137 replies to this topic

[Tuckerman]

Only 27 courses at El Bulli on Saturday night, down from the 40+ of old. People must have been getting full . Actually "courses" is the wrong word-"taste experiences" is more apt, ranging from a tiny microdot of Tarragon "paste" to two small chunks of Lambs brains-the latter the only approximation to what anyone would call a "main course"

The impeccable service ballet as waiters swoop away cutlery and lay more down, along with wierder utensils including, at one point, a polystyrene box filed with Parmesan Air , goes on for over four hours-and highly impressive it is too.

As for the food-it was interesting, sometimes fascinating-funny, wacky, odd. colourful and utterly undelicious in just about every respect. I'd had a much more delicious and satisfying fish lunch at Garbet earlier in the day.

This because Adria clearly doesn't give a toss about serving delicious food. Whatever reason you come here for, a delicious satisfying meal is not one of them. Some courses are actively unpleasant-the stewed green tea foam served with a langoustine, the metallic "pearl" served with an oyster, foie gras "soil"-presented to look like a heap of dry dirt- "milk skin with citrus" Milk skin? Milk Skin? A Chef who serves milkskin to paying customers really deserves to be hung up and have the soles of his feet beaten for a couple of hours. Nasty stuff. Chemicals abound, artificiality abounds. And for me, though everything was interesting, there was no "wow factor"

In fact, I found it all very wearisome once the novelty wore off. Some real food would have been nice after about course number 12. You know what you're going to get so you have to enter into the shtick and have fun, and the 8 of us had a great time. I'm glad I went. But I doubt I'll ever go again.

[GG Mora]

I'm surprised Adria hasn't opted for an outpost in Vegas yet. Seems it would be a perfect fit. Maybe he could share a bill with Cirque de Soleil.

Interesting report, Tuckerman. Sounds right on the money.

Caveat: I've never eaten at El Bulli, and probably never will. Reports like this remind me that, while I have a deep interest in food, I have zero interest in popping for dining as performance piece.

[Tuckerman]

Reports like this remind me that, while I have a deep interest in food, I have zero interest in popping for dining as performance piece.

Well you can't "pop in" even if you wanted to. The place is booked out as far as the eye can see. They do seventy covers a service and there are seventy staff. Apparently many of the kitchen staff agree to work for free just to get a stage at El Bulli onto their CV

[GG Mora]

You misunderstand. I know darn well you can't just “pop in” for dinner. “Popping for” is slang for “spending money on”. And I have zero interest in popping for popping in for dinner.

[Wilfrid1]

Thanks for the notes. It sounds quite aversive.

[Rose]

art imitating life

food imitating art

cooking imitating showbiz

chefs imitating artists

food imitating non-food

dining imitating performance art

dining as intellectual experience

[Tuckerman]

Actually I would advise anyone with a real interest in restaurants to go at least once, if only to experience food that's as far apart from the food one cooks at home can possibly get and still be called food. Also, to eat food whose prime raison d'etre is separate from tasting nice is an interesting experience in itself. Also to experience the first hand cuisine of such an influential and seminal figure in restaurant cuisine. It's a foodie "experience".

[Lippy]

No, thanks. Reading about it sounds more enjoyable than the actual experience. The next step, actually, after foam and "air."

[Carolyn Tillie]

Reading about it sounds more enjoyable than the actual experience.

We are almost getting to the point where reading about isn't even that enjoyable. Too many folks are complaining about the lack of actual palatable food, the downright disgusting combinations, and their desire for a meat-and-potatoes meal afterwards.

Unless Adria gets innovative to the extent of actually satisfying his guests, reading about the dinners there is more along the lines of simple rants that are getting old and tired.

[Tuckerman]

You know in our party of 8 a lot of people didn't eat a lot of the food. Times us by X and that means a lot of food going back uneaten. Adria knows damn well that people aren't leaving it because they're full. Yet when food is left uneaten it doesn't occur to the fantastically well trained staff to enquire if there's anything wrong. It's as if they expect people to leave a lot of the food.

It's this that makes you realise his interest in whether you enjoy the food or not is secondary to his interest in messing about with food and rejecting what he would probably see as outdated and prejudiced pre-conceptions on the diner's part. He just wants to play with textures and flavours and taste combinations and if the diner doesn't like it-well too bad really

To be fair, one knows that when one goes there. There's not much point in going there and moaning about it . But mulling it over afterwards you can't escape the fact that this is a restaurant that doesn't care whether you enjoy your meal or not and it's the most famous restaurant in the world, pretty much, and its packed to capacity every night year in year out.

It must say something about something

[Lippy]

Yup.

[Orik]

Reports like this remind me that, while I have a deep interest in food, I have zero interest in popping for dining as performance piece.

Well you can't "pop in" even if you wanted to. The place is booked out as far as the eye can see. They do seventy covers a service and there are seventy staff. Apparently many of the kitchen staff agree to work for free just to get a stage at El Bulli onto their CV

Friends (MF members, actually) have popped in once and got served dinner, but I would agree it's not the best idea.

Dining on some horribly prepared shrimps at a horrible tapas bar, I imagined the following Adria dish.

"Gambas: Air, Intent, Force"

In the kitchen there is a large pot of boiling saffron flavored shrimp shell broth. For every entree, twelve large, live prawns get tossed into the pot. A waiter (one per diner) then proceeds to lean above the pot (carefully) and take a deep breath , filling his mouth with the aromatic fumes coming from the broth. He proceeds with great intent to the dining rooms and swiftly blows the air into the mouth of the diner.

[Rose]

If you consider him an artist, then the experience can be viewed thusly: He's aiming for a particular audience. He really doesn't care if those who are not of that audience don't like his product. His aim is to further the exploration of the subject matter and be a milepost along the time-line of the history of cuisine. He's cooking for the history books. That's what he cares about and if he can make money along the way all the better because it will allow him to continue to explore his subject.

[Rose]

Sustenance (in cuisine)=beauty (in art)

The guiding force of each of these endeavors has been abandoned to a large extent and some might say it is the natural progression of their development .

[bloviatrix]

It's this that makes you realise his interest in whether you enjoy the food or not is secondary to his interest in messing about with food and rejecting what he would probably see as outdated and prejudiced pre-conceptions on the diner's part. He just wants to play with textures and flavours and taste combinations and if the diner doesn't like it-well too bad really

In other words he's just masturbating with food.