WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.320 You're listening to Heritage Radio Network. Hi 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:13.039 everyone, welcome to Potluck Food Talks. I'm 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:17.420 Eric, I'm here with my man Phil, straight out 00:00:17.420 --> 00:00:21.980 of Dubai, Arab Emirates. How are you doing, man? 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:25.600 Salaam alaikum, all good. How are you? I went 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:29.149 to Barcelona for a few days. running away from 00:00:29.149 --> 00:00:33.950 the high season here in San Sebastian. And I 00:00:33.950 --> 00:00:38.289 had a few super nice experiences. And I think, 00:00:38.490 --> 00:00:41.109 yeah, Barcelona is a super interesting city to 00:00:41.109 --> 00:00:44.149 eat. And I would say Catalonia as a region, I 00:00:44.149 --> 00:00:46.850 think it's also super interesting as well. Yeah, 00:00:46.890 --> 00:00:50.200 definitely. Very underrated. Have you explored 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:53.200 Catalonia, Barcelona? Have you traveled around 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.119 there? Not so much, right? You've never been 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:56.539 to Barcelona, right? I've never been to Barcelona. 00:00:56.600 --> 00:00:59.100 I've always wanted to go. It's like a huge... 00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:01.079 I mean, there's so many places in Spain that 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:03.619 I haven't been. And Spain is so fucking diverse, 00:01:03.859 --> 00:01:06.840 right? With food and terroir and stuff like that. 00:01:07.459 --> 00:01:09.980 It's incredible. I mean, even if you just drive 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:12.379 down from the Basque Country to Rioja, it's a 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:14.780 completely different thing, right? absolutely 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:17.319 yeah so yeah but like no i mean catalan food 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:20.700 and culture is so unique and so special always 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:23.420 wanted to go yeah like i mean like if i had to 00:01:23.420 --> 00:01:27.459 define catalan cuisine i would say first thing 00:01:27.459 --> 00:01:30.599 that comes to my mind is surf and turf Mar y 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:34.659 Montaña? Yeah. I think the expression Mar y Montaña, 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:36.859 because for example in Latin America you say 00:01:36.859 --> 00:01:39.819 Mar y Tierra. But Mar y Montaña, I think that's 00:01:39.819 --> 00:01:42.359 a Catalan expression. That's not like a Spanish 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:45.260 expression, as far as I know. I went to Sigges, 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:49.439 which is this coastal town near Barcelona. I 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:53.739 went to this super cool restaurant called Bonestar. 00:01:54.649 --> 00:01:58.209 There were like two Catalan dishes that I wanted 00:01:58.209 --> 00:02:00.769 to do a check because I hadn't had them in a 00:02:00.769 --> 00:02:04.510 long while. You know, I worked for a while in 00:02:04.510 --> 00:02:07.189 Barcelona with Neixel, who was one of the first 00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:11.009 head chefs at El Bulli, just before Ferran was 00:02:11.009 --> 00:02:13.849 head chef at El Bulli. Jean -Louis Neixel was 00:02:13.849 --> 00:02:16.930 a French chef leading the same restaurant. And 00:02:16.930 --> 00:02:19.129 he opened a restaurant called Neixel in Barcelona, 00:02:19.210 --> 00:02:22.229 which was like a... A classic was open for many 00:02:22.229 --> 00:02:24.270 decades. At some point, he had two Michelin stars. 00:02:24.629 --> 00:02:28.210 I also worked with the Torres brothers. And I 00:02:28.210 --> 00:02:30.129 also worked with Santi Santamaria. So, like, 00:02:30.129 --> 00:02:33.250 that's, like, a little bit of my Catalan cuisine 00:02:33.250 --> 00:02:35.969 background. Yeah. There is a thing. I mentioned 00:02:35.969 --> 00:02:37.849 Marimontana. And the first thing that most people 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:41.669 think is maybe, I don't know, like, mixing whatever, 00:02:41.870 --> 00:02:44.509 like, pork with seafood or something like that. 00:02:44.710 --> 00:02:47.509 Yeah. But what I had is, like, a completely different 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:50.110 approach of the same thing. which was, you know, 00:02:50.169 --> 00:02:54.370 cannellonis is like a very Catalan thing, as 00:02:54.370 --> 00:02:57.169 weird as it sounds. There's a very strong rice 00:02:57.169 --> 00:03:00.069 culture and pasta culture. I don't know why, 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:04.310 but there is this very Italian thing about Catalan 00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:06.469 food that you have like this, for example, for 00:03:06.469 --> 00:03:09.129 Christmas, is that when schnecke of English? 00:03:10.530 --> 00:03:14.509 Snail, yeah. Yeah, like this snail -shaped pasta. 