Posts tagged ‘Surreal’

June 13, 2012

Bazaar, Los Angeles

On my recent travels across the Americas, I have twice encountered the combination of Phillipe Starck and an Adria protege. Not quite sure what that little statistic means, but when there’s good and funky food in equally funky surroundings, there’s never a lack of discussion topics that are centred around the space you’re in and the experience is breathes upon you! The SLS hotel in Los Angeles is hom e to Bazaar, where El Bulli graduate Jose Andres flaunts his wares in a Starck designed dining room that plays on the name Bazaar and its permutation of bizarre, a space where the dining room is split into the actual dining space and a bar, patisserie and walk through market space displaying luxuriously priced knick-knacks, a sort of uber souk. Given the nature of the menu and it’s design for sharing, I have to say that with the help of Mr. W and Ms. B, there was fair justice done!

June 11, 2012

Moto, Chicago

Gastronomical adventures in the windy city are often only attributed to Alinea, Next and Charlie Trotters. Unbeknownst to most is a little hub of innovation and madness called Moto, with the Willy Wonka-esque Homaro Cantu, serving up a style of food only a handful of people the world over are actually masters of, with impersonators a plenty  - a cuisine formerly known as Molecular Gastronomy and what I like to refer to as ‘surreal’. Located near the top end of the meat-packing district, one wonders, whilst walking there, who on Earth would have a restaurant in this neighbourhood – isolated, stark, empty, but then half way down on the other side of the road, cafe’s, bars, restaurants all start showing their cheery heads and one promptly walks straight past Moto before checking the building numbers or Google maps and swiftly turning around and hunting down the front door and finding it located right beside Next/Aviary and feeling a slight glow of happiness, especially as there happened to be a table booked for drinks at Aviary later in the evening!

March 1, 2012

El Celler de Can Roca, Girona

So, in November I was told that there were no tables for Friday or Saturday dinner even in February, three and a half months later. In fact, there were no Saturday or Friday dinner reservations available for a YEAR! Well, it’s only the restaurant Can Roca, 2nd best restaurant in the world, 2011, 3 Michelin stars and one only needs to step into the wonderland of the premises to realise that there’s something really special about to take place over the course of the next 4 hours. Yet another family affair, The eldest Roca heads up the kitchen, the younger Roca looks after the wine and the youngest Roca takes care of the pastry. Quite a combination!

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