Re: Food Court — It’s food, but it’s also art, science.
You mentioned El Bulli (a famous restaurant in Spain) in “Food Court” (June 11, 2008).
In February 2006, we e-mailed El Bulli for a reservation in July, five months ahead of time. We got a very nice response within 24 hours saying that the restaurant was already fully booked for the entire season! They went on to explain that they get more than 400,000 reservations requests each year. They only do about 60 covers a night and are open only six months out of the year; you do the math.
So we did the next best thing. We read that Chef Ferran Adriu (above) often ate at Bar Pinoxto in Barcelona. We had a great lunch there; a 15-seat counter with only a small griddle and a tiny deep fryer. There is no menu, and the owner speaks only Catalan. “Meat or fish?” he asked in halting English. “One meat and one fish,” we said. The “meat” turned out to be big velvety chunks of beef in a rich gravy; the “fish” was a mountain of giant prawns slathered in olive oil and sea salt. Fantastic! An elderly couple sitting next to us taught us how to ask for “un carajillo.” He brought us each an espresso shot in a double cup and slammed a bottle of brandy down on the counter in front of us, allowing us to add as much brandy as we wanted to the espresso.
It wasn’t even close to El Bulli, but it was certainly a memorable meal. No wonder Ferran Adriu goes there.
— Steve Jankousky, Tom’s Home Cookin’