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:18.360 cooked in a broth, and that's it. That's like 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:21.719 a Christmas dish in Catalonia. Very simple, humble 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.240 food. But yeah, cannellonis is a big thing. So 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:26.219 cannellonis is something people cook at home, 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:28.740 you find in Catalan restaurants, you find at 00:03:28.740 --> 00:03:32.680 high end, you find humble versions. And this 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:36.439 dish I had in this place was a cannellonis filled 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:42.039 with mushrooms with a lobster butter sauce. Super 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:45.340 nice. You know, like... And as surf and surf 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:48.120 as it gets. And the other thing I had is this 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:52.800 suquet, suquet de rape. Very nice. That's like 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.860 an, I would say also that's as Catalan as it 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:59.219 gets. You know, like it's this fish stew. I once 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:03.520 saw a documentary with José Andrés where he was 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:08.439 cooking it in the beach of Rosas where Bulli 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:12.430 was. and he cooked it with seawater, which is 00:04:12.430 --> 00:04:14.090 something I've never seen before. I've seen that, 00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:17.850 yeah. He took the seawater for the stew, and 00:04:17.850 --> 00:04:21.069 it was, yeah, this is the way that the sailors 00:04:21.069 --> 00:04:23.490 would cook it traditionally, like the fishermen, 00:04:23.610 --> 00:04:26.290 I mean. And I was like, okay, that's super interesting. 00:04:26.389 --> 00:04:30.269 You know, it's like a very tomatoey stew. It's 00:04:30.269 --> 00:04:35.639 a little bit like... Just speaking wrongly, I 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:38.339 would define it as a paella without the rice. 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:42.800 So you have like this strong like stock and instead 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:46.259 you have like potato slices. But I say like a 00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:49.180 paella because you have different types of shells, 00:04:49.420 --> 00:04:52.079 you know, like clams and mussels. And then you 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:56.000 have like rape, which is monkfish. And yeah, 00:04:56.060 --> 00:04:59.139 and this thing all together in a beautiful dish. 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:02.110 That was super, super nice. Crema Catarana, of 00:05:02.110 --> 00:05:05.470 course, for dessert. Also some rice, some paellas. 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:08.430 Life is just good. You know, like some cava. 00:05:10.790 --> 00:05:13.930 That was it. Spanish cooking in general and Spanish 00:05:13.930 --> 00:05:17.470 food in the international scene is so underrated. 00:05:17.470 --> 00:05:20.149 It's one of actually the most underrated cuisines 00:05:20.149 --> 00:05:24.069 there is, in my opinion. Because although it's 00:05:24.069 --> 00:05:26.410 very well, like a lot of things are very famous, 00:05:26.449 --> 00:05:28.550 right? Everybody knows paella. Everybody knows 00:05:28.550 --> 00:05:32.949 croquetas. The diversity. And also the skill 00:05:32.949 --> 00:05:36.550 and the simple complexity that you find in sort 00:05:36.550 --> 00:05:38.850 of like Italian cooking. You have that in Spanish 00:05:38.850 --> 00:05:41.610 cooking also, you know, this like super particular, 00:05:41.730 --> 00:05:43.490 like the Maro Montaña thing, you know, these 00:05:43.490 --> 00:05:46.589 like combinations of things. And then the produce, 00:05:46.790 --> 00:05:49.430 the very unique landscape, the traditions, the 00:05:49.430 --> 00:05:52.589 mix of cultures, the Arabic influence, you know, 00:05:52.610 --> 00:05:54.350 like all these sorts of things that create such 00:05:54.350 --> 00:05:58.459 a unique cooking style. It's kind of very disappointing. 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.879 Like nowadays, people are a little bit more aware 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:02.620 of sort of like, oh, you know, this is South 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:05.160 Italian food. This is North Italian food. Spanish, 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.259 nothing like that. It's just sort of like paella 00:06:08.259 --> 00:06:13.720 and fucking croquetas and, you know, aioli on 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.860 everything. In its essence, it's one of the most 00:06:16.860 --> 00:06:19.779 interesting and sort of deep cooking styles. 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:22.060 You know, a lot of people always ask sort of 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:24.000 like, oh, if you had to choose one type of cuisine 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:26.339 to eat for the rest of your life. I've always 00:06:26.339 --> 00:06:30.959 said, like, Spanish. For me. Oh, yeah. I agree 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:33.180 with you. Well, I agree with you with everything, 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:36.079 except that I don't think it's underrated anymore. 