Maruja Limón – Vigo, Galicia

Bronze sculpture of Jules Verne on a giant squid near Vigo’s marina.  Photo credit to María José Alcalde Abal (@alcaldejos on Instagram)

In the classic 1870 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne dedicates a chapter to Vigo Bay. Captain Nemo guides the Nautilus up the coast from Portugal to Vigo to discover (and plunder!) sunken treasure.  “”Did you know, sir,” he asked, smiling, “that the sea contained such riches?””  Verne’s character, Captain Nemo, may have been speaking of “ingots of gold and silver, cascades of piasters and jewels” when he referred to the sea’s riches, but those of us who visit Galicia in the present day get to enjoy riches from the sea in the form of exceptional shellfish and seafood.

Maruja Limón is located right in front of Vigo’s marina, very near the large bronze sculpture of Jules Verne (sitting on a giant squid, no less!), just on the other side of the Montero Ríos gardens. We were greeted by a booming classic rock soundtrack as we entered the Michelin-starred restaurant. Once seated in the main dining room we discussed the menu and wine list with our waiter.

Although the tasting menus were tempting, we opted to order several items from the left side, nuestra parte salada (our savory part), of the menu to share.

The first thing presented was a wooden box full of very good quality Galician bread.

Vigo is the largest fishing port not only in Galicia or Spain, but in the world!  So it’s no wonder that the restaurant, located just across the street from the marina, would feature an innovative amuse bouche inspired by the sea. With instructions that it should be eaten by hand, we truly enjoyed this sweet and creamy cabracho (cold scorpion fish ‘cake’) on top of “roca de algas” (literally “algae rock”, but what was actually an extra light crispy biscuit) topped with locally sourced wakame (another type of seaweed).

Amuse bouche inspired by the sea!

We selected a pair of highly regarded lovely white wines to start with: 2015 Pousada, an Albariño-Treixadura blend from the Condado do Tea region of the Rias Baixas, and 2015 Rafael Palacios As Sortes Godello from Valdeorras.

Hueva frita de otra manera, béchamel suave de trufa blanca y setas de temporada (Egg fried in another way, soft white truffle béchamel and seasonal mushrooms). Our first dish was decadent and rich in the best ways possible. The egg was gently cooked sous vide style then fried like a croqueta and served over roasted mushrooms and a truffle béchamel sauce. I loved the runny yolk blending in with the truffle sauce … and was appreciative of the great Galician bread on hand to clean the plate. Due to the warmer than usual autumn and the forest fires that tore through many parts of Galicia the week that we were there, mushrooms were actually in short supply during this trip, so we appreciated any that we found on menus.

Hueva frita de otra manera, béchamel suave de trufa blanca y setas de temporada (Egg fried in another way, soft white truffle béchamel and seasonal mushrooms)

Ensalada de tomate marinado, queso del Cebreiro y maíz tostado (Marinated tomato salad, O Cebreiro cheese and toasted corn). Sweet marinated sun-dried tomatoes with chunks of O Cebreiro cheese, cornbread crumbs, and topped with frisee.  O Cebreiro cheese is Galician from the mountain town of the same name located on Galicia’s eastern border with Asturias. This unique cow’s milk cheese was brought back from nearly being forgotten about many years ago by several families in that mountain village. What looks and tastes like goat cheese is actually made of cow’s milk. This perfectly tangy cheese paired beautifully with the sweet marinated tomatoes and not at all bitter frisee salad.

Ensalada de tomate marinado, queso del Cebreiro y maíz tostado (Marinated tomato salad, O Cebreiro cheese and toasted corn)

Vieira encebollada, shitake y trufa de verano (Scallop in onion sauce, shitake mushroom and summer truffle). Another rich decadent sauce accompanied the perfectly cooked scallops. The kitchen was wise to serve the refreshing tomato salad in between these two rich dishes. Check out those shaved summer truffles absolutely covering the scallops! While it looks like a lot of truffle, this summer variety didn’t overwhelm at all, but added a nice flavor to the sauce that pooled gently around the scallops. Crunchy fried onions and roasted mushrooms complimented nicely.

Vieira encebollada, shitake y trufa de verano (Scallop in onion sauce, shitake mushroom and summer truffle)

Switching to vino tinto (red wine) for the remainder of the courses, we enjoyed the 2014 Attis Espadeiro from the Rias Baixas wine region.

Jurel a la llama, soja fermentada, cacahuete y chile (Flame grilled mackerel, fermented soy, peanut and chile). Mackerel is known for being an intensely flavored fish, so it wasn’t a surprise that this version, cooked over flame with some smokiness to further intensify the flavor of the mackerel itself, was no exception. The flavorful fish was nestled in a pleasant loose grain porridge and sprinkled with chopped peanuts. The chile was not really discernible, which was a shame since the strong flavor of the fish would have stood up to it nicely.

Jurel a la llama, soja fermentada, cacahuete y chile (Flame grilled mackerel, fermented soy, peanut and chile)

Pieza de ternera de Lugo, torrija de patata y un jugo de ajo tostado (Piece of tenderloin from Lugo, potato torrija and toasted garlic jus). For our final main course, this flavorful Galician beef was absolute perfection. Beautifully presented flavorful tenderloin cooked “a su punto” (a perfect medium rare) with this delicate, yet rich, jus just decorating the plate. For even more umami, several sautéed mushrooms played along as well. The marvelous potato “torrija” was something I hadn’t seen in Galicia before. Basically, this was a potato gratin (surely made with plenty of cream, hence the ‘torrija’ reference) cut into cubes then crisped again just before serving. Delicious!

Pieza de ternera de Lugo, torrija de patata y un jugo de ajo tostado (Piece of tenderloin from Lugo, potato torrija and toasted garlic jus)

From the Lo dulce (The sweet) portion of the menu, we selected the Chocolate, frambuesa y toffe (Chocolate, raspberry and toffee) dessert. Crispy tubes of toffee filled with a light cream atop a bed of darker chocolate cream, vanilla cream, raspberry coulis, and sprinkled with chocolate crumbles. We enjoyed this light dessert with such a variety of flavors and textures.

Chocolate, frambuesa y toffe (Chocolate, raspberry and toffee)

As is usual in restaurants in Galicia, another round of sweets accompany the post-dessert coffee service.

In addition to the dining room where we sat, the restaurant features two other spaces; Maruja Granuja is a casual bar area in the front of the restaurant for enjoying a wine accompanied by small tapas and a separate Cocina Vista dining space where a handful of guests actually sit at a bar in front of an open kitchen to watch the chefs create special tasting menus.

Reservations recommended.

Date of Visit: Saturday, October 21, 2017

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Maruja Limón
Rúa Montero Ríos, 4, 36201 Vigo, Pontevedra (map)
+34 986 473 406

Website: www.marujalimon.es
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/MarujaLimon.Restaurante

English spoken: YES

 

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As Garzas – Malpica, Galicia

Date of visit: Friday, April 28, 2017

(Image credit: National Geographic)

Galicia’s Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), stretches all along the northwestern coast of Galicia from the village of Muros (the “x” at the bottom of the photo to the left) all the way up to the village of Malpica (the “4” at the top of the photo). While the name is a bit unfortunate for marketing purposes, visitors to the Costa da Morte need not be afraid. It’s named for the numerous shipwrecks that used to take place back in ye olde seafaring days. The miles and miles of coastline is a nature lover’s paradise with unspoiled rocky shores and gorgeous views aplenty. The map to the left is borrowed from this National Geographic article that goes into more specifics about the many sights to see on this part of Galicia’s coastline.

