[Leica] RE:Re: food (WAS: Nathan's PAW 45: Spanish hams)

[Félix López de Maturana <fmaturana@euskalnet.net>]

>Equate Spain with food? I shared the thread with my Italian and Greek 
>dinner guest last night and we all had a good laugh. Can anyone recall 
>eating at a 'Spanish' restaurant in America?...jf

jf

I feel myself involved in this thread as I'm a Spaniard. I have no prejudice
against any country or any people habits or culture, as far as I include
gastronomy in the culture of a people. Having being a high responsibility
employee in a very big company, before retiring, I travelled very often
including, of course, USA. My approach to the American people is highly
positive as one of our partners was the United Steel Company and had many
occasions for knowing American people in a deep way. I still have some good
friends there. That said for avoiding any bias mistrust I must confess that
I don't share the opinion about the good quality of American cooking. Please
distinguish splendid materials, America have them, an the skill of working
with them for reaching those magnificent masterworks of the "chefs".

My experience? Rather extended. I used to go France once a year and I
shamefully have to confess I know every three star establishments of
Michelin guide (The bible of the gourmets with the Gault et Millaud
magazine). I remember specially the prematurely retired Joel Robuchon in the
Jamin, you had to book a table months before, the Tour d'Argent where you
have the celebrated "caneton" a very fine duck, the Maxims, Le Divelec where
you had whale filets, le Lasserre where if the weather helped the ceiling
opened while the luch, the Lucas Carton near La Madeleine excellent, and so
on (I can bore you). In another places I've been, several times in the Paul
Bocuse restaurant in Lyon the Nouvelle Cuisine creator.

Italy! Another excellent cooks country. Just remembering the Gualtiero
Marchese where I had extraordinary Spaghetti with caviar. Brussels where I
remember Comme chez sois and the very nice in La Grand Place Le Cygne (The
swan) with an outstanding rabbit with butter. I like very much The Simpson
on the strand in London where the carver gives you bigger piece of the
extraordinary rostbeef if you put a sterling for him on the table. 

In America? I asked the clerk when I was in the Waldorf Astoria for booking
in the restaurant Le Cirque and he (actually she, being a lady) and she
thought we need some weeks for booking but indeed there was a table for two
in minutes! Good place however the tables were too close, in the manner of a
Cafeteria. They hadn't got a sommelier as the owner, a nice Italian, told me
he could impress the customers. Very good lunch with Californian wine,
excellent, at the similar level of medium class Medoc wines.

In New Orleans I went to the restaurants suggested by some good American
friend. I cannot remember the name but was, if not extraordinary, very good
indeed.

Last but not least: Spain. We have here some of the best chefs in Europe
(may I say therefore in the world without hurting anybody?) Ferrán Adriá in
El Bulli in Cataluña has a booking list of nine months! You call him right
now and may visit him in nine months. Several restaurants here have three
star of the Michelin Guide (You may smile but never leave home without the
destination country in my luggage. Pity there is none for America). My
friend Juan Mari Arzak is well known all over the world and very often he
prepares some new "platos" and ask some of his friends, may be wrongly
supposed to know something about..., for tasting them. The Basque Country,
just a little country in Spain has three restaurants with 2 stars Michelin
Guide! 

So, yes Sir, I'll ask humbly your Italian and Greek friend just to come here
and go with me to some Spanish restaurants.

In the some way nobody not using a Leica (to be OT) can comment about his
extraordinary virtues, nobody having visited the best restaurants of a
country can make fun of his quality. 

Felix


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