Unlikely Words » restaurants

Momofuku Milkbar Cookbook

aaron cohen — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:09:09 +0000

In a blurb about the new Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook, this description of the difference between David Chang and his dessert chef Christina Tosi:

In the Momofuku kitchens, where chefs are hospitalized for anxiety-related skin diseases, Tosi is calm. Tosi doesn’t yell. There is no need. She is Samantha from “Bewitched”—she is all serenity, because she knows that things will work out fine in the end. If someone screws up in a Dave Chang kitchen, Chang will scream and rage and tell the person he has no integrity and might as well be working at KFC; then he will have to lie down for a day to recover. One imagines that if anyone ever screwed up in a Christina Tosi kitchen, she would wiggle her nose and, with a magic ping, that person would simply disappear.

Also, Chang bought her 240 Take 5 candy bars for her birthday and challenged her to eat them in a month.

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Something fishy

aaron cohen — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:54:08 +0000

The Boston Globe recently completed a 5 month investigation into area restaurants mislabeling fish on their menu. The Globe collected samples from 134 restaurants, 183 samples in all, and mislabeling occurred in 87 or 48% of the cases. 24 of 26 fish labeled red snapper were not red snapper, and all 23 samples of white tuna were not white tuna. Interesting that over half of the mislabeled fish were either red snapper or white tuna. Without castigating any of the restaurants, some bigger names, chefs and chains, were found on the wrong side of the investigation.

I'd think the Globe could find other things to investigate for 5 months, but I'd be willing to forgive that if they had at least headlined the story, "Something Fishy" like I did.

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Ferran Adria’s other new job: Sports Nutritionist

aaron cohen — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:02:39 +0000

Ferran Adria has another new job. Sports nutritionist for FC Barcelona's youth team. (The other one is at Pepsi).

The Spanish club recruited famed chef Ferran Adria on Thursday to revamp its youth academy menu. The European champions say the former El Bulli chef will redesign the club's La Masia meals to 'foster healthy eating and exercise' by providing the Catalan club's future stars with the best possible diet.

Via Esquire

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El Bulli movie

aaron cohen — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:56:48 +0000

El Bulli is closing on Sunday right around the time that a new documentary, Cooking in Progress, about the famed restaurant is coming out. Along with the movie, there are a bunch of interesting links out there the last couple days.

*The NY Times reviewed it here.
*With the closing, the media has flocked and told us about it. This article is indicative of the "My Meall at El Bulli" genre.
*Earlier in the month, Mark Bittman wrote about cooking with Ferran Adria.
*An interview with Cooking in Progress maker, Gereon Wetzel.
*From several months ago, but still interesting, the NYTimes talks to several chefs about Adria's legacy. David Chang:

The fact is, he moved the entire spectrum of food in every direction, so that as a chef, even if you don’t like his style, he redefined everything you do. Closing down for half the year to do research? Changing the entire menu, 50 new dishes, every year? Amazing.

*Xanthe Clay calls Adria, "the genius that inspired a thousand restaurant disasters".
*And an interview in GQ talking about 'The Best Chef in the World':

That title doesn't exist. That person doesn't exist. Certainly when one is talking about the best chef in the world, one is referring to the influence that person has had in the field. If you have a lot of influence, then you're one of the best. That individual doesn't exist, and after all I don't work to be the best, I work to enjoy life. The consequence of that is that you're recognized for your work. I like to be recognized, but I don't work for recognition.

Trailer above via Kottke.

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elBulli chef joins…Pepsi?

aaron cohen — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:09:32 +0000

I don't know if anyone saw this coming... Ferran Adria, chef of elBulli, is going to be working with Pepsi on whatever it is that amazing chefs do for giant food companies. I like Coke better, so this is frustrating. ###Possibly related posts:Ferran Adria’s other new job: Sports Nutritionist El Bulli movie Ferran Adrià’s new [...] ### Possibly related posts:

Olive Garden Italian cooking school not be what it claims?

aaron cohen — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:01:26 +0000

I don't want to shock anyone, but we may have been mislead. I think I saw the Olive Garden commercial touting their cooking school about 15 times before the message internalized and I realized that Olive Garden was talking about a cooking school to which they send their chefs and managers. I don't know if any of you have been to an Olive Garden lately, but I think they need to take a look at the curriculum. Turns out the school is more of a vacation, then educational facility.