We enjoyed a lovely full day exploring the Costa da Morte, including a visit to the lighthouse at the End of the World (in Fisterra), fabulous lunch at O’Fragon Restaurante (read more about that here) and stops at the Ézaro waterfall (near Cee), and Muxía.  As evening approached we made our way to As Garzas Restaurant near Malpica, and enjoyed watching a perfect sunset right from our table against the windows of the front dining room.

This Michelin starred restaurant is situated in the main floor of a bungalow style house just meters from the rocky shore. As soon as we entered, María José Sánchez, wife of Chef Fernando Agrasar, made us feel right at home. She runs the front of the house and speaks English wonderfully. After our warm welcome, she very helpfully explained various menu items. As was the case earlier in the day, we opted to order a la carte rather than taking advantage of either of Chef Agrasar’s extremely appetizing tasting menus featuring their contemporary Galician fare.

 

As Garzas menu above. A la carte in the center and tasting menus on the right.

 

Getting things started was an aperitif of empanada casera de xouba (homemade mackerel empanada) served on these darling fish shaped wooden plates. This was the lightest, crunchiest empanada pastry I’ve had.

 

The Galician bread on the left side of the serving tray, described as “pan de toda la vida” (good old Galician bread), had a really satisfyingly crispy crust and wonderful flavor. The bread on the right side of the serving tray was another excellent house made bread with frutos rojos y pasas (nuts and raisins). Beautifully presented sweet cream Prestes butter with sal negra (black salt) paired perfectly with these honest artisan breads. There was a symphony of crunching coming from our table with the crispy empanada and these two excellent breads. Hands down, this ended up being the best bread of the trip. Given the overall excellent quality of Galician bread in general, this is high praise, indeed.

Cheers to a wonderful day on the Costa da Morte and a beautiful evening at As Garzas.

Salvaxe – blend

Ribeiro

Serious and elegant white blend from the subzone of Gomariz in the Ribeiro D.O, the 2013 Salvaxe is made from old vines (between 60 and 80 years old) of Lado, Silveiriña, Albariño, Godello, and Treixadura grapes. This small production wine paired perfectly with the seafood options that made up our meal.

Croquetas caseras de bacalao al Pil-Pil (Salt cod aioli croquettes).  These croquetas satisfied with a creamy, mild flavored cod.

Zamburinas, verduritas tostadas, aguacate y espuma de puerros (Variegated scallops, roasted vegetables, avocado and leek foam)

The whole menu is brimming with fresh seafood, the specialty of the house. Mr. Vacation proclaimed “This is why you come to Galicia!” when this stunning plate of local sweet grilled scallops and cold grilled vegetables accented by a sweet leek sauce, avocado purée, fresh peas, and tomato jam hit the table. A stunning dish.

Cigalas y alcachofas estofadas (Langoustine and stuffed artichokes)

Vieira con parmentier de champiñón (Scallop with mushroom bisque). This was so incredibly flavorful. Pass more of that bread to sopetear (sop up), por favor!

Raya y asado de sus espinas (Skate fish and broth of the bones). The fish here and in the dish below were both perfectly done, a su punto.  The skate accompanied by intensely flavored spinach.

Merluza, puerros asados, su caldo y perlas de trufa (Hake, roasted leek, its broth and truffle pearls)

All of the homemade desserts were tempting, but in the end we selected two of our favorite desserts of this trip: torrija and chocolate soufflé.

Torrija de pan de frutas con helado de flan de huevo (Fruited bread torrija with egg flan ice cream)

Torrija has been discussed many times in this blog (like here and here) – it’s my favorite Galician dessert. As Garzas’ version is similar in style to the one we had at Bido in A Coruña, cool and creamy on the inside with a crunchy darkly caramelized sugar top.

Soufflé Coulant de chocolate con natillas caseras (Chocolate soufflé with homemade custard). This trip to Galicia was book-ended by visits to Paris, so soufflé was one of the themes of our trip. This excellent version of decadent rich chocolate soufflé with a vanilla sauce was on par with those we had in France.

More tasty treats with coffee service was the perfect end to the evening’s luxurious meal.

We felt so at home here at As Garzas. That is, if our home featured beautiful embroidered linen napkins, gorgeous views of the Atlantic Ocean, impressive tableware, and the highest quality wine and seafood! It was so difficult to leave. As it turns out, one actually doesn’t have to leave after a wonderful evening – As Garzas is also a bed and breakfast with 4 guest rooms just upstairs from the dining room! The thought of that bread for breakfast in the morning is so tempting. Next time we will have to stay overnight to fully enjoy this beautiful home and the warm hospitality offered within.

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As Garzas
Porto Barizo, 40, 15113 Barizo – Malpica, A Coruña (map)
+34 981 721 765

Website: www.asgarzas.com
Website B&B: www.asgarzas.com/es/alojamiento/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/As-Garzas
Instagram: www.instagram.com/asgarzas

English spoken: YES

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Bido Restaurante – A Coruña, Galicia

Date of visit: Thursday, April 27, 2017

Bido Restaurante exterior – located on the ground floor of the stately La Casa Barrié building in A Coruña.

“Se come muy bien en Galicia” is a common refrain that you will hear over and over again when you spend any amount of time in Spain. It means “one eats very well in Galicia”.  This could not be a truer statement; with the high quality of local products (shellfish, fish, beef, etc.) and the passion with which local chefs prepare them, one does indeed eat very well in Galicia. And within Galicia, one eats extremely well in the city of A Coruña.

Coruña has a dynamic dining scene and one of the highest profile restaurant openings of late was the opening of Bido Restaurant last September. If you remember back to my blog post from last fall, I was able to stop by Bido a couple of days before the actual opening, but had to wait 7 months before returning to experience an entire meal. I’m happy to report that it was totally worth the wait!

The restaurant’s impressive bar is the first thing one notices upon entering the restaurant as it dominates one wall of the dining room. Along with the striking chandelier, one also notices a list of wines by the glass prominently displayed on the wall next to the bar. They proudly offer quality, higher end wines by the glass, a somewhat uncommon occurrence in Galicia. A quote at the bottom of the wine list assures us that “All you need is a glass of wine – by Bido”.

While Bido’s current menu contains subtle references to Chef Crujeiras’ former restaurant venture, A Estación, in the artwork and in many of the menu items, the physical menu itself is uniquely “Bido” – the pages actually roll up into a sumptuous custom leather sleeve, a nod to the many other touches of tawny leather around the restaurant.  Seasonal main courses at Bido are served as raciónes cortas (smaller portions) so that guests may try multiple items. Some appetizers may be up-sized to be a main course, offering plenty of flexibility in creating a unique dining experience.

 

We enjoyed the view from our table near the window as the parade of bread and snacks arrived. The bread in Galicia is hearty and amazing. The breadbasket here at Bido is no exception. The traditional white bread was lovely but the brown bread really stole the show as a wonderful example of the resurgence of a formerly unsung local hero: the chestnut. This bread came from a new shop that has opened in A Coruña called Castañam (a play on the Spanish words (chestnut) castaña and (yummy) ñam). It specializes in products made with Galician chestnuts, including this bread made from chestnut flour that is served at Bido and other nice restaurants in Coruña. The bread was accompanied by good quality Galician butter, an assortment of olives (big green Galician olives, black olives from Aragón) with confit garlic, and slightly addictive bacalao (salt cod) cream with cracker sticks. Then came refreshing bowls of salmorejo, a Spanish chilled soup made of pureed tomato, bread and potato that Saveur magazine calls “gazpacho’s richer, deeper cousin”.

 

For starters the croquetas de temporada (seasonal croquettes – seafood on this day) were a must. Fresh, hot, creamy, and bursting with seafood flavor, these stellar croquetas were slightly spicy and extremely satisfying. Also very satisfying was the empanada casera del día, made in-house with xouba (small Galician sardines) over caramelized onions in a crust of thin dough. Galician empanadas are traditionally meant to be eaten with your hands, but the crust on this version was delicate enough that we picked up our knives and forks.

