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the best part of playing the piano and travelling.... restaurants....!! :: 2.26.2009

So I've emerged from blog hibernation to write about the culinary adventures of the past few weeks of traveling, in which Katia and I have been in New York, New Jersey, New Haven, Barcelona, Mallorca and Berlin, and we've gotten a chance to eat a few amazingly delicious meals:

Ca'n Carlos in Mallorca
If the name throws you off, it’s because in Mallorca, the special brand of Catalan abbreviates casa to ca’. One of several iconic ways of cooking rice in the region's paella pan (a large flat skillet of caste iron), Arrozo negro features squid ink as a dominant flavoring instead of the traditional paella's saffron. Looking for a good lunch place, and wary of the tourist traps that infest Mallorca's major city, Palma, Katia and I accosted an older couple who looked like they knew the scene. They led us to where they themselves were eating, and it was a bit expensive, but it looked like the genuine article, so we couldn't resist trying it. For frugality's sake, we passed on croquetas, the bite sized fried balls of grain, chicken and cheese, but we noticed that they looked amazing at a more lavishly ordering table nearby. But the feature attraction for me, a dumb American, was to finally experience a genuine Catalan ai oli, which, contrary to popular belief, is actually just that: ai (garlic) and oli (oil). Imagine raw garlic minced so fine that when it is worked with olive oil, it produces a stiff white paste? Well the little bowl of it that arrived with the squid rice was packed with delicious garlic flavor, and hardly a spoon was needed to complement the entire rice serving with a garlic aroma. Being on an island, the langostinos, muscles, and other shell fish hiding inside the black rice still tasted just like the ocean they came from.
Miya’s Sushi in New Haven
This was one of Katia's and my favorite restaurants while living in New Haven, and while we lived next door to it, it became a second home, where we would go in to chat, eat, and drink as often as possible. And if Katia happened to be traveling, it would be a sort of refuge for me when I was too lazy or lonely to cook for myself. Bun Lai and his mom, Yoshi, run the place together... she's the practical sense and a dollop of warmth, and he's the idea and energy man, responsible for most of the innovative rolls that can shock (but inevitably delight and win over) sushi traditionalists. When Katia and I were there, we had two wonderful meals, sampling an eclectic mix from the menu, and drinking a bit too much perhaps of Bun's home-infused sakes. No way to sum it up here, so see it online: http://www.miyassushi.com/
Star Tavern Pizza in W. Orange, NJ
This is everything you love and hate about new jersey. The perfect thin crust pizza is cooked in a brick oven, which means it is done after about 5 minutes. And the local tavern atmosphere, with ESPN1-4 roaring silently behind the bar, and wooden booths packed with families, will make you feel like anything goes. But they don't take reservations, or even have a list: so you have to grapple with loud inebriated regulars in the line, who are only more agressive during rush hour on the Turnpike. Avoid anything fancy...skip the artichoke heart and portabello type offerings, and stick with peperoni, where the crispy slices of salty smoked deliciousness turn upward at the edges, and the crust is just taut and crispy enough to withstand the grease. regularly voted one of the best pizzas in New Jersey, it's worth a visit, although not on friday night, when the after-little-league-practice crowd is a tad overwhelming.
Serinäde in Chatham, NJ
I don’t know what an umlaut is doing in the name, but fine. This was blue blood dining at its finest. The menu is rich with different fish offerings, including chilean seabass. As I don't usually eat red meat at home though, I had to have their filet, which was divinely prepared. I sampled seared cow-liver, which was delicious despite the richness. Although it's expensive, they are offering their "economic stimulus menu," which is three courses for 35 bucks. Those going for the recession prix fix chose between deep sea scallops and a hangar steak, served nearly raw, in translucent slices.
Gennaro's on Amsterdam Ave. in New York City
I was really surprised by this one, as it doesn't really stand out (visually) from the other myriad restaurants and bars along Amsterdam avenue on Manhattan's upper west side. But the Italian food was rock solid, and far from stolid. I had a homemade ravioli with goat cheese and beet, served with a sage-butter sauce... at the table was were also chicken cutlets rolled with zucchini and provolone, and a chicken cutlet with prosciutto seared into it. The service took some getting used to for me, having not lived in NY for a while: it was a tad brusk, with the check on the table before I was done with an amazing flourless hazelnut chocolate torte, but the wait of 15 or so people out in the cold justified it I suppose.
Le Petit Bergerac in Barcelona
French food in Catelonia might not seem an obvious path to gourmand's heaven, but we found it nonetheless, with a charming lunch place offering a 24 euro prix fix, which is high for lunch, but a great deal for the quality we sampled. The Spanish love their business lunches, usually with three courses and a glass of wine or beer to be had for between 10 and 15 euro… so this place was obviously a little more, but definitely worth it. I had a duck breast served over potatoes and brie cheese, and to start, had a feuillete, which is a puffed up pastry filled with goat cheese, served with field greens.

Are you hungry yet?

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