I was a manager at Olive Garden and was sent to their culinary institute in Tuscany back in 2007. It was more like a hotel, during the off-season, with restaurant on site. They would let the Olive Garden come and stay in all the rooms and they would use the restaurant as a classroom for maybe an hour here or there and talk about spices or fresh produce for a minute before going site seeing all day. The only time we saw the "chef" was when she made a bolognese sauce while taking pictures with each of us to send to our local newspapers. Basically, yes, they send people to Italy every year. As a manager I still got paid my salary and didn't have to use vacation time, it counted as "work". They paid for everything from meals, sightseeing, flight, everything except souvenirs. But in return, they sent pre-written articles to out local newspaper with fake quotes from me and a group photo. Also every year when they would run the promotion, I was supposed to wear a special "chef" coat and make conversation with guests who ordered the promotional meals.

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La Bernardin’s 129 service rules

aaron cohen — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:02:41 +0000

Here's a list of the 129 service rules for La Bernardin in New York City from a chapter in Eric Ripert's 2008 book, 'On the Line'. The list was published on 4 or 5 different pages by the Star Tribune, and I figured they'd be better all on one page.

1. Not acknowledging guests with eye contact and a smile within 30 seconds. First impressions count!
2. Not thanking the guests as they leave. Last impression!
3. Not remembering the guests' likes and dislikes!
4. Not opening the front door for guests.
5. Silverware set askew on the tables.
6. Tabletop that isn't picture perfect.
7. Forks with bent tines.
8. Unevenly folded napkins.
9. Chipped glassware.
10. Tables not completely set when guests are being seated.
11. Dead or wilted flowers on the tables.
12. Tables that are not leveled.
13. Salt and pepper shakers that are half empty.
14. Salt or sugar crusted inside the shakers.

15. Carelessly placed items on the tables.
16. Table linen with small holes, rips or burns.
17. Clutter or junk. Watch the trays, gueridons [small tables], etc.
18. Pictures on walls not leveled.
19. Tables not properly cleared.
20. Burned-out lightbulbs.
21. Clattering dishes. Be quiet!
22. Dropping china, silverware or glassware.
23. Murky or smelly water in flower vases.
24. Wobbly tables or chairs.
25. Broken chairs.
26. Needing to be center of attention. Give the ego a break!
27. An "I'm doing you a favor" attitude.
28. Socializing with certain guests while ignoring others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
29. Being too familiar or excessively chatty.
30. Having a visible reaction to the amount of the tip.
31. Ignoring obvious attempts to get attention.
32. Making light of a guest's complaint.
33. No sense of humor.
34. Orders that arrive incomplete.
35. Not acknowledging guests as soon as they're seated.
36. Not providing service to tables in order of their arrival.
37. Wrong pacing: meal service too fast or too slow.
38. Not providing a place for meal debris -- e.g., shells!
39. Food sitting visible on gueridon [small table].
40. Necessary condiments that don't arrive with food.
41. Lack of eye contact.
42. Talking to the order pad.
43. Not repeating each item as the guest orders.
44. Not naming each item as you serve.
45. Addressing the woman as "the lady." (Times are changing!)
46. Thumbs on the plate during service.
47. Stacking or scraping dishes in front of guests.
48. Approaching a table with another table's dirty dishes.
49. Entering the guests' conversation without invitation.
50. Interrupting or asking questions while a guest's mouth is full.
51. Handling silverware by the eating surfaces.
52. Holding glasses by the bowl or rim.
53. Language that is too formal or casual.
54. Asking men for their orders before asking women.
55. Not having total focus when at the table.
56. Giving guests the feeling of being "processed."
57. Not really listening when spoken to.
58. Being too hurried to be attentive.
59. Not establishing rapport with the guests.
60. Appearing stressed or out of control.
61. Not bringing something the guest requests.
62. Providing inconsistent service. (Dig down, you can do it.)
63. Not bringing a replacement (sugar, butter, etc.) before taking the empty one away.
64. Not removing extra place settings.
65. Inability to answer basic menu questions.
66. Not knowing what brands are carried at the bar.
67. Placing a cocktail napkin askew or upside down.
68. Not warning about hot plates or beverages.
69. Dropping plates instead of presenting them.
70. Not bringing all the serviceware needed for the menu item.
71. Serving with an elbow in the guest's face.
72. Inconsistent service methods.
73. Not refilling water or coffee.
74. Not moving with the "speed of the room."
75. Not checking back within a few minutes of serving the course.
76. Not visually checking on each table regularly.
77. Not clearing one course completely before serving the next (e.g., toast, finger bowls).
78. Removing plates before all guests are finished.
79. Clearing plates without permission.
80. Not clearing plates promptly.
81. Vanishing waiters.
82. Not continuing to service the table once you have presented the check.
83. Watching while the guest completes the credit card slip.
84. Dribbling wine on the table while pouring.
85. Resting the wine bottle on the rim of the glass.
86. Spilling food or beverage.
87. Wet, stained, or incorrectly added checks.
88. Poor personal sanitation practices (touching, scratching, etc.).
89. Standing around doing nothing.
90. Using poor grammar when addressing a guest.
91. Pointing in the dining room.
92. Rattling pocket change.
93. Walking past items dropped on the floor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
94. Answering a question with a question.
95. Soiled or ill-fitting uniforms.
96. Filthy footwear.
97. Slouching or poor posture.
98. Distracting accessories.
99. Obvious hangovers.
100. Bandages on hand.
101. Smelling like cigarettes.
102. Excuses for anything -- anytime.
103. Personal conversations loud enough for guests to hear.
104. Whining or complaining.
105. Arguments or displayed anger.
106. Flirting with guests.
107. Speaking in incomplete sentences.
108. Not serving hot food hot.
109. Cold bread or rolls stale around the edges.
110. Incomplete orders.
111. Improperly chilled wine or beer.
112. Drinks without a stirrer or straw.
113. Improper glassware.
114. Dried-out or slimy fruit garnish.
115. Lukewarm coffee.
116. Overly strong or weak iced tea.
117. No fresh glass with a fresh drink
118. Water, iced tea or coffee not promptly refilled.
119. Coffee in the saucer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
120. Pouring anything from a stained container.
121. Awkward, improper or inept wine service.
122. Popping a champagne cork.
123. Pouring regular coffee into a cup instead of decaf.
124. Not getting the order right the first time.
125. Serving the wrong drink.
126. Not serving wine promptly.
127. Dirty or spotted flatware.
128. Crumbs on chairs.
129. To be continued ...

