January 2008
8 posts
Introduction to Pastries
I have stayed true to my vow to attend the Mercat Central weekly. On this trip I purchased a little goat cheese, a bottle of wine, a kilo of cherries and discovered that prices for fruit are advertised by the ¼ kilo and not a whole kilo; unfortunately my Spanish isn’t polished enough to inform the fruit vendor I am trying to befriend that I did not want to spend 10 euros on cherries. I am...
The Usual
Many times in the past I’ve chatted with friends about the typical American food. This conversion usually took place over a bowl of Pad Thai, miso soup or a plate of lamb vindaloo. After going to Rome a couple of years ago and trying such delights as carbonara, a’matriciana and assortments of unrecognizable meats and cheeses, I realized that what we may think as the typical cuisine of another...
Pig Parts and other delights
In order to celebrate one full week in Valencia, I traveled to the Mercat Central, the largest market in Valencia. Vendors selling all sorts of goodies pack into a historic, downtown building every Thursday through Sunday to supply the locals with groceries and tantalize my initiated taste buds. After wandering around, sneakily trying to snap some pictures I got the guts to test out my minimal...
Comida
Spain is frustrating. Although I can understand the language (un poco) I can’t speak a lick! It is getting better, though. For example, today I was able to communicate quite a bit with my seniora. Her name is Reyes and she now knows that I love cheese and Iberico jamon. I feel that these are great facts to communicate to her. Besides my love affair with jamon, the food my familia cooks for me is...
Those Spaniards love their ham
It’s one o’clock in the morning and I am sitting in a hostel in the heart of Madrid. Actually, I am sitting in the hallway outside of my hostel room because my three roommates are sleeping and I didn’t want to wake them with my frantic typing. I am excited. I am very excited. After a long and overly delayed flight, I finally made it to Spain and have been shown around the city with my group of...
Airplane Gourmand
hmm… Plane food makes me cringe. While I used to just bring a lunch aboard, strict and annoying regulations no longer allow me to enjoy eating 10,000 miles above the earth’s surface. Long trips are even worse—they call for multiple meals I am forced to shove down by order of my growling stomach. Although the trip to Spain wasn’t terribly long, six hours in a plane was still a torture test....
Spotted Pig
Before heading to Spain I decided to treat Jackie and myself to one of the tastiest dishes I’ve ever had—gnuddi at the Spotted Pig in Manhattan. I have qualms about the ole’ oinkers: The food portions are small, they are super pricey and drinks are even worse. The first time I ate there I felt that the meal started off great with the appetizers, but they were out of cask ale and everything went...
L'ECOLE - culinary city surprises
L’ECOLE and me a mouth watering match made in heaven Today Jackie treated me to a Christmas gift dinner at L’Ecole in Manhattan. I feel that I should relay my meal here because it was very tasty. I’m pretty sure the name means “the school” (if you speak French, help me out) and it is the restaurant run by The French Culinary Institute. Our meal was cooked by...