A behind the scenes look into Bido’s kitchen! Eva cheerfully prepares that delicious xouba empanada. (Photo by Crujeiras – used with permission)

With such a nice list of wines by the glass, we ordered three different Galician whites to kick off our meal. Above left: Cíes, a lovely limited production old vines Albariño from Meaño in the Rías Baixas region. Above right: Avancia, another old vines white, a Godello grown in Valdeorras, made by Jorge Ordoñez who was the first person to bring Godello wine to the United States in the 1990s.

The third white was the KomoKabras Albariño from the Entre os Rios winery.  I was excited to see this still on Bido’s wine by the glass menu since a few days later we would be staying at the Casa Rural (B&B) where the winery is located. We had a wonderful stay and really enjoyed visiting the winery … that will be another blog post!

Smoked marinated salmon over fresh spinach leaves with drops of green apple vinagrette and burrata de requeixo da A Capela.  (Requeixo is a soft raw milk creamy Galician cheese similar to mascarpone made in A Capela, not far from A Coruña)

Ravioli Bogavante (lobster ravioli)

Huge chunks of lobster wrapped in extremely delicate thin pasta over ratatouille bathed in a seafood sauce. We used the good Galician bread to sopetear (sop up) all of that flavorful sauce!

When we weren’t familiar with the seasonal fish salmonete (red mullet), they brought a fresh one out to show us.

Bido’s international cheese cart. This day it featured cheeses from France, England, Spain, and Galicia.

The classic yet modern interior decór at Bido is enhanced by the vintage hexagon tile floor. It went very nicely with my newly acquired Eferro wooden sandals (purchased at their new storefront in A Coruña – more info from my visit to the original location in Merza here).  #ihavethisthingwithfloors

Pescado del Día, arroz negro y emulsion de “allada” – fish of the day (salmonete = red mullet)

The plated version of the fish of the day (salmonete = red mullet) was served over black rice with an aioli-like garlic emulsion.  The fish was perfectly prepared and thoroughly enjoyed.

To accompany Mr. Vacation’s solomillo (sirloin steak), he selected this Almirez Toro (Tempranillo) from Teso la Monja (located in the province of Zamora, Spain).

Chef Crujeiras does it all! Here he is delivering solomillo to the table which was topped with foie gras and shavings of last-of-the-season truffles(!), served with roasted potatoes and brocollini. So rich and delicious!

Canelón de galo Celta, pesto de queso San Simón da Costa, setas de temporada y salsa de asado – Celta chicken cannelloni, San Simón cheese pesto, seasonal mushrooms and pan reduction sauce.

Listed on the menu as an appetizer, I requested the cannelloni as a main course. The kitchen was happy to up-size the portion and I am so glad they did – this dish ended up being my favorite plate of the day. So deliciously rich, this savory chicken (Galo Celta, a Galician heritage breed chicken), smokey San Simón da Costa cheese, mushrooms, pan reduction sauce, and a nice shaving of Parmesan cheese on top packed an umami punch. There may have even been truffle oil and foie gras inside (recipes I found online call for both). It was truly a fantastic dish.

Chef Crujeiras generously brought over a round of Tostado de Costeira, a lovely dessert wine from the Ribeiro wine region (located in the central part of southern Galicia, just to the east of the Rías Baixas). It’s a naturally sweet wine made from Treixadura grapes, served cold, with flavors of honey and raisin that paired perfectly with the parade of desserts that followed.

Milhojas de Vainilla – Napoleon (or millefeuille, in French)

A classic dessert of vanilla cream between two layers of puff pastry served over a spiced chocolate sauce with Guanaja chocolate ice cream on the side.

Limón – Lemon dessert

Lemon curd between two rows of toasted meringue and topped with lemon sorbet, sprinkled with lime zest. Creamy, tart and extremely refreshing.

Torrija de Brioche Caramelizada – Caramelized Galician French Toast

All of Bido’s desserts are made in-house. Each was delicious, but this brioche torrija was my favorite. The torrija was custardy and creamy on the inside, with a crunchy sugar brûléed top (and bottom!), and served over a pecan cream sauce with fresh apple ice cream on the side. The ice cream tasted like fresh applesauce, making for a super refreshing contrast to the richness of the torrija.

Beautiful dessert sampler.

Just when we thought our incredible meal had come to a close, this beautiful dessert sampler on a Portuguese painted tile arrived along with the elegant coffee service. Piña colada marinated pineapple chunks; Nata (thick whipped cream) with licór café (coffee flavored liquor) in the shot glasses; and bizcocho praliné (dried praline cake) with crema de nuez (walnut cream).

We had such an enjoyable afternoon! Bido is comfortable, yet refined. The service is warm and welcoming, yet professional as led by Manual Otero, the charming maître d’ who came to Bido from A Estación. The food is approachable, yet elevated. Even a humble chicken dish skyrocketed to the top of the list when prepared by Chef Crujeiras’ skilled kitchen. Se come muy bien en Bido! 

 Chef Crujeiras takes a moment to say hello.  Thanks to the entire team at Bido for a wonderful afternoon!

Reservations are highly recommended, especially if you wish to dine during the prime hours (2:30 – 4pm and after 9pm in the evening).  Contact the restaurant at least a couple of weeks in advance for a mid-week reservations, and perhaps even a month or two for a weekend reservation.

 

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Bido Restaurante
Marcial  de Adalid 2, A Coruña, Spain (map)
+34 881 92 28 47

Website: www.bidorestaurante.es
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bido-restaurante
Bido Instagram: www.instagram.com/bidorestaurante

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Restaurante Casa Gerardo – Prendes, Asturias

Date of Visit: Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Just to the east of Galicia lies the province of Asturias with the charming port city of Gijón on its northern coast. In May 2016 a family cruise included a stop in Gijón. I was very interested in this cruise stop since the Northern Route of the Camino de Santiago passes through Gijón, right along picturesque white sand San Lorenzo beach. The old fishing village (now the recreational marine port) is a short walk away through the charming old quarter where you can find shops and even a few cider bars (siderias – an experience you should seek out when in Asturias!).

But our real mission during our too-short stay in Gijón was to visit the Asturian temple of the fabada – Casa Gerardo.  Fabada is a classic Spanish dish made of large white beans (alubias), pork shoulder or ham, morcilla (blood sausage), and chorizo. Since its founding in 1882 as a roadside tavern, Casa Gerardo has been making this classic fabada at this same location. Located along a busy road in the village of Prendes, about 7 miles from the old town of Gijón, it is operated by the Morán family, father Pedro and son Marcos. They are the fourth and fifth generations, respectively, to operate the restaurant which earned a Michelin star in 1987.

Casa Gerardo’s signature fabada is firmly rooted in a historic past, but the menu veers off into modernity with deliciously executed contemporary dishes. On the printed menu, one side of the menu is labeled “dishes that remain on the menu and are now house classics”, while the other side is labeled “contemporary dishes”.  The amuse bouche that kicked off our meal certainly showed off this modern bent in fine fashion.

The first amuse was this surprising and refreshing “Margarita de Manzana”. Think of a welcome cocktail, just not in a glass. Chunks of apple soaked in tequila (!), sprinkled with salt and with a hint of citrus. The perfect palate cleanser to begin the meal.

Amuse #1: Margarita de Manzana – our welcome “cocktail”.

Another great example of a modern take on a classic Spanish dish, this surprising savory potato “tortilla” ice cream on crispy rice was intriguing. It perfectly captured the essence of the quintessential Spanish tortilla in a completely unique and enjoyable fashion.

