Hisop II

What can I say. The environments of Cinc Sentis and Hisop are similar. Cool white interiors, minimal decor. The staff are equally friendly knowledgeable and accommodating. All this for 48 euros, it's a pretty good deal in my eyes.


Our first amuse bouche. Oyster with almond and something else I can't remember. This was very good but my oyster was slightly salty, the almond went well though.


This was amazing. Percebes juicy and tender and the water melon juicy and crisp.


I substituted the prawns and 'cap i pota' ravioli for the rice, baby squid and truffle as I had had the former the last time we were here. It was yum.


Again, my john dory with Girolles was perfect


HI's hake with morels and Escorzonera (black Salsify). Very good too.


The lamb with sweetbreads and asparagus was tasty but a little rare for my liking. A reflection of my lack of sophistication I think.


Pre dessert palate cleanser of a 'Mojito' very good. Light and fresh


pudding in a very trendy kiln jar a mixture of strawberries,cocoa and roses. liked it but not as much as the Maresme strawberries.

This meal at Hisop was inventive and probably a bit more daring in terms of combinations of flavours. Whilst we were there a well known Catalan restaurant critic was there with his son. Oriol and Guillem came out of the kitchen to greet him. He took notes and seemed to delight in many of the dishes. However,for me, it lacked that sheer happy tummy feeling that some of the dishes at Cinc Sentis had.

Star-ometer

I have often pondered on the Michelin rating system. Wondered if it is possible for the same dish to be discernibly different from a 1 star place to a 2, and so on.

Part of my cynicism is that having been to one 2 star, and a couple of 3 star restaurants and I have left these places wondering if I missed something. I think fellow foodie's refer to it as the emperor's clothes effect. All hype no substance.
However, I have come up with my own barometer to try and make sense of the guide from across the water, and this is how I think it goes. (*indicates 1 star already)

One star to me would be
La Trompette*
Hisop
Michael Caines at Abode
Hotel Du Vin
No 1 at Balmoral*
Claridges*

And controversially, Alkimia* (which has one star), would not even make my list, purely for that fact I did not like the meal as a whole and have not desire to return, whilst in no way doubting the technical skill and imagination that was shown in the execution of said meal.

Glenapp sits somewhere between these two.

Two stars to me would include
Martin Wishart*
The Square* both of which currently have one but aiming for two.

The exception here is Andrew Fairlie** at Gleneagles which actually has two stars. We went last year and I left feeling that the Chef was not in the kitchen, if you know what I mean.

So then what would be my 3 stars?

Those that actually have 3 star ala Michelin include RHR***, Per Se***, Le Bernardin*** and Can Fabes***

At all but Le Bernardin we have had the tasting menu, and at all but Le Bernardin I have left a little underwhelmed. Yes even Per Se. Is Le Bernardin then my 3 star benchmark? I dunno, but no where else at that price has made me want to go back. No where else can make me drool at the thought of a starter like the Le Bernardin Kanpachi Tartare Topped with Wasabi Tobiko; Ginger-Coriander Emulsion..Yum Yum

The food is exquisite at Le Bernardin, and for an entirely fish orientated meal still remains one of my favourites in New York. So much so, that it is the only place that has made the list three years in a row, and this year a fourth. But it is also maybe due to fact we sit at the bar, despite having a table, and have struck up a relationship with the friendly barman who makes great cocktails. Some people criticise it for being seafood orientated, other people have criticise it for being staid, maybe they too should sit at the bar. Maybe it means even more, that, without all the pomp and circumstance, without the fleet of waitstaff, the food stands out to me on it's own merits.

So, thus far no 3 star has seemed worth it, bar Le Bernardin, but would it if we did the tasting menu? I am unlikely to find out as what we do there, already hits the spot. Maybe it is that I am just a 2 star kind girl or maybe it is that food can only be so good and that what you pay for in a 3 star is the service, the location and the hype. Maybe it is that food, the eating of it and pleasure experienced is a very subjective one, and that guides such as the Michelin are not for everyone and maybe not for me.

Barcelona: Part V: Can Fabes or the most expensive bread in the world.

This was our splurge meal. The only other 3 star that HI and myself have eaten at is RHR and that was about four years ago. In fact, I think it was what started our foray into the world of fancy food. Since then we have been to other high end places such as Per Se and unfortunately at this end of the price spectrum I always come away feeling that I was expecting a bit more from the food. This was no different. (I feel the need to add an amendment: having realised that Michelin have been to New York now, both Per Se and Le Bernardin are 3 starred..)

