Tuesday evening 17 February 2009 is the second gastronomic stop of my stay in Barcelona. Rosal34 (c/ del Roser 34, Barcelona – Poble Sec, +34-933249046) is the contemporary and refined tapas restaurant of Oscar Adelantado and chef Josep Nicolau. The restaurant is closed Sunday, Monday noon and holidays.
Sitting in this beautiful modern room, we start with a series of three tapas to share:
Tàrtar de tonyina amb soja, mostassa Antigua, ous de salmó i fulls verds – a tuna tartare with soy, mustard and salmon caviar, spicy and tasty
Mozzarella i tomàquet sec italià – mozzarella and sundried tomatoes, fairly simple and lightweight
Cecina de Lleó amb formatge Idiazàbal – dried smoked beef from the hind quarters, a delicacy from the province of León, beautiful dark red thin slices served with basque Idiazábal ewe’s cheese, which I find similar to Pecorino di Pienza.

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Last week I was back in the Catalan capital for the annual Mobile World Congress. The evenings become an opportunity for magic culinary discoveries in this city so rich in food culture. Once again I am guided by the advice of my friend Joan Gómez Pallarès, linguist and author of the blog De Vinis and connoisseur of all things good in Catalonia (and elsewhere…) .
It is not easy to find a table on Monday evenings in Barcelona, but on Monday 16 February 2009 I found a table at Gresca (c/ Provença 230, Barcelona – Eixample, +34-934516193). The minimalist website does not mention opening days, but it seems that the place closes on Saturday noon and Sunday. The chef Rafael Peña presents a very interesting combination of traditional and contemporary cuisine, focused on the accuracy of the cooking and presentation rather than on molecular techniques … The beauty of the dishes is impressive, especially entries like “Anec fumaţ amb llagostins “, a lobster wrapped in thin slices of smoked duck in order to imitate the shell of the crustacean, delicious and well presented. Another is the “Carpaccio de Pop amb butifarra negra “, a mosaic of white slices of octopus on a background of black pudding with a frame of herbs. For the photos I “borrowed” some images from the excellent photo-blog Encatadisimo because my Blackberry decided to empty its batteries for the day…

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El Celler de Can Roca is one of my most memorable dining experiences, up there with Troisgros. At 279€ for 2 people with 19 courses and 9 wines by the glass, one could also call it a bargain (the top menu is 100€ per person).

To read more about this experience, please visit Vinix, the wine social network site run by my friend Filippo Ronco. My complete article is there with some pictures taken on the cell phone.

We love surprises. The less we know, the less we expect. And – at the end – if the ordeal is overwhelming – we remember such things for almost all of our lives. The last shock came from Slovenia. To be exact – from the restaurant Pri Lojzetu (it means “chez Louis”) situated at the Zemono castle on a hill in the middle of picturesque vineyards of the Vipava valley. I knew that, I knew what was going to happen, but my guests hadn’t a clue. Pri Lojzetu is one of the most renowned Slovenian restaurants. Located some 30 minutes driving from the Italian/Slovenian border at Gorizia (Friuli), it is basically in the heart of central Europe. From the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, you are there in less than an hour.

Tomaž (Tomi for friends) Kavčič is the fourth generation of a family of restaurateurs. His mother Katja is the living icon of Slovenian gastronomy. She was the one who introduced Slow Food to Slovenian and Italian guests long time before the movement was “invented” in Bra by Carlo Petrini! Her mother (Tomi’s grandmother) followed the family tradition before WW2, by joining the nun’s cooking school in a monastery nearby. Her diploma work was to create a six dish menu which contained local dishes. This kind of culinary experience was strongly represented at restaurant Pri Lojzetu, which until ten years ago was situated at the family house in the village of Dornberk, in the middle of the Vipava valley. Following this heritage Katja began working with fresh local materials and seasonal dishes that she adjusted to modern times. Even during communism (Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia and gained it’s independence in 1991) they were lucky. Tito’s communists were not as harsh as their ideological comrades behind the Iron Curtain, you could have your own company, it was allowed, it had to be small, but it was allowed. And this was crucial for small traditional businesses like restaurateurs, winegrowers… it was the most important thing for the survival of traditional Slovenian cuisine. Therefore it is not surprising that the first official Slow Food dinner in Slovenia was held in December 1995 at the restaurant Pri Lojzetu, it was totally obvious and logical.

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On Tuesday evening the 8th of march, my friend Tomaz Srsen came to fetch me at Ljubljana airport, this was the beginning of a very tasty evening. Back in the ‘80s Tomaz used to be the bassist of Slovenia’s top rock group, today he is a wine and food critic but still looks like a bassist… he also write a guide of Slovenia’s top 110 restaurants; 110 in a country of 2 million people? It strikes me that this is the equivalent of citing the 3000 best restaurants in France. This evening we are going to one of the best, the Gostilna pri Danilu at Škofja Loka, a few kilometres outside Ljubljana.

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