Amuse #2: Tortilla (potato flavored) savory ice cream!

Consommé made of potato skins served warm and absolutely bursting with potato flavor. The bread service was exceptional. White, wheat and cornbread were offered several times throughout the meal and served with smoked butter.

Amuse #3: Potato Consommé  – Bread service

Our meal started in earnest with some of the most luxurious and flavorful jamón ibérico in all the land: jamón ibérico de bellota reserva Joselito. No need to say more, just look at it! Ok, I’ll say a bit more; Joselito is a brand name, and it is considered to be one of the very best in Spain.

Jamón ibérico de bellota reserva Joselito – Joselito reserve acorn fed Iberian ham cured for at least 36 months.

The bocadillo crujiente de quesos, a well known staple at Casa Gerardo, are small tents of two pieces of crispy puff pastry held together with a thick line of creamy Austrian cheeses (reported to be a mixture of La Peral, Los Beyos, and cream cheese). Crunchy, creamy, salty and a little sweet – this appetizer hit all the notes and left me wanting another round.

Compango is meat with which the beans of the fabada are stewed. These croquetas contain rich little morsels of the compango in beautifully prepared croquetas.

Croquetas del compango de la fabada (croquettes made with the meat of the fabada)

And finally, the main event! The fabada we came all this way for. Beautifully cooked alubias (large, creamy white beans – see the bottom of this post for more information on what makes these beans so special!) in a delicate yet richly flavored broth. Served with the compango on the side. While listed on the traditional side of the menu, this dish is absolutely a gourmet fabada – a Michelin star fabada – and one that will surely serve as a point of reference upon which future versions of this dish will be compared.

Fabada de Prendes (white beans with ham, smoked morcilla (blood sausage), and chorizo)

Another traditional dish with the same creamy alubias, this time stewed with clams and garnished with parsley. We enjoyed the delicate and rich broth, which was less intense than the fabada de Prendes, given the lighter seafood flavor.

Fabes con almejas (white beans with clams and parsley)

Lobster and monkfish salad with vinaigrette and garnished with mayonnaise sauces made of mustard, plankton (seaweed), and red pepper. Seaweed is actually a pretty common ingredient used in Spain’s northern coast. A wonderful fresh, light dish featuring seafood of the highest quality.

Salpicón de bugre y pixín con vinagreta y mayonesas de mostaza, plancon y pimiento morrón (lobster and monkfish salad with vinaigrette and garnished with mayonnaise sauces made of mustard, plankton (seaweed), and red pepper

From the “contemporary” side of the menu, Mr. Vacation selected this beef tenderloin with quinoa, foie gras, and micro vegetables. A lovely plate with flavorful beef with a touch of decadent fois gras.

Corte de solomillo con guiso de quinoa, foie y micro vegetales (beef tenderloin with quinoa, foie gras, and micro vegetables)

Even in Asturias we couldn’t help but select an albariño from Galicia. Pazo Baión (left) makes an elegant, slightly citrusy, albariño from 40 year old vines that we thoroughly enjoyed. Mr. Vacation opted for a glass of Beronia Reserva Edición Limitada (right) from La Rioja to accompany his steak. This classic tempranillo is a limited edition wine with less than 35,000 bottles produced.

When one thinks of the legendary dishes as Casa Gerardo, the crema de arroz con leche requeimada de Prendes comes in a close second to the fabada. Comfort food taken to a whole other level. We all absolutely loved this creamy rice pudding with a brûléed sugar top.

Crema de arroz con leche requeimada de Prendes (rice pudding with brûléed sugar top)

Another dessert came to the table, a gift from the kitchen: Chocolate & frutos secos (chocolate and nuts). A lovely ensemble of creamy chocolate, hazelnut ice cream, chocolate cake crumbles with pistachos and marzipan. A delicious mix of flavors and textures.

Chocolate y frutos secos (chocolate and nuts)

During the meal father Pedro Morán came by to greet the table and make sure everything was delicious. During dessert son Marcos Morán came by to say hello and chat for a bit.  I’d love to know what I was bending his ear about (left)! He was just as charming as his father and invited us back to see the kitchen (right).

Books make some of the best souvenirs. Last year Casa Gerardo published this tome, Casa Gerardo, 50 Pasos de la Cocina Contemporánea. It won a “best in the world” award for the ‘Chef’ category in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. This beautiful book is big and heavy with gorgeous glossy photos throughout. Way too big to carry around for the rest of our journey, so I sadly left it on the display shelf in the lobby.

Now for more about those big beautiful white beans. Alubias are not only found in Asturias. During a subsequent trip to Galicia, I ran across a big beautiful bowl of white beans (the ones pictured to the left, in the colander) for sale in Lugo at the weekly farmer’s market. I recognized them as being very similar to the Asturian fabada beans (these were Galician fabas de Lourenzá) and inquired as to how much for ½ kilo (about a pound). The lovely woman selling them could hear my accent and first asked when I would be preparing them. Since I had 10 more days in Galicia then a flight home to the United States she kindly declined to sell them to me, explaining that these were fresh beans and they just wouldn’t last that long.

Even though I wasn’t able to bring their gorgeous cookbook (nor any fresh beans) home, I was thrilled to see that the recipes for both of their signature dishes, the fabada and the arroz con leche, are listed on the restaurant’s website.

A few months after our visit to Casa Gerardo the restaurant and family were featured in Season 1 of the new Amazon series “Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse” that debuted in September 2016. In the show Marcos reveals some of the secrets of the fabada including this: the white beans they use are fresh beans that they freeze until it’s time to use them, not dried beans that have been soaked. He mentioned another important tip: you don’t stir the beans while they are cooking – no spoon! Just shake the pot a bit. The elder Morán went on to explain the proper way to eat the fabada, but you will have to watch it to find out for yourself. It’s a really entertaining segment on the third episode, featuring chef José Andrés, who also hails from Asturias. Definitely worth watching!

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Restaurante Casa Gerardo
Carretera AS-19, km9, Prendes,  Asturias, Spain
+34 985 88 77 97

Website: www.restaurantecasagerardo.es
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cateringcg
Facebook: www.facebook.com/marcos.moran.casagerardo
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cateringcg

English spoken: Yes

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Restaurante Culler de Pau – O Grove, Galicia

Date of visit: Thursday, September 15, 2016

With an afternoon free in O Grove, I jumped at the chance to make a reservation at Restaurante Culler de Pau on a beautiful day in mid-September this year. From my table right against the wall to wall windows in a stark white building perched upon a hilltop, I enjoyed an expansive view of bateas (large wooden rafts that float in the waters of Galician inlets where shellfish are cultivated) on the Ría de Arousa.

In addition to possessing one of Galicia’s 13 Michelin stars in 2016, Javier Olleros is known for being one of the most admired chefs in Galicia. Chef Olleros is also part of GrupoNove. As mentioned in earlier posts about YayoDaporta Restaurante, A Estación, Casa Solla, and Alborada, Grupo Nove published a book in 2015, featuring all of the various chefs in the group. Each chef is profiled in the context of the landscapes, products, and producers that are meaningful to them, personally. In the book, Chef Olleros is pictured amongst the boulders of picturesque Con Negro beach located on the westernmost edge of the O Grove peninsula (with stunning sunsets as it faces the Atlantic Ocean – map) [the landscape] holding a bouquet of fresh herbs [the product] representing the organic wild and cultivated herbs and a Galician variety of tender corn that are cultivated and foraged for by two local nearby farms [the producers] specifically for Culler de Pau.

Expansive views of the bateas in the Ría de Arousa from the dining room of Culler de Pau.