(Thanks, Alex!)

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Pop up restaurants in Boston

aaron cohen — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:55:11 +0000

I've been doing a lot of food events around Boston the last year and a half or so, and I'm not sure how good of a job I do posting about them here. One of the things I've been working on is pop up restaurants. We were featured in a story in the Globe about our pop up in a coffee shop. For Valentine's Day Weekend, we're putting together a restaurant inside of a chocolate factory. Gotta say, that's a pretty good Valentine's idea, huh?

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Ferran Adrià’s new restaurant(s)

aaron cohen — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:15:17 +0000

Ferran Adrià and his brother Albert have opened a new tapas bar, 41 Degrees, in Barcelona, and by next month, they'll open a restaurant next door called Tickets.

The Adrià brothers, Ferran and Albert, plan to open a sit-down tapas restaurant near by next month. It will be called Tickets, will cater for 50 diners at a time and will take reservations. Last year, Adrià announced that he would close El Bulli for two years. From 2014, the restaurant in the town of Roses, about 100 miles north of Barcelona, will reopen as a creative culinary foundation serving the odd meal for the lucky few.

Also noted in the article, El Bulli was losing £412,000 a year. This translates to roughly a lot of US dollars, and helps explain why it's closing/reopening as something more of a culinary foundation. I'd heard it was losing, but didn't know how much.

While we're here, I have a couple other Adria articles I'd tabbed, but not linked to yet:

Here's a 2003 NY Times Magazine article trumpeting Spain's transcendence in the world of food.

Spain rising, France resting. The more attention I paid, the more I noticed everywhere this invidious comparison, between smug, stagnant France and innovative, daring Spain. It seemed, as Trotter suggested, a shift in the zeitgeist.

Profile of Adrià and El Bulli in Vanity Fair.

Book excerpt from The Inside Story of El Bulli and the Man Who Reinvented Food.

2006 profile from the New York Times, and 2007 profile from The Observer.

"Those who want to live experiences cannot be cowards. We endeavor a cuisine for non-cowards."