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:39.879 I think it used to be. I think it has its place, 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:43.420 and it has gotten it, like, for in the last 20 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:46.339 years, I would say so. But I would say, yeah, 00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:48.240 like, in general, if you ask, like, which are 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:50.800 the great cuisines of Europe, people will say 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.370 French and Italian right away. And Spain was 00:06:54.370 --> 00:06:59.430 always third place, if even. I would say that's 00:06:59.430 --> 00:07:01.889 not the case anymore, and especially, I would 00:07:01.889 --> 00:07:05.329 say that French cuisine became boring. Italian 00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:08.870 cuisine will always have an amazing place, but 00:07:08.870 --> 00:07:12.949 I don't know. I mean, in any of these countries, 00:07:12.990 --> 00:07:14.889 you will find incredible chefs and incredible 00:07:14.889 --> 00:07:18.589 traditions, but in general, I mean, if you go 00:07:18.589 --> 00:07:22.660 to a normal... on the roadside restaurant in 00:07:22.660 --> 00:07:25.360 France is crap. That's just a fact, you know, 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:28.379 like that's very easy to verify on your own if 00:07:28.379 --> 00:07:32.420 anybody disagrees, you know. Don't try it. It's 00:07:32.420 --> 00:07:35.500 not worth it. Galets. Galets is the name of the 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:37.939 Catalan Christmas dish I was talking about. So 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:42.100 galets are like, you know, this little... tube 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:45.480 -shaped pasta that is like twist and then you 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:48.879 do almost like a meatball mixture right and you 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:52.360 feel the pasta dry with this with this meatball 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:56.720 kind of mixer and then you you cook it and so 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:00.339 that while cooking it creates its own stock because 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:03.060 of the meat and so the pasta is cooked in its 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:05.500 own thing. I find that to be very interesting, 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:07.879 you know, like those, especially Christmas dishes 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.720 always say a lot about a culture, you know, like 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:15.339 there's probably a story behind that dish, you 00:08:15.339 --> 00:08:18.579 know, like a legend. And I think I happen to 00:08:18.579 --> 00:08:20.879 find that very, very beautiful, you know. Absolutely. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:25.209 Absolutely. I also went to Fischmüller. Do you 00:08:25.209 --> 00:08:28.509 know Fischmüller? From hearsay. I know the name. 00:08:28.529 --> 00:08:30.930 I've obviously never been. The chef and owner 00:08:30.930 --> 00:08:34.509 is a guy called Nino Redruello. He's a super 00:08:34.509 --> 00:08:37.549 cool guy. I had the opportunity to chat with 00:08:37.549 --> 00:08:40.750 him a couple of times through BCC, like interviews 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:43.850 in different contexts. I have interviewed him. 00:08:43.950 --> 00:08:46.049 For example, I interviewed him talking about 00:08:46.049 --> 00:08:49.629 he has a restaurant group in Madrid. His flagship 00:08:49.629 --> 00:08:54.909 is Fischmüller Madrid. He also has a Fischmüller 00:08:54.909 --> 00:08:57.169 Barcelona and a Fischmüller Lisboa and probably 00:08:57.169 --> 00:08:59.409 some others. They make schnitzel, don't they? 00:08:59.610 --> 00:09:02.370 Yeah, exactly. That's one of his signatures. 00:09:02.690 --> 00:09:07.669 Like this Milanese, the Scalope Viennese, like 00:09:07.669 --> 00:09:09.909 schnitzel, basically. Up to the point that he 00:09:09.909 --> 00:09:13.330 even, both in Barcelona and Madrid, they open 00:09:13.330 --> 00:09:17.620 only delivery operation for schnitzels. And in 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:20.100 both, in the fishmiller, that's one of the signatures. 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:22.559 So they will serve it like the schnitzel, an 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:26.039 egg yolk in the middle, and truffles. But it's 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:29.980 like this creative restaurant. You know, Fernando, 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.440 our friend that tried to kill us in a forest, 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:38.070 he worked with them for a while in Madrid. The 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:41.090 chef of Apache Sumarra, who is the chef of this 00:09:41.090 --> 00:09:43.429 place called Harambure, which is a Basque restaurant 00:09:43.429 --> 00:09:46.090 in Madrid. Both of them were partners, and at 00:09:46.090 --> 00:09:48.230 some point they separated and they opened their 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:51.190 own restaurants. Fernando apparently went with 00:09:51.190 --> 00:09:53.789 Nino to the other one. And Fernando developed 00:09:53.789 --> 00:09:57.149 the signature cheesecake that they have, inspired. 