Of the two tasting menus offered, I opted for the shorter 6 course menu, mostly based upon time … it would take about 1.5 hours for the shorter menu as opposed to the 13 course menu that would take approximately 2.5 hours. An optional pairing of 4 wines was offered as well. Upon making my selection, the aperativos (appetizers) began to arrive. First, olives were placed on the table then a small cup of gazpacho (chilled soup) made with the broth of mussels and a variety of small cherry tomatoes. It was fresh, light, and tasted of summer.

Recaredo Terrers Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2009

The first wine of the afternoon was this Recaredo Terrers Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2009, a dry sparkling cava from the Alt Penedès wine region (near Barcelona).

Bonito de Burela, encurditos, vinagrete de tomate (tuna from the northern coast of Galicia, pickles, tomato vinaigrette)

The first course was a beautiful and absolutely delicious plate of bonito de Burela (tuna from a town called Burela, located on the northern coast of Galicia) with tiny pickled vegetables and a tomato jam accenting two creamy sauces.

The next wine was this Finca Meixeman Guímaro, a Mencia from the Ribeira Sacra wine region.  It was paired with the following two courses.

Huevo, queso San Simón y migas de pan (egg, San Simón cheese, bread crumbs)

Pictured above, a fresh farm sous vide to 63° egg at the bottom of a pool of smoky San Simón cheese ‘bisque’ topped with crunchy seasoned bread crumbs. This was my favorite dish of the day. When I spoke with Chef Olleros at the end of my meal we talked about this dish and how, despite the fact that I’d obviously never had it (or anything quite like it) before, it seemed familiar – like my favorite comfort food. I would not hesitate to make a return trip to Culler de Pau just to have this again. Not a drop went to waste as I utilized the organic white & wheat local bread to sopetear (sop up) every bit!

Merluza, salsa ‘meunière’ y quinoa (hake fish, meunière sauce and quinoa)

Perfectly cooked merluza (hake fish) over a meunière sauce with a dollop of pil pil (an emulsion made from olive oil, garlic and fish broth, in this case most likely the same merluza) and a bit of quinoa on the side was straightforward, perfectly prepared, and absolutely lovely.

Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva – what a unique pairing for roast beef!

Rather than a red wine to accompany roast beef, the next wine pairing broke with usual tradition. A white wine from La Rioja was selected. It was quite a surprise, but this 2003 Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva totally worked as a pairing with this next savory dish.

Solomillo de vaca (como roast beef), zanahoria y guiso de champinon (beef sirloin (like roast beef), carrot and stewed mushrooms)

They referred to this beef sirloin as “like roast beef”, and it was – but imagine the most tender, flavorful roast beef you’ve ever had over an intensely beefy pan sauce. Really delicious. The sides, while small, were exceedingly flavorful. A stripe of carrot and grapefruit cream along one side, stewed mushrooms wrapped in Swiss chard, and (my favorite little taste) pasta in salsa de vaina de grelo (turnip green sauce) accompanied the beef.

As we moved into the dessert courses, I noticed that the playlist was including quite a bit of Frank Sinatra. “My Way” started, as if on cue, when the dessert wine pairing was presented, a 2009 Oremus Tokaji Aszu 3 Puttonyos from Hungary.

Fresas con limón albahaca (strawberries with lemon and basil)

Strawberries macerated with lemon and basil topped with fresh blackberries and basil ice cream with an accent of coconut citrus foam. Perfectly refreshing and so lovely to enjoy in the last gasp of summer.

Torrija caramelizada, café, cacao y leche cruda (caramelized torrija, coffee, cocoa and raw milk)

Torrija is a classic Galician dessert, and one I had not yet tasted. What a way to be introduced! It’s basically an extremely custardy french toast (this one stuck me as more of a bread pudding) made of sweet brioche. This version (I had a couple of others after this) had an extremely soft, creamy custard interior (other versions had more obvious bread cubes), and a delicious burnt sugar crust. Served in a puddle of coffee flavored cream with some crunchy chocolate bits and a quenelle of raw milk ice cream, this was an exceptional dessert.

It was truly a pleasure to spend a few minutes chatting with Javi Olleros after this wonderful meal. In a relatively short time we covered a wide range of topics; the importance of teamwork in his restaurant (the team is everything at Culler de Pau; on social media the first hashtag they use is #equipocullerdepau (teamcullerdepau) and on the restaurant’s website, “team” is listed above “chef”), the theme of utilizing the best seasonal products from the region, how food can trigger memories, and the idea of maintaining Galicia’s unique identity while it develops as a culinary and touristic destination. Chef Olleros is extremely passionate about all of these topics, and it’s easy to see after meeting him why it is that he is so deeply respected by his peers in the Galician culinary scene.

MyLifeOnVacation and Javi Olleros

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Restaurante Culler de Pau
Calle Reboredo 73, O Grove, Spain (map)
+34 986 732 275

Website: www.cullerdepau.com/en/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/restaurantecullerdepau
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cullerdepau
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/RestCullerdepau

I also spoke with Chef Olleros about his appearance on a recent episode of the Galician gastronomic television program Gastrópodos, hosted by Chef Beatriz Sotelo of Restaurante A Estación. They explored a bit of O Grove (which hosts an annual seafood festival) and shared much information about local centola (centolla -crab). We even got to see Berto from D’Berto Restaurante as a judge during the cooking competition of the show!

View the O Grove – A Centola episode of Gastrópodos here: http://www.crtvg.es/tvg/programas/gastropodos/

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Alborada – A Coruña, Galicia

Date of Visit: Thursday, June 2, 2016

A big part of what draws me to A Coruña, and Galicia in general, is the ocean. Despite the sometimes lack of sunshine and the many cloudy, rainy days that Galicia has (and it has quite a few), the ocean is ever-present, ever-changing, and ever-beautiful.

The old part of the city of A Coruña is a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean, nearly surrounded by water. In the image on the left you can see outlined in red the Paseo Marítino, Europe’s longest seafront promenade at 13 kilometers in length. In another blog post I will talk more about the wonderful experience earlier in this trip where we arrived in A Coruña by boat, onboard a cruise ship, where we enjoyed views of the city from a truly unique vantage point. Whether by boat or by land, the views of the sea from nearly any point in A Coruña are just gorgeous.

Once again, I received a recommendation on Instagram from a local foodie in Coruña. He had strongly recommended Michelin starred Restaurante Alborada during our trip to Galicia last October, but we weren’t able to get there. This time, his exact words were “Alborada tenéis que ir sí o sí!!” (“You guys have to go to Alborada, no matter what!!”). Well, ok, if you insist!

The front of Restaurante Alborada (left), signage at the front door “Alborada – Espiritu de Galicia” (Alborada – Spirit of Galicia) (top right), and the view of the sea from our table (bottom right).

 

Our lunch reservation was for 1:30, right when the restaurant opened. Mr. Vacation and I were greeted warmly as we entered and were seated at a table for two in the middle of the dining room right next to the windows with a view of the sea right out front.

As we sat down, a small wooden stand was brought over as a place to rest my purse. How elegant! At the same time, traditional Galician cuncas (wine bowls), were brought to the table not with wine, but apple juice with herbs from the campo (countryside). What an enjoyable, unique palate cleanser before the meal. It refreshed and set the stage for the meal which clearly had its roots in traditional Galician cuisine, but with some unexpected modern and inventive presentations. Next, Chef Iván Dominguez came over to the table to say hello and tell us about the dining experience at Alborada. No menus were given, but he explained that there would be five savory courses and one sweet course with an optional wine pairing. Since neither of us were driving that day, the answer to the wine pairing question was “yes”. Chef Iván spoke to us in Spanish, but several other staff members spoke English.

