El Bulli

Just my luck that exactly 5 days before my reservation at El Bulli, it was renamed the #1 restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine.  Take that, The Fat Duck! (Which recently turned me down for a stage.  But I'm not bitter.)

Ironically enough, my reservation was for Tax Day, April 15th.  I absolutely loved the fact that instead of whining about the amount of money the government took out of my salary last year, I was relaxing on the Costa Brava region of Spain, about to enjoy my first molecular gastronomy meal.  It was also Easter weekend, which meant that my companion and I (hereafter dubbed "H") could spend a long weekend enjoying Catalonia and its warm weather.

But you want to know about the food, right?  Including little snacks and petit fours after dessert, we had 30 courses.  That's right, trente!  I, and most other diners in the restaurant, dutifully snapped picture after picture as each creation was placed in front of us.  Our impressions, along with a picture of each course, will be chronicled at the end of this post.  As a caveat, most of it is from memory and lots of things were probably lost in translation.

Here are some overall impressions of mine:

• Small, unassuming location: a windy road that was possible to navigate in our rental car, but taking a taxi allowed us to relax before and after our meal.  Nestled in a small bay above the town of Roses.

• We would have liked to have seen the terrace and the view, but were quickly ushered inside and seated- summer would be a great time to go.
  

Can you see the cotton candy machine in the back?

 
• Kitchen tour right when we walked in, but it seemed very generic.  Even though we mentioned we were culinary students, the guide didn't seem to want to answer any extra questions and just shuffled us through. There seemed to be a chef's table in the kitchen- my goal is to sit there one day.  One option I would have liked would have been to have the tour halfway through dinner, as a welcome break from all the courses.

• Two dining rooms, decorated with bull dogs (pictures, sketches), one wall lined with a cushioned bench.  We were seated side-by-side on the bench, a great view for the dishes coming in and out of the kitchen. (Also, we were the youngest table in the dining room!)  Very informal, comfortable feel.  Diners were dressed fairly casually.
  

• Service was gracious and subdued, everyone pitched in to help no matter their position.  They made sure were were comfortable with all the foods on the menu (including bone marrow, seafood, snails) and were willing to swap out anything we didn't want.  They also asked us if we wanted to have a copy of the menu at the beginning but suggested we be surprised and not know what was coming instead (which is what we opted for).

• Sommelier was the best I've ever had:  the wine list was incredibly reasonable (avg. 45 Euros for Spanish wines!), and he steered us to a wine that was only 25 Euros.  Most 3-star restaurants don't even have anything under 100 Euros.  He also had an extensive conversation with us about wine glass shapes, brought us extra glasses to taste out of, and talked about the Riedel glasses they used at the restaurant.

• Foam, foam, foam.  For some reason, I thought that foam was a trend that was already out in molecular gastronomy, but I guess not.  While foam complimented some of the dishes, its prevalence became annoying after awhile.  It's hard to eat a brioche in the instructed 3 bites when the foam on top tickles your nose!

• Amount of food:  yes, 30 courses is a lot and I got extremely full at the end.  Full to the point where if I didn't like one of the desserts, I would take one bite and not finish the rest.  The staff noticed, and one of the managers came and asked me if it was because I didn't like some of the desserts.  He then offered to have the kitchen make me something else instead.  It was a very nice gesture and showed their attentiveness.

• That being said, we were full but not in a French butter-and-cream kind of way at the end.  Most courses were quite light and focused on concentrated flavor, not richness, so we were stuffed but didn't feel sick and heavy afterward.

So onto the food.  What was my favorite course, you might ask?  Check out number 11.  I guess I was always partial to things that came in pretty tins!

The final menu we were presented with after our meal.


Setup of 1A

Liquid nitrogen was wheeled out on a cart, smoking and giving us a taste of the magic to come.  The server mixed Cachaca rum with lime syrup, poured in the liquid nitrogen, and whisked away until it become slush-like and turned into this:

1A. Caipirinha-Nitro con...

Light, refreshing, and so stylishly served!  Nice way to start the evening, even though we had to taste this first:

1B. Concentrado de Estragon

Concentrated tarragon? It tasted just like the way it was supposed to.  A little strange, it didn't quite work as a palate cleanser if that was the purpose.  But then again, I prefer my tarragon in a beautiful Bernaise sauce instead.

2. Aceitunas Verdes Sfericas-l

"Eat in one bite."  So, obediently, we did.  Fragrant with shallots and herbs, this was a faux "olive."  It was basically a thin gelatinized membrane containing flavored olive oil, with a soft consistency mimicking a regular olive.  Extremely interesting and tasty, even for a non-olive lover like myself.

Then came the "snacks:"

3. Marshmallow de Pinones

The first savory marshmallow I've ever had, this one was flavored with pine nuts.  I felt it was a little flat tasting with just nutty and savory notes- no contrast.  H felt the texture of the marshmallow was too soft.  The least favorite of the "snacks."