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The Spotted Pig in The New Yorker

aaron cohen — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:23:45 +0000

The New Yorker recently profiled The Spotted Pig chef April Bloomfield and among other things discussed what it takes to work for her:

If David Chang’s band of renegades are the Red Sox of the New York restaurant world, Bloomfield’s cooks are the Yankees, square and conscientious. When I asked her what kind of people she likes to hire, she replied, “Nobody weird. Nobody with dreadlocks.” She paused a minute, and added, “Well, no white guys with dreadlocks.” Her cooks wear black pants and black shoes. “People with chile peppers on their chef pants shouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen.”

I also thought this was interesting, about why a restaurant would want a farm. Status symbol.

They both want a farm, where they can grow vegetables and raise livestock for use in their restaurants. A farm is attractive for two reasons. The first is that Bloomfield can’t always procure the calibre of ingredients she wants, since many of the city’s top suppliers are beholden to more established chefs. “They get all funny,” Bloomfield said. “I’m not Daniel Boulud.” The second is that a farm, in the hyper-competitive New York restaurant world, is a sign of clout and longevity, the breadbasket of an empire. Bloomfield and Friedman have been looking at land in New Paltz and Wassaic.

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Restaurants Raising Their Own Animals

aaron cohen — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:08:41 +0000

Chef Will Gilson of Cambridge's Garden at the Cellar is raising two cute pigs, Porcini and Truffle, for slaughter later this summer in anticipation of a dinner at the James Beard House in New York. The pigs are being raised on a farm, not at the restaurant, but I still think it's notable. I like eating meat, but I also think people should make a conscious decision about what they're eating. Articles like this that put a cute face on your pork chop force you to think about it. More chefs raising their own animals (hopefully as close to the restaurant as possible) will mean better educated eaters, and I hope more local chefs adopt this way of sourcing meat.

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Valentine’s Day Restaurant Dos and Don’ts

aaron cohen — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:09:26 +0000

Lots of tidbits from this Gourmet article about proposing at restaurants and eating out on Valentine's Day. For those who don't have the time, here all the hints:

Don't put the ring in crème brûlée.
Don't put the ring into a salad and then order caviar.
Do have "a special plate with a trapdoor and a secret compartment."
Don't force your date to order a dessert if it's hiding a ring.
Don't paint "Will you marry me?" on a plate.
Don't turn her down at a restaurant if you think she might throw plates.
Don't call the co-owner at home to tell them the engagement is off and not to tell anyone.
Do visit the restaurant a week before and confer with the manager.
Do get seated in the middle of the restaurant.
Do find out what a cloche is because some restaurants use them to hide rings.
Do print a custom with your question under the Specials.
Do ask in advance and have your mother-in-law pay for dinner.
Do sit privately if you're going to ask for a divorce.
Do bring your mistress on February 13th.
Do fill a private room with rose petals, candles, and everything good on the menu if you cheat on your wife.
Do not touch your partner sexually at the restaurant or have sex in the bathroom.
Do stop if asked by a matronly waitress.
Do try to book a six-top at a restaurant on 2/14. That's an easy reservation because everyone is booking as a couple.
Do ask for the manager's help in inviting your 50 closest friends to a shotgun wedding.
Do leave a hotel key in a box for your husband, asking that it be delivered in 5 minutes.

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Free Barcelona, Spain Travel Guide

aaron cohen — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:51:24 +0000

It took seven and a half months, but I've finally finished the review of our trip to Barcelona and Sitges, Spain in June, 2008. I started it as a review to make remembering our trip easier. As I was writing it up, I decided to make it more of a travel guide to hopefully convince you to go to Barcelona. It was an amazing trip.

There's a lot of information in here. The guide is broken up into 10 chapters linked below with the highlights of the day for easy reference:
Day 1: Boston to Barcelona: Plaça de Catalunya
Day 2: More Walking: Santa Maria del Mar, Picasso Museum, Ciutadella, Euskal Etxea
Day 3: Gaudi and Eating: Casa Milà
Day 4: More Gaudi: Parc Guell, Sagrada Família
Day 5: Sitges and Birthdays: Barcelona Cathedral, Parrots Hotel, The Beach House
Day 6: Sitges and Beach
Day 7: Sitges and Montserrat: Montserrat
Day 8: Sitges
Day 9: Too Hot to Shop: Aparthotel Calabria, La Boqueria, Tapaç 24
Day 10: Montjuic: Montjuic

Barcelona is very beautiful. Parts are dirty and smelly, but those parts are serviced 24/7 by sanitation workers. I was struck by how most of the buildings look like they were from the 50s or 60s and wondered what makes the replacement cycle so much faster in cities like Boston. The city is eminently walkable, and the transportation system adds to the ease in getting around. If you like looking out over cities from heights, you're in luck. There are at least 6 different tourist destinations that offer great views of the city.