The wine pairings would start with the first course so we ordered a couple of glasses of the local  Estrella Galicia beer to go with the amuses, me with the Estrella Galicia 1906 Red Vintage and Mr. Vacation with the original Estrella Galicia 1906 Reserva Especial (named for the original recipe used during the year the brewery was established in A Coruña). The table was set with Sargadelos plates and then the appetizers arrived.

 

Wow. These starters really deserve their own close-up, each one truly a work of art. The kitchen could have sent these out separately and called it a “10 course tasting menu”, they were all that good. Starting at the top left and going clockwise:

• Meat empanada – The empanada (Galician pie) is emblematic of Galicia. Nearly every restaurant we have visited, from the most humble mom and pop place up to and including those with a Michelin star, serves empanada. Not a “version of” or their “take on” an empanada, but real homemade, traditional, classic, empanadas with whatever savory meat or seafood filling they fancy, and always with that fantastic crust. Here, the empanadas came out first and were perfect paired with the Estrella Galicia beer. The rest of the appetizers followed in short order.
• Cured caballa (mackerel) over crunchy potato w/ tomato aioli – Velvety cured mackerel, smooth aioli, and flavorful fresh herbs all married together perfectly with the delicate crunchy potato.
• Star cracker – Made of chickpea flour and various seeds, these starfish shaped crackers were served standing up in a box of dried chickpeas. They were crafted to accompany the next item …
• Squid ink pâté – Rich and intensely flavored, this squid ink pâté tasted perfectly of the sea.
• Merluza (hake fish) crudo over salsa verde croquetas – More velvety fish, this time draped over a pair of perfectly executed croquetas. What I wouldn’t give to have an entire plate of these to myself!*

The bread service. While all of the bread in Galicia is excellent, the bread here at Alborada is really something special. Firstly, it arrived just before the first of the main courses fresh and piping hot out of the oven. Then our server explained that it was made with masa madre (mother dough, a term for sourdough or natural yeast dough) and sea water. See the end of the post for more information on this, but the restaurant works with a local company that goes out in a fishing boat retrofitted to collect and treat the sea water from the ocean in Coruña that is actually used in making the bread here, and it tastes wonderful.

Who doesn’t love a tableside preparation? Especially when smoke is involved. Above, pimiento de Arnoia (Arnoia peppers – they have their own festival every August in the southern part of Galicia) were grilled and smoked with rosemary on this box that was brought to the table. The Arnoia pepper was then served on fermented cream of the O Cuoto pepper (like a Padrón pepper, but not spicy). Wine pairing: Godello.

Late spring and early summer vegetables beautifully filled this bowl: fava beans, asparagus (green slivered and white) purple & white pearl onions, snap peas, button mushroom, cauliflower, baby carrot, and sun dried tomato with ham broth poured over top. So fresh, so delicious. Wine pairing: TeiraX, a small production estate winery in the Ribeiro wine region, made from old vine Treixadura grapes.

Berberechos (cockles) with mushrooms and peas. Here again, the super fresh vegetables nearly stole the show, but the berberechos held their own in this flavorful dish. This is where you are glad for that wonderful bread to sop up (sopetear in Spanish) that delicious sauce. Wine pairing: 2007 Albariño in oak.

Chef Iván spent a lot of time mingling with guests and cooking tableside in the dining room. Here, he is uncovering and playing the cabracho (scorpion fish) that has been steamed in salt covered with seaweed.

Cabracho (scorpion fish) from the photo above, plated. Served with a pil pil sauce (an emulsion made from olive oil, garlic and fish, in this case the heads of  merluza (hake) fish) and spinach. The fish was so gently cooked and tender, a real treat both texturally and in flavor. Wine pairing: Jermann Pinot Grigio from Venice, Italy.

Chincho de ternera. I may have this name wrong, so let me describe it. Beef leg meat roasted then served pressed into a round shape (surely there’s a term for this, it is just escaping me at the moment), with a rich beefy sauce over top. Dollop of horseradish on the side. The real surprise here was this braised green wheat. It was an unexpected surprise, albeit a tasty one, having wheat prepared as a green vegetable. Wine pairing: Yet another wonderful surprise, this course was served with a Jerez sherry by Apostoles, which is a minimum of 30 years old. I’ve only ever had sherry like this in a dessert context, but it went so beautifully with this rich beef. The bites and sips got smaller and smaller as I wanted to make this pairing last for as long as possible.

When asked if you want to add another course, always say YES. This is just a good general rule to follow. Other tables were being served some different, and equally interesting dishes, so was ready for whatever surprise would come from the kitchen. This bonus course ended up being an empanada filled with rich stewed rabbit and roasted eggplant on the side.  Wine pairing: Caliza Syrah, Petit Verdot from Marqués de Griñón.

Dessert was spectacular and could not have been more perfect especially on this bright summer day. Fresh fruit with strawberry gelato, toasted merengue, edible flowers with tiny bit of granola for a little crunchiness on bottom of the plate, with a lovely ‘soup’ of strawberry & manzanilla (chamomile) poured over top from a small Sargadelos pitcher. This dish was a feast for the eyes as much as the palate.

Several times during the meal Mr. Vacation commented about the level of artistry with which these dishes were composed. With the sea right out front and the bounty of the Galician products, the artists Chef Iván and the whole Alborada team, have much to draw from in creating such a wonderful experience for their guests.

Chef Iván Dominquez is also part of GrupoNove.  As mentioned in earlier posts about YayoDaporta Restaurante, A Estación, and Casa Solla, Grupo Nove published a book in 2015, featuring all of the various chefs in the group. Each chef is profiled in the context of the landscapes, products, and producers that are meaningful to them, personally. In the book, Chef Iván is pictured with his sons on the ocean [the landscape] aboard a Galician fishing boat that has been refitted by a local company [the producer] to collect and treat the sea water [the product] with an ozone and cold filtration method so that it may be used for cooking, particularly in making the bread served at Alborada.

*Remember the croquetas above? The ones with the hake fish on top? Oh, here’s another photo to remind you. Well, in early August 2016 the same group that operates Alborada opened a new open kitchen casual concept in Coruña called Arallo Taberna, right in the heart of Plaza María Pita. One of the first dishes to catch my eye on their social media accounts? Yes, those same croquetas! I’m lucky enough to be going back to Coruña shortly and will be sure to make a full blog post after I visit Arallo Taberna for myself!

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Restaurante Alborada
Paseo Marítimo Alcalde Francisco Vázquez, 25, A Coruña, Spain
+34 981 92 92 01

Website: www.restaurante-alborada.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RestauranteAlboradaGalicia
Instagram: www.instagram.com/AlboradaGalicia
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AlboradaGalicia

Arallo Taberna
Plaza de María Pita, 3, A Coruña, Spain

Email: hola@arallotaberna.com
Website: www.arallotaberna.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/arallotaberna
Instagram: www.instagram.com/arallotaberna

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Casa Solla – Poio, Galicia

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Dear reader, you may have noticed that my posts are not in chronological order. It was my original intent to write posts in the order in which they occurred, but that plan went out the window and I’ve just been writing about each place as the inspiration strikes. Today, it occurs to me that I really can’t go one more week without showing you the beautiful meal at Casa Solla that I had last year right in the middle of my walk on the Camino de Santiago, on the Portuguese Route. This was my first Michelin star fine dining experience in Galicia and it set the bar high.

On this particular Tuesday, had I walked into the town of Caldas de Reis early, around 12:30 in the afternoon. I could have continued walking in order to make for a shorter stage the following day, but decided instead to call Casa Solla to see if they had availability for lunch. They did! After a quick shower and change of clothes, I arrived at the restaurant in Poio, located just outside of Pontevedra, for my 2:30 p.m. reservation.