4-7. (Clockwise) Palomita con Reypenaer a la Nuez Moscada,
Oreo de Aceituna Negra con Crema Doble,
Lazos de Remolacha con Polvo di Vinagre,
Tempura de Piel de Limon ai Regaliz

The following snacks were twists on American snack foods:

- Cheese popcorn made with Reypenaer, a Dutch aged cheese that is supposedly Gouda-esque, but was more like parmesan to me with a nutty edge
- Olive oreo biscuits with a cream cheese filling, nice shortbread texture to the biscuits and a nice savory cheese filling;  H thought it was interesting take on the classic American snack
- Crisp beetroot strips dusted with vinegar, a nice phyllo-like texture that was not overly sweet
- Lime zest tempura, crispy sweet strips of zest that had none of the bitterness usually associated with zest or pit

After the snacks, the main tasting began:

8. Huevos de Oro

The "Golden Egg," a thin layer of caramel covering a liquid egg yolk inside.  It was a surprise play on textures, the caramel cracking like a regular egg shell would, yet adding a nutty sweetness to coat the egg yolk inside.  H felt that the flavor of the yolk wasn't intense enough to compliment the caramel.

9. Bocadillo Iberico 2003

An homage to the surrounding Catalonia: a ham sandwich.  Well, a fancified ham sandwich featuring aged Iberian ham from 2003 wrapped around a little baguette, which turned out to be crispy like a breadstick but completely hollow.  Simple and delicious.

10. Nube de Palomita

The "popcorn cloud," this was the cotton candy machine put to use.  It was a ball that had the texture of cotton candy but tasted savory and like popcorn.  We weren't sure if they still spun it out of sugar or something else because there were no sweet notes to it at all.

11. Caviar Sferico de Melon

Melon "caviar," passion fruit seeds, and mint.  My absolute favorite dish.  It was refreshing, the texture was perfect, and each flavor managed to be distinct yet complimentary to the other elements.  H thought it had the same popping effect in the mouth as real caviar.  One of the few dishes I wanted a larger portion of.

12. Brioche al Vapor de Mozzarella al Perfume de Rosas

A steamed brioche dough filled with mozzarella and topped with a rose foam.  The foam was too faint and we couldn't taste any hint of rose, but it did make eating more difficult since the foam threatened to cover our noses.  H liked the strong mozzarella presence, yet I felt the whole thing was a little too bland and mushy for my taste.  I would've wanted the brioche lightly pan fried (like xiao long bao) and tomato and basil added.  Then again, I'm not Ferran Adria.

13. Aire Helado de Parmesano con Muesli

Served in a Styrofoam box, instructions were to stir in the fruit muesli a little at a time into the frozen parmesan cheese foam.  The texture of the frozen foam was like very light shaved ice, but with a surprise bite and salty notes of parmesan.  We both didn't find the flavors very complimentary and the parmesan too salty.

14. Migas de Almendra, Tomate Raff, Sauco y Gele de Aimen

Almond powder, tomatoes, a piece of orange, and foam of some kind.  Hard to keep track of all the flavors on this dish, and the almond powder was so fine I kept choking on it if I inhaled it without wetting it down with something else from the plate.  H found the whole dish odd but found it surprising that the tomatoes looked unripe and were very firm yet still had a lot of flavor.

15. Nueces Tiernas, te Ahumado y Wasabi

Two kinds of walnuts with a chicken jus, wasabi, and a smoke-flavored smoke.  The strange part was that the dark walnuts were of a mushy texture and the lighter walnuts were crunchy.  The chicken jus was good but didn't match the walnuts, and we couldn't detect any wasabi flavor.

16A. Won-ton Campestre


16B. Curry Foam & Herbs

Herb-filled wontons that were lightly crispy yet floating in some kind of broth over a little sterno.  We were instructed to fish them out one at a time with our slotted spoons and place them in the curry foam with herbs.  It was quite fun although the curry foam had much more flavor than the herbed filling in the won tons.

17. Esparragos Verdes Napados de Mantequilla

Green asparagus with an orange cream (or butter?), truffles, and fresh cheese.  This was served cold and the asparagus (peeled) was cooked perfectly al dente.  I loved the crunchiness and the sauce, although not my favorite, still went well with the asparagus.  We couldn't detect any of the truffles.  H thought it tasted fresh and very spring-y.

18. "Gargillou" Marina

The seafood platter had an overall flatness due to the briny nature of everything.  In included raw clams in gelatinous capsules, pieces of seaweed, caviar, and other little things from the sea.  Overwhelmingly salty with no relief except for a small cube of ripe watermelon that I made the mistake of eating early on and not saving for the end.  H was smarter than me in that area- wish he had shared.

19. Ventresca de Caballa en Escabeche de Pollo con Cebolla

Mackerel with a chicken foam and vinegared celery (we think).  The mackerel was perfectly cooked, not too salty and not too oily.  A nice take on the usually greasy fish, and it went well with the chicken foam.

20. Caracolines en Caldo Corto con Necora en Escabeche y

Spider crab and snails with spider crab foam (plus some gooey thing off to the side kind of like grits).  I really liked this dish because both the crab and snails were extremely tender and had the same texture.  H thought the foam was bisque-like (which he doesn't like).