00:09:58.059 --> 00:10:01.740 by Hilario Orbelites for those ignorant cunts 00:10:01.740 --> 00:10:04.080 that think that the Basque cheesecake has no 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:07.960 crust. This is a Basque cheesecake with crust, 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:12.279 runny in the middle, by the way. And so Fernando 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:14.639 developed that dish for them like many years 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:18.539 ago. So I had tried this cheesecake made by Fernando, 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:22.240 but never the actual Fischmuller cheesecake in 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.809 Fischmuller. And it was the shit, man. It was 00:10:25.809 --> 00:10:29.330 incredible. It was like over the top. Over the 00:10:29.330 --> 00:10:31.529 top. Super, super good. I loved it. God damn. 00:10:32.509 --> 00:10:36.190 Super, super good. How did it compare to the 00:10:36.190 --> 00:10:40.590 one at AMA, for example, which is one of the 00:10:40.590 --> 00:10:43.450 best ones that I've had so far? Yeah, completely 00:10:43.450 --> 00:10:45.649 different. I would say, well, first of all, it 00:10:45.649 --> 00:10:47.710 has crossed because, I mean, the interesting 00:10:47.710 --> 00:10:50.210 thing is that both, the one of AMA and the one 00:10:50.210 --> 00:10:54.009 of Fiesmuller, both were inspired. by the one 00:10:54.009 --> 00:10:57.090 of suberoa i mean the one the one of ama took 00:10:57.090 --> 00:10:59.870 things from suberoa and things from la viña and 00:10:59.870 --> 00:11:02.909 created its own thing which is the idea people 00:11:02.909 --> 00:11:05.970 cheesecake preachers around the world the idea 00:11:05.970 --> 00:11:09.330 is to do your own thing like not to try to replicate 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:11.549 something if you can't tell to the listeners 00:11:11.549 --> 00:11:15.009 we've had a lot of beef with people who have 00:11:15.009 --> 00:11:17.389 no idea what the fuck they're talking about wanting 00:11:17.389 --> 00:11:20.289 to tell us what a cheesecake should or shouldn't 00:11:20.289 --> 00:11:22.659 be like Which is a ridiculous thing to do in 00:11:22.659 --> 00:11:26.259 itself. But only people from London, especially. 00:11:27.179 --> 00:11:30.539 Yeah. I don't know. I'm not telling you how to 00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:33.379 do your beans for breakfast or whatever you do 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:36.960 over there. It's beans for breakfast, lunch and 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:39.840 dinner every day. No, no, no. I'm just kidding. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:43.580 I love British food. You know, like the cheesecake 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:47.360 from Suberoa. which I had in Suberoa. I'm really 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:49.960 happy I was able to do that because Suberoa closed 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:53.679 after many decades open, and that was their signature 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:55.759 dessert, and it was a blue cheese cheesecake. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.799 And this has inspired many blue cheese cheesecakes 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:02.899 around the world. So there are blue cheese cheesecake 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:04.820 where you have the blue cheese in your face, 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:08.000 and it's a thing, and there are the ones I really 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:11.789 like is where you have... Just a touch that you 00:12:11.789 --> 00:12:14.769 can't even tell what it is. I would say that 00:12:14.769 --> 00:12:17.590 was the way the one from Fischmutter had. If 00:12:17.590 --> 00:12:19.730 they tell me it was not blue cheese, but something 00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:21.789 else, I would believe it. You know, if they tell 00:12:21.789 --> 00:12:25.210 me, no, this was goat cheese or whatever. But 00:12:25.210 --> 00:12:28.590 it had that aftertaste, that background thing, 00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:32.309 that nice, you know, like this nice cheesy flavor. 00:12:32.889 --> 00:12:35.429 And yeah, I loved it. Like super, super nice. 00:12:35.490 --> 00:12:38.350 So I also had like the dishes I had there. I 00:12:38.350 --> 00:12:39.809 loved everything about the restaurant. You know, 00:12:39.850 --> 00:12:45.309 a restaurant is nice when you see jars full of 00:12:45.309 --> 00:12:49.210 vegetables preserved as you walk in as part of 00:12:49.210 --> 00:12:52.559 the decoration. You know, like we had at Margot 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.340 or I don't remember this place in Copenhagen 00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:57.340 that is also super famous where also all the 00:12:57.340 --> 00:13:00.320 decorations are preserved vegetables. In any 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:02.759 case, yeah, you walk in, you have that feeling, 00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:07.980 nice. Then I had a lemon fish aguachile. They 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:10.879 used a herb that I had never seen before. That 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:14.179 is a herb that you usually find like in, you 00:13:14.179 --> 00:13:16.799 know, like in garden shops. It's called mosaic 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:21.720 leaf. Mosaic leaf. Yeah, I had never had that, 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:26.100 like, in a dish. Super, super good. Then he did, 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:29.940 like, a Thai curry with carrots. Also super nice, 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.340 you know, like, these coconut flavors. Okay. 