain Perdu, Pineapple and Sugared the dish has WHITE
CHOCOLATE/LIME/FENNEL Ice Cream (yes, that's what I wrote), ALMOND CAKE, Pollen
Cru (for crunch), lime and Brandy Glaze. I may have misconstrued some of the
ingredients at this late time of night, or missed something in the translation,
but the Ice Cream is spot on. Will's eyes rolled in his head and we declared
this to be the best flan in existence, even if it really isn't flan.
Sam did not want flan, so Mandu asked if we knew CANT BO, a local Catalan
cartoon, to which we replied no. Well, I guess he is something like Count
Chocula, and Mandu presented Sam with a plate of
Coke-coated Vanilla Ice Cream with a "BLOOD"-stained Strawberry Sauce which
he gobbled up. It was fun for him and fun for us as well.
We took some photos with everyone and began to choke up as we left not
knowing when we would be back to our favorite place in all of Spain, perhaps
even the whole world.....
I couldn't stop and Will yanked me out the door knowing we had to be up at
415am; it was already past 11PM, but time did not matter on this most special of
evenings.