21. Colmenillas a la Crema

Morels in their own jus with a cream foam.  The one dish of the night that was not well-executed.  Grit, grit, grit everywhere!  Each bite had grit and was quite unpleasant.  The dish was also too large for a tasting- 1/3 of the portion would have sufficed, as morels are wonderful but too many of anything can usually fall flat on the palate after awhile.

22. Tuetano "Marchand du Vins" con Pan

Bone marrow topped with a capsule of sauce that was sweet like a Port reduction.  We had to eat it one spoonful, which was a little difficult given the size of the serving.  But one bite and the capsule burst and coated the mouth beautifully.  Even though it tasted great, I would have been happier with a smaller capsule of sauce so that I could taste the bone marrow more.  The bread was a light crouton topped with a creme fraiche and chives.

22. Ventresca de Cabrito al Estilo Marroqui con Aire de Leche

A thin slice of lamb topped with a crust that had sesame seeds, served with mint and a cream foam.  Very tender lamb, but not thick enough to provide enough meat flavor to balance out the strong sesame feed.  A fun take on milk-fed lamb?

24. Mini Kiwis al Whisky Ahumdo "Talisker"

Mini kiwis stewed in whiskey.  It seemed like a course to transition between the savory and the sweet courses.  But it was just bitter!  Too much whisky and no kiwi flavor coming through at all.  I ate one and stopped. 

25. Liquid de Melocoton

The start of the dessert courses.  A frozen bonbon filled with peach liquor, followed by a spoonful of peach nectar.  The first bite yielded the peach liquor, strong and refreshing.  The following peach nectar felt a little like taking medicine, but it was sweet and smooth and a nice contrast from the bite of the peach liquor.  H felt that there was a nice simplicity to the dish.

26. La Cupula

A dome of something coffee-flavored covering a sponge biscuit, dried dates, and oranges.  There were too many flavors here for me, plus the serving was large and I was very full.  It was strange to get such a large portion after having tastings of everything else.  H's suggestion of making this portion smaller and adding more dessert courses instead made more sense.

 
Mini Framboise

Easily the best dessert of the bunch.  A light crumbly raspberry meringue topped with white chocolate.  The meringue was light, not too sweet, and full of raspberry tang and essence.  Although we both aren't fans of white chocolate, it provided a smooth sweetness to contrast with the raspberry.

Gallets

Cookies flavored with passion fruit, chocolate, raspberry, and mint.  Slightly chewy and beautifully shiny, they were good but none that outstanding.  The mint could have used more intensity, but H thought the chocolate one was good.

 
Hojas


Hojas

A "chocolate tree," it was a beautiful plant with dark chocolate leaves at the bottom.  Good but not great chocolate, but come on, we both live in Paris!  Presentation-wise, very creative and a nice Zen ending to the meal.

The final menu used by the kitchen for our table. 
Very personalized!

Along with glasses of cava (Spanish sparkling wine similar to Champagne), bottled water, tea, and a tip on top of the included service charge, we paid about 220 Euros a person, with the food itself at a set price of 155 Euros.  This is an amazing deal for a 3-star restaurant, most of the ones in Paris start at 120 Euros for food only at lunch!

My overall impression was that the whole experience was fun and focused on defining the essence of a flavor and presenting it in a new way.  I wouldn't want to eat very often at restaurants like this though- too many flavors and the tiny portions left me with an unsatisfied feeling where I was full but overloaded with too many different things.  But once in awhile is great for experiencing creativity and something wholly unexpected. 

To be honest, I had been excited about this meal since November when I first received my reservation confirmation.  My fear was my expectations would be so high that no restaurant could possibly live up to it.  Hats off to Ferran Adria for completely surprising me and allowing me to experience his magic.  It truly was a worthwhile experience.

El Bulli
Cala Montjoi S/N
Tel. 972150457
Fax 972150717
17480 Roses (Girona), Spain

- Reservations taken in mid-October for the following season (starts late March or early April)

Bon appétit!

Comments

[John]

wow, 30 course! that's intense!

[anita]

hihi Christine! miss you! happy to know you had such a deliciously exciting Easter! God is good!

[Jennifer]

Superb! Thanks for the photos and detailed description of your experience. I'm still intrigued by El Bulli and its philosophy but, I have to say, now knowing more about what it offers, I'm not as interested in trying to get a reservation. Thirty courses, not all of which were stunning, some of which were only middling? I don't know....

[celine]

Hi Christine, thank you for all the info, the pictures and your feelings you share with us. It really gives me the desire to do whatever I can to get a table! I've heard it's hard to get one, was it easy for you? céline

[Chez Christine]

John & anita: great to hear from you!

Jennifer: one thing to keep in mind is that anyone who has any kind of critical palate will probably not like all 30 courses. I find it quite normal and think that those who love everything might need to be more discriminating? Just my opinion...and the only miss, execution-wise, of the night were the morels. Everything else was well-prepared, even if I didn't really like the taste.

Celine: Thanks for your email, I replied to you personally.

[Belle]

Hi, just wanted to let you know that xiao long bao's are not fried. they are steamed.