 Exterior signage at Casa Solla

My corner table – what a view!

I can think of no better way to kick off this afternoon meal than with this beautiful glass of Raventós i Blanc De La Finca, an elegant and serious cava (Spanish sparkling wine).

In addition to a full traditional menu, there were three tasting menus offered. After not much deliberation at all I selected the middle one, El menú gastronómico – un viaje de temporada (The gastronomic menu – a seasonal voyage), which was described as nine courses plus snacks/appetizers and chocolates served with coffee.

The table setting was clean and simple; the potted cactus made me feel right at home (since I live in Arizona where cactus abound). The first amuses to arrive were really something special. At the top left (above) is a romesco ‘peanut’, top right a cheese ‘olive’, and in the shell plate at the bottom a ‘taco’ made out of a thin slice of what tasted like radish and a tiny piece of toast with two small dollops of fish pâté. Just one or two bites each, these innovative little tastes did impress.

 

A cup of tea?  No, this was actually intensely flavored onion broth served in a beautiful  Sargadelos (or, if not Sargadelos, at least Sargadelos-like) teacup personalized with the name Casa Solla. I savored the rich, intensely flavorful, and soul warming ‘tea’ before the main courses began to arrive.

 

Choco en ensalada cítrica (cold cuttlefish citrus salad). So light, so fresh.

Vieiras y zamburiñas en degustación (tasting of two kinds of scallops)

Served on this rock. With tweezers. There’s a first time for everything and this was definitely the first time I’d eaten with tweezers. Each separate preparation of the different types of fresh local scallops was unique, and each one was better than the last. Phenomenal.

Called simply la patata (the potato) on the menu, these fried potato batons were topped with “ketchup”, a tiny fried onion ring, and edible garlic flowers. Pretty and satisfying.

El pescado del día, esparrago blanco amargo y salsa rojo picante (Fish of the day, bitter white asparagus with spicy red sauce and macadamia nut). The fish of the day was a lovely local San Martiño (John Dory), from the ría (estuary) that I could see from my window seat.

Why is it that things prepared tableside seem to taste better? Perhaps even better yet when they are smoked tableside. Filloa-fajita de ‘raxo’ adobado y ahumado was takeoff of fajitas using the Galician filloa (crepe) as the tortilla dotted with sauces and edible flowers then topped with intensely flavored Galician style marinated pork that received a final bit of smoke tableside. This may have been my favorite plate of the day.

 

When in Spain, I generally like to focus on Spanish wines but this Champagne was suggested to accompany the fish courses, and I was wise to not turn it down. With the heavier meat dishes, this Mencia (think Pinot Noir) from Ribeira Sacra region (located in the southeastern part of Galicia) made for the perfect pairing.

 

Taco de vaca y puré de berenjena asada (Beef and roasted eggplant purée). While the menu refers to this as a ‘taco’, it was just a perfectly cooked tenderloin atop roasted eggplant purée.

 

Beautiful, simple cheese cart. While I may have wanted to spend the entire rest of the afternoon working my way through all of these cheeses, I allowed the server to make a selection of just four cheeses for me.

 

Three (yes, three) seasonal desserts. First (bottom) cleverly presented balls of pear “caviar” with lime zest served in this ‘imitation caviar’ tin, even served with a mother of pearl spoon for effect. The dish at the top right was simply called ‘mandarin’, an extremely light and fluffy mousse-like concoction with an lovely fresh orange flavor. The top right was my favorite, though. Lianzo de primavera (spring canvas) was a beautiful mélange of fresh spring fruits topped with ice cream quenelles and more edible flower petals served on an actual canvas. I loved the fresh, light ending to this beautiful meal.

 

The coffee service (right, above) was served with even more sweets, an assortment of chocolates in several different forms (left, above). Whimsical, fun, and delicious.

And with that, the check arrived and signaled the end of a magnificent dining experience in Galicia. Chef Solla wasn’t in the restaurant on the day of my visit, so I did not have the pleasure of making his acquaintance. In his absence the entire team did a marvelous job, exactly as one would expect from a restaurant of this calibre.

Chef Pepe Solla is also part of GrupoNove.  As mentioned in my earlier posts about YayoDaporta Restaurante and A Estación, Grupo Nove published a book in 2015, Nove e
a Nove Cociña Galega, Cociñeiros, Paisaxes e Productos, featuring all of the various chefs in the group. Each chef is profiled in the context of the landscapes, products, and producers that are meaningful to them, personally. In the book, Chef Pepe Solla is pictured on A Lanzada beach near O Grove, Galicia [the landscape], featuring local mackerel (fish) [the product] and a local fishing company committed to integrity, the sea, and the chef [the producer].

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Casa Solla
Avenida de Sineiro, 7, San Salvador de Poio (Pontevedra), Spain (map)
+34 986 87 28 84

email: correo@restaurantesolla.com
Website: http://www.restaurantesolla.com

Facebook: Casa Solla
Instagram: www.instagram.com/pepesolla

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A Estación, Cambre – Two Stops at the Station

EDIT: A Estación closed in March of 2017.  See Bido Restaurante in Coruña. 

Saturday, May 30, 2015

          

“Hola. I don’t have a reservation …. but I do follow you on Instagram”, is how I introduced myself to A Estación chef and co-owner of Beatriz Sotelo when I arrived without a reservation to this Michelin starred restaurant on a quiet Saturday afternoon last year.

I had completed my second Camino, walking the Portuguese Route from the Portuguese/Spanish border some 115 kilometers (72 miles) to the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, just the day before so a celebration was in order. After we chatted about Instagram, social media in general, and the Camino for a few minutes, restaurant founder and co-owner Juan Crujeiras came out of the kitchen to say hello to chat a bit. After this extremely  warm welcome, we took a photo (below) and then it was time to embark on what was to be a fabulous meal.

 

Juan Crujeiras, MyLifeOnVacation, Beatriz Sotelo

A Estación is located in the former train station of the town of Cambre, Galicia (hence the name; A Estación is Galician for “The Station”), just a little past the airport outside of A Coruña. As a matter of fact, it’s situated only about 1 km from the Camino Inglés that goes from A Coruña to Santiago. Behind the bar near the front entrance is a large sign for a despacho billetes (ticket office) and the “station” theme carries into the comfortable dining room which is arranged in such a way that it actually looks and feels like the interior of a train car. Charming.

            

Absolutely gorgeous cheese table. Several local Galician cheeses featured, including my favorite San Simón da Costa (front center).

A Estación offers an 11 course tasting menu (with optional wine pairings available) in addition to a full menu. Many of the starters are also available in half-size (media ración) portions and items from the tasting menu can even order a la carte. Since I was dining alone and wanted to be able to try various dishes, several starters in the media ración size were chosen. All were excellent; thoughtfully prepared, perfectly executed, and among the most memorable dishes I have enjoyed in Galicia.

(left) The simple, elegant place setting. (center) What better wine to accompany this lovely Galician meal than another nice Albariño? A glass of this lovely García Caamaño from the Pazo de Rubianes winery made for a perfect pairing with the seafood dishes selected. (right) A tasty variety of snacks to start: cured local olives, seasoned popcorn, and hummus with crispy breadsticks. A second round of amuses, not pictured here, included a small piece of empanada and a cup of soup.

Vieira marinada, caviar Persé, holandesa de cítricos y margarita

Since the scallop shell is the symbol of Saint James (Santiago), and featured prominently on all of the paths of the Camino de Santiago, it seemed only appropriate that my first dish would be a media ración of marinated vieira (scallop) served elegantly over a citrus hollandaise and topped with Spanish Persé caviar, a bit of scallion, and edible flowers (yellow daisy petals, actually). An absolutely gorgeous plate with phenomenal flavor and textures.