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.820 The spiciness level very, very low, you know, 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:42.379 adapted to the Spanish audience. And then mussels 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:47.789 from San Michel, north of Bordeaux. Like these 00:13:47.789 --> 00:13:51.529 little mussels, super nice. It reminds me of 00:13:51.529 --> 00:13:54.850 a time that you were flirting with the idea of 00:13:54.850 --> 00:14:00.669 moving to the French Britain. Oh, yeah. I remember 00:14:00.669 --> 00:14:07.429 you telling me about a mussel dish you were brainstorming 00:14:07.429 --> 00:14:09.870 back then. It was like, I don't know, like a 00:14:09.870 --> 00:14:14.169 mussel potato salad with a hollandaise or something 00:14:14.169 --> 00:14:16.889 like that, I remember. I have no idea, but that 00:14:16.889 --> 00:14:19.710 sounds like something a genius would come up 00:14:19.710 --> 00:14:27.169 with. And then the main course was siva, no, 00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:31.690 lubina is sivas? Yes, it is, yes. Yeah, sivas, 00:14:31.690 --> 00:14:36.610 so like with a napa cabbage charcoal grilled 00:14:36.610 --> 00:14:40.570 with a super nice like kimchi butter sauce on 00:14:40.570 --> 00:14:43.799 top of it. So it was like a... how to say like 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:47.759 a deconstructed kimchi so to say uh super nice 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.360 as well quite quite mixed infusion you know like 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:54.240 quite uh yeah exactly yeah absolutely like that 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.960 was one of those restaurants where you can't 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:01.500 define what it is you can't put a tag on it like 00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:04.200 yeah this is modern italian or something you 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:07.539 know like i would say cuisine doctor like this 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:12.309 guy he's i think third generation restaurateur 00:15:12.309 --> 00:15:14.429 you know his parents and grandparents were chefs 00:15:14.429 --> 00:15:18.490 wow so like and he's just like you know being 00:15:18.490 --> 00:15:22.230 himself expressing himself and that's it yeah 00:15:22.230 --> 00:15:25.350 the times I interviewed him is because he has 00:15:25.350 --> 00:15:30.090 like a really interesting digital infrastructure 00:15:30.090 --> 00:15:32.549 for his restaurants like business intelligence 00:15:32.549 --> 00:15:35.929 applied for everything you know artificial intelligence 00:15:35.929 --> 00:15:40.909 to predict occupations or payrolls or shifts 00:15:40.909 --> 00:15:44.090 and everything yeah this was like five years 00:15:44.090 --> 00:15:49.529 ago yeah yeah and then also i mean like barcelona 00:15:49.529 --> 00:15:52.590 is like new york you know like you can have like 00:15:52.590 --> 00:15:56.440 an amazing meal from Pretty much any culture 00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:59.759 in Barcelona, you can find it. I think I've, 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:03.779 I had maybe the best Ecuadorian meal I've ever 00:16:03.779 --> 00:16:09.820 had. And a very humble mom and pop kind of restaurants. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:11.899 Apparently it's like a small chain. I think they 00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:14.759 have already maybe three or four restaurants 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:19.480 in the city. It's called Ñaño. And I had two 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:22.799 very interesting Ecuadorian dishes that made 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:27.220 me. felt really interested in Ecuadorian food. 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:31.779 One is called encebollado. So it was like, I 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:33.960 would compare it, you know, in the tuna episode, 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:37.559 we talk about the marmitaco, like this tuna stew 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:41.100 that the Basque do. It would be like that, but 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:44.279 without the peppers and paprikas, all that away 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:48.360 and lots of onions. So like a very heavy tuna 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:51.580 stock with pieces of tuna and potatoes and these 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:54.799 kind of things. And the other, I found that to 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:57.200 be even more interesting, it was, dude, it was 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:01.659 like a stew, also a fish, but with plantains 00:17:01.659 --> 00:17:05.160 and peanuts. Super nice. That sounds really, 00:17:05.180 --> 00:17:07.180 really good. That sounds absolutely delicious, 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:10.839 yeah. I don't think I've ever had Ecuadorian 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:13.660 food, honestly. So I have like two Ecuadorian 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:17.019 friends that are amazing chefs there. One is 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:20.920 Will Mordoñez. and Ronald Morocho. Both of them, 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:27.259 they have restaurants in Cuenca. And every time 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:30.799 I cooked food made by them, it was always super 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:36.440 delicious. And I think it's a cuisine that is 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:41.420 underrepresented. You see a lot of things about 00:17:41.420 --> 00:17:47.630 Peruvian, or Brazilian, or Mexican. But