We took the train from Barcelona Sants and after figuring out how to buy a ticket got the train to Sant Celoni. 50 mins later we wandered round the very sleepy Monastery town. It's kind of an odd place to find a 3 star Michelin restaurant but I guess it didn't start out that way. Given it was Sunday everything was shut apart from one little cafe which saved our lives. It was very hot and we had an hour to wait till our 1.30 pm reservation. R and C had not had churros so despite the fact we were about to have a very expensive tasting menu they ploughed on in. You gotta love those girls..

The restaurant itself has an old fashioned bit and a more modern bit. We got sat at a table right in front of the perspex fronted kitchen which was a great experience.



I was very pleased about this. The menu was in Catalan but our waiter tried hard to explain it and we opted for the summer menu. We got a bit stung by saying yes to the bread which we worked out ended up costing us £28. For bread!! In total our bill came to £152 each including 2 gin and tonics, the bread, 2 bottles of wine and 4 tasting menus including cheese. You get a lot of food for this. So much so that by our first pudding I think we were about to burst and wanted to get up and walk about.

The service is what you would expect-unobtrusive, choreographed, attentive. The napkins are mysteriously re-folded and fresh for you when you come back from the loo. All that was missing was a seat for our bags.




Foie gras with fig, the foie had a flavour to it that I couldn't pick out. It was pleasant but not special. Again, you can have too much Foie Gras.


A beautiful selection of fruit canapes each with it's one savoury twist.


The bread! and butter and oil. Notice the lovely orange Baccarat water glasses.



Our first starter, thinly sliced octopus with truffle.



A smoked cod dish that I ate all of but didn't actually like.



The standout carrot, cebolla and prawn dish



A very good salmon dish, barely cooked again but with salmon that is a good thing



Hake, gnocchi and mushrooms



Suckling pig, with the little ribs still in, had too much fat and paled in comparison to the version at Hisop. I left most of it.

All said and done, it was a pleasant way to spend four hours but although the food was more the style I prefer, it was not that exciting and there was only one dish the carrot, onion and prawn dish, that stands out..As you can see the menu was quite heavily fish orientated, reasonable for a summer menu but, I prefer more meat. Again, I am glad we went but don't think I would make the trip again.

Barcelona: Part IV: Pinotxo & Hisop & Headcheese

One of my most favourite dishes in Barcelona has to be the Cigrons or Garbanzos from Pinotxo in the Boqueria. I first had them two years ago and dream of them often.



Imagine my delight then, when both Rachel and Choiti fell in love with them too and insisted that we have them at least once a day. True friends they are.
We had these little beauties with butifarra, pam amb tomate and the essential padron.

This set us up nicely for a bit of shopping along the Passeig de Gracia. If I had been thinking I would have realised our close proximity to Tapac 24, which evaded me all weekend until the last day, when indeed it was our last tapas stop.

That night after drinking some very good albarino on the roof terrace we headed to hisop which turned out to be one of our most favourite meals. Again, modern minimalist interior, a very helpful waitress who spoke excellent English and helpfully translated the menu for us. We opted for the tasting menu which at 48 euros seemed a good deal and also removes the harrowing issue of what to order.



We started with the mackerel with mushrooms which was lovely



The cuttlefish with cacao which I didn't like on account of textural issues



The cap I pota with prawns. Actually the prawns were used to make a ravioli which is then filled with the headcheese. Always wanted to use that word. Headcheese.




My beautiful John Dory with truffle, this was very good.



This was roast suckling pig, which was excellent. The skin was crispy and the fat had become one with the meat allowing for it all to be devoured.



The hake with morels

then there was cheese, which went so fast I forgot to take a picture.




Mojito




Strawberries cocoa and roses (with a little olive thrown in for good measure!! I think they thought we wouldn't notice..)

I really enjoyed this meal in particular my John Dory and the suckling pig, which would turn out to be better then the one we had at Can Fabes. I would hope to come back here and have the Dory and Pig again.

By the end of the meal we were all quite tipsy and headed back to the hotel We three girls went round the corner to Bar Lobo which I think is part of the Tragaluz group.
It is situated in a square has outdoor tables and is perfect for people watching.