Salmón marinado y ahumado al momento con milhojas de manzana y requeixo de A Capela

This media ración of marinated and smoked salmon with milfollas (very thin layers) of apple stuffed with requeixo da Capela (a local sweet ricotta-like creamy cheese made with raw cow’s milk) and walnuts was up next. The salmon was revealed from under the smoky dome with a flourish. Perfectly prepared and playfully presented, this salmon and its accompaniments have been stuck in my memory ever since.

Rape asado, arroz cremoso de pulpo y emulsión de ajada

Galicia is known for an abundance of high quality pulpo (octopus), so I didn’t hesitate to order this dish where octopus was featured twice and paired with monkfish. Thin slices of cooked octopus were arranged in a rectangle (or perhaps it was a thin slice of an octopus terrine?), topped with an intensely flavorful creamy Spanish rice studded with more chunks of octopus, a perfectly cooked piece of monkfish (rape), and a garlic emulsion garnishing the plate. I absolutely loved the combination of the flavors and textures of the pulpo and monkfish in this dish and the generous dollop of that garlic sauce.

Tarta de chocolate hecho al momento con helado de yogur y chocolate blanco y café

Everything on the dessert menu looked so tempting. One offering was even a “gin & tonic in cake form”. This is the exact moment when I was wishing for a dining companion so we could get two different desserts to share. Since there was only to be one dessert, I decided on this chocolate cake “hecha al momento“. Think of a rich chocolate lava cake, deliciously gooey in the middle, served with white chocolate frozen yogurt sprinkled with chocolate pop-rocks (what a delightful surprise!), atop a coffee sauce that was brushed on the plate.

Coffee service came with a nice little assortment of petit fours. The check presented in an elegant wooden box. 

In addition to the very warm welcome from the chefs, the entire staff was friendly, courteous, and went about their duties with a calm elegance during both of our visits. I wasn’t surprised to read earlier this year this insightful newspaper article about their maitre (maître d’ – head waiter) in the local newspaper. In the article he explains a bit about his role as head waiter at A Estación where he serves as the primary liaison between the guests and the kitchen, discreetly helping guests to ensure they have a nice time while enjoying their meals. Dining at A Estación was such a wonderful experience, I knew before this meal was even finished that I would be returning.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

As the title of this post indicates, I did return to A Estación again. Just a few months later my husband and I visited Galicia together so that I could introduce him to my favorite little corner of Spain. We began that trip by attending the Festa do Mariscos (Shellfish Festival) in O Grove, where I just so happened to run into Chef Crujeiras who was there judging the best mussel dish cooking competition on Saturday night. We had a friendly chat and made a plan for us to visit the restaurant later in the week.

Unfortunately, I had fallen ill in O Grove on Monday night. On Wednesday evening I was still quite unwell, which tempered my excitement about returning to A Estación quite a bit. Not wanting to deprive my husband of the experience of dining here, I pulled up my bootstraps and set out to enjoy as best I could, given the circumstances. Chef Sotelo was not in the restaurant the evening of this visit but Chef Crujeiras was. It was nice to see him again and exchange a few pleasantries. After amuses that were quite similar to those received a few months earlier (and described above), we began the meal in earnest with a couple of classic appetizers.

(left) jamón Iberico (Iberian cured ham) accompanied by (center) toasted pan de molete bread and tomato jam and (left) zamburiñas (variegated scallops) with a crunchy onion topping. Two very simple, high quality dishes.

left – rape asado, arroz cremoso de berberechos, emulsión de ajo – limón
right – atun rojo a la parrilla, semillas, setas de japón y crema de apio-nabo

First to the table was the rape asado (roasted monkfish) served with a delicious creamy rice with berberechos, greens, all atop a lemon garlic cream. Next was the grilled sesame seed crusted atun (tuna) steak served with Japanese mushrooms and a creamy celery root sauce. This dish also received high marks. The sesame crust was perfectly crisp while the tuna remained rare in the middle, just as it ought to be.

For dessert – local Galician cheeses accompanied by a glass of port wine.

While not in the mood for dessert myself, my better half opted for a cheese plate. The cheese cart this evening was quite similar to the one pictured above during my first visit, and from it came a very nicely composed plate featuring three cheeses and three sweet accompaniments. Of course, I really wish I had been feeling well enough to enjoy this second visit a bit more, but I’m so happy that my husband was able to experience A Estación for himself. He was quite impressed and I’ve no doubt we will make another return visit in the future!

Since these visits in 2015, I’ve kept up with the two chefs via social media, primarily Instagram and Facebook. In addition to social media, Chef Beatriz Sotelo can also be found in the regular media, on local Galician television as the host of her own cooking competition show called Gastrópodos. In each episode, she travels around to a different part of Galicia in a refurbished 50-year-old English bus to discover a unique ingredient common to the area she’s visiting, and then has a cook-off on the bus with a different local chef each episode. Judges aboard the bus declare a winner at the end of each episode. It’s quite entertaining, and she is a natural. The second season of Gastrópodos is airing now (the fall of 2016) on the CRTVG television network.

Chef Juan Crujeiras has also been keeping busy. Among other things, he is in the process of opening a new restaurant located in the city of A Coruña. At the time of this writing, the location of the new place has been announced (near the Plaza de Vigo), but the name has not yet been revealed (although there are hints being posted on Chef Crujerias’ Instagram account). All reports indicate it will open towards the end of September 2016. I will edit this post with the information once it is known. EDIT: About a week after this post was published, the name of the restaurant was announced.  The name is BIDO, which is the Galician word for “birch”, as in the tree. One newspaper article explained that the restaurant will feature media raciones so patrons will be able to try several dishes, which is exactly my style of dining. If I’m lucky, it will be open in time for my next visit back to Galicia in September. Best of luck to Chef Crujeiras in this new venture!

The chefs at A Estación are also part of GrupoNove.  As mentioned in my earlier post about YayoDaporta Restaurante, in 2015 Grupo Nove published a book, Nove e
a Nove Cociña Galega, Cociñeiros, Paisaxes e Productos, featuring all of the various chefs in the group. Each chef is profiled in the context of the landscapes, products, and producers that are meaningful to them, personally.

In the book, Chef Crujeiras is pictured next to a stream in a mountain forest near the town where he grew up in the Coruña province of Galicia [the landscape], featuring the highest quality fresh-baked wheat, corn, and nut breads [the product] all baked by Mocho, the restaurant’s baker [the producer]. Chef Sotelo is pictured splashing in the sea near her hometown in the Pontevedra province of Galicia [the landscape], featuring the Galiña Piñeira, a native Galician breed of chicken which is prized for the quality of its meat [the product], that was saved from extinction by a local veterinarian [the producer].

Mar e montaña (sea and mountain) exemplifies Galicia itself, geographically speaking, so it seems quite appropriate that these two themes are at the heart of the cuisine at A Estación, and the soul of the restaurant itself given the provenance of the two chefs.

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A Estación
Estrada da Estación, 51, Cambre (Coruña), Spain (map)
+34 981 67 69 11

email: estaciondecambre@gmail.com
Website: link                           Menu: link

A Estación Facebook: Restaurante A Estación
A Estación Instagram: www.instagram.com/aestacion

Juan Crujeiras Instagram: www.instagram.com/crujeiras
Juan Crujeiras’ new restaurant: BIDO (scheduled to open September 2016)
Marcil  de Adalid, 2-4, A Coruña, Spain (map)

Beatriz Sotelo Instagram: www.instagram.com/beatrizsotelo
Beatriz Sotelo on Gastrópodos – CRTVG: www.crtvg.es/tvg/programas/gastropodos

 

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