Ecuador 00:17:47.630 --> 00:17:52.750 is like a little bit on the side, you know? Yeah, 00:17:52.829 --> 00:17:55.250 absolutely. It kind of gets forgotten between 00:17:55.250 --> 00:17:58.130 those bigger nations a little bit. And yeah, 00:17:58.210 --> 00:18:01.710 that was my trip to Barcelona. Nice. Do you have 00:18:01.710 --> 00:18:06.609 any experience going to places like Calpep? And 00:18:06.609 --> 00:18:09.549 these sort of like bar, sort of like counter 00:18:09.549 --> 00:18:11.990 places in Barcelona, I've always really wanted 00:18:11.990 --> 00:18:14.009 to go. Like tapas bars. Pretty much. Where you 00:18:14.009 --> 00:18:15.930 have to look into the kitchen, right? You've 00:18:15.930 --> 00:18:18.269 got like planchas, et cetera, you know. There's 00:18:18.269 --> 00:18:20.690 a really famous one called Calpep, which actually 00:18:20.690 --> 00:18:23.509 a restaurant, I don't know if you know the restaurant 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:27.369 in London called Barafina. I used to work there 00:18:27.369 --> 00:18:29.230 for a little while. And they modeled their whole 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:32.789 like restaurant, like the first restaurant that 00:18:32.789 --> 00:18:35.700 they opened, they modeled it after Calpep. where 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:37.339 you have this like long counter you don't have 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:40.019 any tables right you can't sit down you just 00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:42.039 sit at the counter you see the chefs cooking 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:43.740 the stuff they literally just put it in front 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:45.920 of you it's super super nice it's like an institution 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:48.079 i know the place i know the place but i haven't 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.539 been there but i've walked by and i've heard 00:18:50.539 --> 00:18:54.019 things about it but yeah from this guy i i've 00:18:54.019 --> 00:18:58.079 been to pinocho bar this is a place uh that i 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.680 think it was popularized well at least in my 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:07.329 view by ferran adria You know, because in different 00:19:07.329 --> 00:19:10.450 documentaries or episodes or things, he goes 00:19:10.450 --> 00:19:15.670 there. This used to be in the Boqueria market, 00:19:15.789 --> 00:19:19.089 but it moved to another market, the market of 00:19:19.089 --> 00:19:23.049 San Antonio. Super nice place, always super crowded. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:28.279 But yeah, look, I was actually Googling it shortly 00:19:28.279 --> 00:19:30.420 and I find a picture of Ferran Adria greeting 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:33.660 the old man at Pinocho. Yeah, you get here like 00:19:33.660 --> 00:19:39.119 simple, you know, like counter tapas, just well 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:43.599 -made, you know. Lately, Ultramarinos Marin has 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:46.220 become like a thing, you know, like everybody 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:49.680 in the chef and foodie world is talking about 00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:51.480 that place. Everybody's talking about it, yeah. 00:19:51.930 --> 00:19:54.269 It looks so good, honestly. Well, same thing. 00:19:54.369 --> 00:19:58.109 Very produce -driven kind of bar. You go there, 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:02.490 you get just incredible seafood, simply cooked, 00:20:02.650 --> 00:20:05.210 served right away. It has to be very expensive. 00:20:05.509 --> 00:20:09.069 They have no prices on the webpage or anything. 00:20:10.369 --> 00:20:14.289 And it has four stars in Google reviews. For 00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:18.180 me, that makes me think that... it's overly expensive 00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:20.940 you know like and that that makes probably some 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:23.440 people angry the moment the bill arrives for 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:26.500 sure especially in spain you know where the food 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:28.640 good food can be so extremely cheap especially 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:30.460 when you go to a bar it's absolutely incredible 00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:32.200 no you eat and you eat and you eat you get the 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:34.539 bill it's like 15 euros with drinks and you're 00:20:34.539 --> 00:20:38.400 like what what the fuck happened yeah but i think 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:42.279 that the first time i saw this place was by a 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:47.339 kevin went there that's a friend of his no i 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:49.480 i had no idea about that i think so i think they 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:52.180 know each other ah okay that makes sense yeah 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:54.039 sure but yeah it's definitely on my bucket list 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:55.900 i really want to go everything they do looks 00:20:55.900 --> 00:20:58.500 absolutely amazing super fish focused you know 00:20:58.500 --> 00:21:01.859 like fish seafood focus and um yeah it looks 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:03.940 super