Bottom line?
Where to stay: Hotel Regencia Colon - Perfectly situated and affordably priced.
Must visit landmaks: Santa Maria del Mar, La Boqueria, Sagrada Familia, Casa Milà, Montserrat, Sitges
Must eat: Tapaç 24, Euskal Etxea, Chocolateria Valor
Must shop: Kukuxumusu, Xocoa

For my mom, here's a slideshow of our trip and a collection of videos from different points.

Also, please play around with this map I made of all the places we went to or should have gone to. I spent days before we went researching restaurants, hotels, landmarks and popping them onto this map to make it easy to figure out what to do in each neighborhood once we got there. The price of this travel guide is worth it just for this free map.

Click here to blow out the map and get the full effect

In closing, I hope you'll go Barcelona because it's awesome and you going will validate our decision to go. If you do go, I hope you find this Travel Guide helpful because would validate the time I put into it. Because after all, what's a blog based Travel Guide if not an adventure in navel gazing?

(Thanks for visiting Unlikely Words. If you liked what you read Subscribe to RSS, check out our About Page, read some of our favorite posts or Follow us on Twitter)

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Sandwich Hut

matt — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:00:51 +0000

How did we go so long living in Providence without knowing about Sandwich Hut? It is SO GOOD. It's basically a hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop, but the sandwiches are truly excellent.

I go back and forth between the Deluxe Italian Grinder and the Allitalia (which is basically a huge pile of meats on a roll), while Rachel's been sticking to the fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and pesto sub. Yum.

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The Waverly Inn’s Refrigerated Garbage

aaron cohen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:05:42 +0000

Via Portfolio, we find that the The Waverly Inn, the restaurant owned by Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair stores the garbage overnight in a refrigerated room so that, as a courtesy to neighbors, it can be picked up at 10 AM instead of 2 AM. What a mensch.

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Free Barcelona Travel Guide – Day 9: Too Hot to Shop

aaron cohen — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 03:41:41 +0000

Thanks for clicking on the Free Barcelona Travel Guide. There are 10 chapters total, listed at the end of this post. Check out the introduction for more information.

We had caught a headline saying something like "African Heat Headed to Spain", earlier in the week, and if it hadn't arrived by yesterday, it was certainly here today. After breakfast, we decided to take one more trip around town and down by the beach. On the boardwalk, we were surprised to find techno music playing and a set up for a spin class. Only in Sitges.

We caught our train back to Barcelona after sadly bidding Sitges adieu. Our hotel, Aparthotel Calabria, was in a different area of Barcelona than we had stayed earlier in the week. While it was fine, I'd suggest staying closer in to the Barri Gothic. This hotel is next door to two grocery stores, incidentally, and features giant rooms with kitchens. The room would definitely be great for a family, especially one that wanted to cook a few meals in. Our hotel looked out onto a courtyard of old buildings that had a very Eastern European feel. We dropped our bags off, cooled down for a bit, and headed out for some more walking around.

Needing lunch, we decided it was a good time to finally go to La Boqueria. La Boqueria, one of the must see attractions in Barcelona, is a large covered market with about 125 different food stands. Fish of all kinds, meats of all kinds, produce of all kinds, snacks, candies, herbs, spices, etc, etc, etc. Really a sight to see. We wanted to try either Pinotxo or El Quim but couldn't get a seat, let alone a menu at either place and didn't feel like dealing. J got a plate of different vegetarian foods at a health stand along the back wall. I had been hoping against hope to find the food I had enjoyed so much in Berlin, the Döner kebab, and I had heard rumors that Barcelona had them, too. Well, I found one, and it wasn't any good. I guess we'll have to go back to Berlin sometime to get them.

