Lost in Spain: Savoring the Sea

So after what was by far the most incredible meal I have had the pleasure to consume, Birgit, John, Nick and I lingered this morning in Roses to dine at another place we had heard about called Rafa's.

We found this restaurant after watching a DVD Birgit bought John as part of his birthday present called Decoding Ferran Adria with Anthony Bourdain. In this video Anthony Bourdain mentioned two other restaurants that Ferran Adria had taken him to, one was a Jamon Iberico store in Barcelona (we're hoping to find it tomorrow) and the other was this tiny little seafood restaurant in Roses that is Ferran Adria's favorite place to eat when he's not working.

Apparently Rafa won't even open the restaurant if he doesn't think the seafood is up to par, but we were lucky today, he was open and he was cooking up a storm for us. We ordered more food than I can possibly believe and consumed it faster than you might think possible given the quantities, but somehow, it was just so fresh, so pure that you could eat and eat and eat and not ever feel too full.

We started off with a series of appetizers, all very simply prepared on the grill with olive oil, garlic and some lemon juice. It was so hard to choose so we actually ended up with five dishes as appetizers: wonderfully crunchy but tender sea cucumber, grilled baby squid, garlicky scampis, prawns (stripy ones that looks like tiny painted lobsters), and grilled clams. And then for the main courses we had sea bream (deboned tableside) and monk fish. Both were excellent, but I think the monk fish had the best flavor of the two.

And of course no meal on this trip so far would be complete without some type of dessert. not that we actually had room for it, but we just couldn't help ourselves when the waitress offered us a special dessert plate to enjoy. Actually it was a combination of three desserts, a fresh goat cheese (kind of a chevre, but even fresher) drizzled with sweet Spanish honey, a chocolate torte and apple tart. Very delicious and a good way to finish the meal. If this is how the eating has started out on this trip, I can only imagine that I'll be heading back to Frankfurt with no need to eat again for at least a month.