super cool yeah we should plan a trip to 00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:06.440 to barcelona man we really should and i mean 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:09.059 like i know like you always say like oh i don't 00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:10.599 want to go to this place if you because everybody 00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:14.099 goes there but i would definitely would like 00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:17.710 to have like this checks of this I never said 00:21:17.710 --> 00:21:20.430 anything like that. No, no. I'm talking about 00:21:20.430 --> 00:21:26.109 going to places like Disfrutar and... Ah, okay. 00:21:26.730 --> 00:21:28.470 I would like to go to those places even though 00:21:28.470 --> 00:21:32.390 I know they're they're overly expensive and overly 00:21:32.390 --> 00:21:34.730 hyped at the moment you know I think this Frutar 00:21:34.730 --> 00:21:37.890 was named number one in the world like last year 00:21:37.890 --> 00:21:40.430 or this year again I don't know yeah it's true 00:21:40.430 --> 00:21:42.569 they were yeah I'm not updated with those lists 00:21:42.569 --> 00:21:45.069 anymore but I know that you know because this 00:21:45.069 --> 00:21:47.509 restaurant became like the new bougies you know 00:21:47.509 --> 00:21:50.230 like bougie doesn't exist anymore so you have 00:21:50.230 --> 00:21:52.829 like these places El Bulli has this impact in 00:21:52.829 --> 00:21:56.470 Barcelona, similar to the impact of Noma in Copenhagen, 00:21:56.549 --> 00:21:59.549 you know, where you get to see a lot of these 00:21:59.549 --> 00:22:03.309 places that were opened by ex -head chefs. You 00:22:03.309 --> 00:22:06.700 have Dos Palillos by Albert Raurich. You have 00:22:06.700 --> 00:22:09.640 like this place of roasted chicken that was opened 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:13.420 again by Eugeni, something that was also a head 00:22:13.420 --> 00:22:16.579 chef at El Bulli. Disfrutar, Enigma. What's the 00:22:16.579 --> 00:22:19.339 other one? This Mexican place that used to be 00:22:19.339 --> 00:22:23.160 Ojasanta. If it's still open, I'm not sure. But 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:27.059 yeah, like the ex -El Barri group places, you 00:22:27.059 --> 00:22:29.480 know, like... All over the cities. It's like 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:32.980 a thing. Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's just obvious, 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:35.519 no? I mean, El Buye affected the whole culinary 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:38.660 world in every corner of the world. Obviously 00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:41.480 in their hometown. I mean, hometown, no? Like 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:44.240 close, the biggest city close to them. It's going 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:46.079 to be the biggest impact. Just like without El, 00:22:46.099 --> 00:22:48.359 like Noma is a good example, you know? And like 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:50.900 it's, people need to remember that without El 00:22:50.900 --> 00:22:54.470 Buye, Noma wouldn't exist. And my favorite place 00:22:54.470 --> 00:22:57.230 in Barcelona, I have to say, it's a place called 00:22:57.230 --> 00:23:00.630 Teoric Taverna. It's a place I have to be a little 00:23:00.630 --> 00:23:04.829 bit jealous or envious. Let me check again the 00:23:04.829 --> 00:23:07.150 name of the chef. I know the guy, actually. Oriol 00:23:07.150 --> 00:23:10.750 Casals. Yeah. So this guy, why am I jealous? 00:23:10.849 --> 00:23:14.869 Because he did what I dreamt about doing while 00:23:14.869 --> 00:23:17.230 in Berlin. I wanted to do exactly the same concept, 00:23:17.269 --> 00:23:21.960 man. That was like a restaurant. It's not a restaurant, 00:23:22.019 --> 00:23:24.240 and it's not a tapas bar, but it's something 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:27.940 in between. It's like a tapas omakase, okay? 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:29.799 So you go to this place, and you have only a 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:34.039 tasting menu, but every dish will be just a tapa. 00:23:34.140 --> 00:23:37.200 So you get that, one snack, that's it, next, 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:39.700 next, and next, and you have, like, I think they 00:23:39.700 --> 00:23:42.920 offer only, you choose the length of the menu. 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:45.200 So I think there are three lengths. I don't know. 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:48.839 Let's say 9, 12, and 15, something like that, 00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:51.750 with different prices. Only the tasting menu. 00:23:52.009 --> 00:23:58.750 And he, for me, he really showcases Catalan culture 00:23:58.750 --> 00:24:02.930 in a very elegant and fine execution. I had a 00:24:02.930 --> 00:24:06.349 lot of fun eating there. I think it's like a... 00:24:06.349 --> 00:24:10.049 And also the place is like very centric, very 00:24:10.049 --> 00:24:12.450 in the middle of everything. But it's basically 00:24:12.450 --> 00:24:16.150 like a... You know, like a cave, like a little 00:24:16.150 --> 00:24:19.049 hole in the city where he opened, like, in a 00:24:19.049 --> 00:24:22.210 floor. Like, there you have it. A dining room 00:24:22.210 --> 00:24:24.730 and kitchen, everything, and just, like, not 00:24:24.730 --> 00:24:28.369 a very big space. But, yeah, if I had to recommend 00:24:28.369 --> 00:24:29.910 something, that's actually a place I recommend 00:24:29.910 --> 00:24:32.890 every time people ask me about places in Barcelona. 