Just Spectacular

8:00 - rain pouring - we arrived at Alex Urena's - Pamplona - expecting to experience his take on - "casual" - Spanish cuisine - heading back uptown around 10:00 - he had other plans for us - keeping us going until "Round Midnight" - 

From the first Sopa de Castanas (cheese fritter) of the Chef's Tasting Menu through the last Buñuelos de Chocolate (chocolate fritter) - with each of the nine courses - plus a perfect Priorat - everything was - Just Spectacular -

Evening's dining partners started with Jack Daniels - Belvedere - Kettle One - I went the wine route -

Toyed with several Tempranillo based bottles - even a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Valencia - but the tasting note for Prior De Fic - Priorat - Spain - 2005  - seductively read - plum, caramel, powerful - quick "ask" to the Matre'd - his query- "do you like big ?? - done - Prior De Fic was absolutely on the money -

Physically cool - did not get the caramel - plum was light - found lots of fresh cherry - very clean construction - couldn't wait to refill my glass -

It went perfectly with the wide range of food - flavors- brought forth through the evening - warming up to room temp - a second layer of nuanced characteristics came to the surface -

The wine worked to compliment - not as an entity unto itself - although at a stand alone tasting - it could definitely have held its own -

My dining partners keep with their hard spirits until the very end - only taking small tastes at the very end of the diner - definitely my gain -

So what did we eat -

Arriving on a long elliptical plate - specifically placed - from which we were instructed to eat - from the right to the left - starting with Sopa de Castanas (cheese fritter) - the general consensus was that a massive plate of the cheese fritters would have in and of themselves been a memorable meal - then Chestnut soup w/ candied chestnuts - served in a shot glass topped with foam was extraordinary - the tiny piece of chestnut at the bottom of the glass being a killer - finally - Montato - chick pea flour cake topped with a red pepper sauce -  the weakest of the three if one wanted to spell out weak -

Lobster salad, spicy aioli, avocado, salmon roe -just spectacular"

Huevo de Corral Escafaldo y Trufa - Truffle oil poached egg - white asparagus salad - fresh chorize - pimiento del piquillo sauce - not for me - I hate poached eggs - nibbled at the fresh chorize - the rest of the table devoured the entire dish - interesting that no one picked up on the truffle oil - have to get a re-read on that

Lasna de Txanguro - Crabmeat and salsa verde - I saw this on the regular menu and specifically asked Chef to include it in the tasting - just as we asked him to exclude all the rabbit items - lets just say it was magic - a light rectangular piece of pasta topped by finely chopped crabmeat combined in a delicate salsa verde topped by another rectangular piece of pasta - when the wait staff served it - i heard ravioli - and as I ate - I could not stop myself from commenting on this creative interpretation - i.e. - in a large portion - a wondrous entree unto itself -

Salmon - Pan seared Salmon, salsify, shitake mushrooms, morcilla, Mussels saffron sauce - delicate salmon fillet in a deep dish - accented by paper thin slivers of mushroom - giving textured contrast - a perfect dish -

Paella Negra - bomba rice - crayfish - cuttlefish - fresh choriz - mussels - dark - small morsels of the fish mixed throughout the black rice - each spoonful of the mixture to ones plate bring surprises in taste - whether you ate is "as is" - or - carefully hunted for the fish in the misplaced belief that you'd pass on the rice saving room for the rest of the meal - i.e. - everyone ate the whole thing -

Chocolate Soup - warm chocolate soup topped with expresso foam drizzled with truffle oil - served in tall shot glass - OMG !!! - a personal favorite of my wife - I completely understand -

Cosillas - Short Ribs, farro, tempranillo sauce - served after an intermezzo of homemade lemon sorbet - the last course before the dessert - perhaps the most spectacular dish of the tasting - fork tender - caramelized - sweet in its sauce - could have passed as candy -

Everyone took a deep breath before they brought out dessert -

My side of the table got - Membrillo y Almendras - Quince upside down cake with almond financier, vanilla-bourbon ice cream - wife's side - Buñuelos de Chocolate y Sorbeta de Yogurt - if ever there was a time to share -

Skip forward a week - our dining partners are coming back into town - "where shall we go - what would you like to eat" - the question posed - "anyplace - as long as it's at least as good as last week" - the response given - its a challenge I'm going to have to work very hard to acheive -

Enjoy -

HBH

Comments

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[goyt]

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