00:24:32.910 --> 00:24:36.250 That's one I say. Yeah, nice. That sounds amazing. 00:24:37.329 --> 00:24:39.250 Let me check my rec list because I have some 00:24:39.250 --> 00:24:41.809 other places that I usually recommend in Barcelona 00:24:41.809 --> 00:24:45.279 to see if I'm forgetting anything. Bargellida, 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:49.900 man. Yeah. I think if you go to Barcelona, that 00:24:49.900 --> 00:24:54.500 should be like, if you want to go like, like 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:58.559 a surviving, the last of the dinosaurs staying, 00:24:58.660 --> 00:25:02.880 the last of the Mohicans that is still alive, 00:25:03.059 --> 00:25:06.680 that's Bargellida. It's the only old school, 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:11.630 authentic. Real, delicious, cheap, working class 00:25:11.630 --> 00:25:14.750 oriented, in the middle of the city kind of place 00:25:14.750 --> 00:25:18.210 that still exists. Where you go and you get incredible 00:25:18.210 --> 00:25:21.950 food for nothing, for peanuts, for five euros 00:25:21.950 --> 00:25:25.849 you eat lunch. But yeah, it's not a secret. So 00:25:25.849 --> 00:25:30.150 it's always completely packed, like overly packed. 00:25:31.269 --> 00:25:33.910 I'm looking at it now. It looks really good. 00:25:34.009 --> 00:25:35.809 It looks just like the sort of place you want 00:25:35.809 --> 00:25:38.259 to go. There's like no bullshit, tasty food, 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:42.279 tripe, dishes written on chalkboard, you know, 00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:47.119 like just amazing. Barrels hanging on the rooftops 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:49.640 with sweet wine, you know, like things you see 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:53.079 like in many old towns around Spain. Yeah. But 00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:56.839 a city that was eaten by gentrification like 00:25:56.839 --> 00:25:59.640 Barcelona, you know, that's also something worth 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:01.839 mentioning, you know, like Barcelona has become 00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:05.920 like this. theme park you know like barcelona 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:10.980 city hipster central yeah airbnb central avocado 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:15.180 toast brunch specialty coffee where there used 00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:17.380 to be a place like bargelida now there's that 00:26:17.380 --> 00:26:20.660 you know like you know which is super sad you 00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:23.339 know like culture displacement i will define 00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:26.420 it you know like all of the places you know that 00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:29.140 that were showcased local culture were displaced 00:26:29.140 --> 00:26:32.980 by I mean, it's nice having an avocado toast 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:36.079 brunch with a specialty coffee, but it's not 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:38.940 nice that this thing displays the local culture, 00:26:39.059 --> 00:26:42.039 you know? No, no, absolutely. It's a really interesting 00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:43.980 topic, actually, because it's kind of like, you 00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:45.839 know, why does sort of like specialty coffee 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:47.700 places and stuff bring good things, you know? 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.960 I was thinking about that the other day. It's 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:52.059 kind of like, man, the quality of coffee that 00:26:52.059 --> 00:26:54.079 we're drinking and the quality of coffee that's 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:56.339 like available when I order like a fucking... 00:26:56.750 --> 00:27:00.309 like a chemex or like a aeropress or even like 00:27:00.309 --> 00:27:02.630 a flat white and i drink the coffee and it's 00:27:02.630 --> 00:27:05.349 like single origin it smells like blueberries 00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:08.369 it's like the quality of coffee is amazing um 00:27:08.369 --> 00:27:10.430 and like you know those things that they're cool 00:27:10.430 --> 00:27:15.519 you know but it is such a such a fragile ecosystem 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:17.640 right these places come in and they displace 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:20.059 local culture and that is like a big sort of 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:24.059 like red flag right um if it like enriches everything 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:26.640 cool you know but it like if it starts displacing 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:28.019 things that have been there for a really long 00:27:28.019 --> 00:27:29.680 time i think you have to be really careful with 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:36.460 that that's it for this week's episode of potluck 00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:38.920 food talks if you like what we're doing make 00:27:38.920 --> 00:27:41.180 sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:43.839 miss an episode You can also find us on Instagram 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:47.319 and TikTok as potluckfoodtalks. The show airs 00:27:47.319 --> 00:27:47.779 every Monday.