It was too hot to do anything. We had hoped to do some shopping, but couldn't get it going. We had checked out the Chocolate Museum earlier in the week but hadn't gone in, deciding to save it for today. It wasn't too expensive, but it was geared exclusively to children and we should have skipped it. There were some cool chocolate sculptures, but nothing mind altering. Depressed and now needing a chocolate fix, we had to go over to Valor for some more cold chocolate drinks, which were delicious, again.

Unable to do anything else because of the heat, we kind of collapsed in the shade on the stairs of a museum in a forgotten plaza and listened to a woman play Flamenco guitar while we zoned out. Soon, we moved our siesta into the courtyard of the Ministry of Culture. There was fountain there in which we watched a woman put her feet. I don't know what the fountain was for, but I'm certain it's not for touristic feet dipping.

We had wanted to check out Comerç 24 but couldn't get a reservation later than 1:15 in the afternoon so we decided to check out Tapaç 24, the no-reservation, Tapas joint by the same chef, Carlos Abellán. If you had only one day in Barcelona, I'd suggest coming here for lunch and dinner, it was that good. We ate a menu of tapas suggested by the waiter, I'm not sure we would have ordered differently. We ate foie burgers (a specialty), grilled cheese with truffle oil, pan y tomate, patatas bravas, and probably a few other dishes that I'm forgetting in all their glory. Best of all was dessert, something I'm going to bring to America if I have to open a restaurant myself. 4 scoops of chocolate ganache drizzled in olive oil and flavored with a generous portion of sea salt. It doesn't make sense until you try it, trust me. Go here often in Barcelona.

There are 10 chapters in the Free Barcelona Travel Guide. I hope you find them useful.
Introduction
Day 1: Barcelona to Boston: Plaça de Catalunya
Day 2: More Walking: Santa Maria del Mar, Picasso Museum, Ciutadella, Euskal Etxea
Day 3: Gaudi and Eating: Casa Milà
Day 4: More Gaudi: Parc Guell, Sagrada Família
Day 5: Sitges and Birthdays: Barcelona Cathedral, Parrots Hotel, The Beach House
Day 6: Sitges and Beach
Day 7: Sitges and Montserrat: Montserrat
Day 8: Sitges
Day 9: Too Hot to Shop: Aparthotel Calabria, La Boqueria, Tapaç 24
Day 10: Montjuic: Montjuic

Map of where we went or wished we had.

Click here to blow out the map and get the full effect

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Free Barcelona Travel Guide – Day 5: Sitges and Birthdays

aaron cohen — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:51:20 +0000

Thanks for clicking on the Free Barcelona Travel Guide. There are 10 chapters total, listed at the end of this post. Check out the introduction for more information.

It was J's birthday today, which I clearly forgot until the middle of the morning. All week, I had been trying to think of a way to celebrate a birthday while on vacation and then I just forgot. Then again, we're on vacation, the whole time is a celebration!

We thought we'd do a little shopping in the morning before catching a commuter rail-like train to Sitges. Taking advantage of our close proximity to Barcelona Cathedral, we popped in quickly in the morning and confirmed that it's not nearly as cool as Santa Maria del Mar. There is this crazy garden in the back of the Cathedral, though, with palm trees and geese. We then headed over to Calle Petritxol to check out Xocoa. On our way, we heard a giant commotion roiling though the alleys. We got to the mouth of Plaça de Sant Jaume, only to be blocked by a giant garbage truck trying to get by 2 riot police vans. (Almost no one drives in the close alleys of The Born and Barri Gothic except for the street sweepers and garbage men and women, who seem to be cleaning nonstop). It took the garbage truck about 5 minutes to get by, which seemed like forever because I REALLY wanted to see what was going on in the square. It was impossible to tell what the people were protesting, but eventually, a group of men were let into the building and everyone cheered.

Xocoa is a chocolate boutique that sells lots of great snacks and gifts and snacks to gift. We picked up a chili chocolate bar and a few truffles that were yummy. There are a few other chocolate stores on this street, making it worth a visit.

We checked out a few more stores and then mistakenly went to 4Gats. I say mistakenly because I had talked about this as a restaurant to avoid and J had only heard me talking about it, not what I said. She thought I wanted to go there and I thought she wanted to go there. There's a reason people need to communicate and that reason is to avoid restaurants like 4Gats. The restaurant is historic and the building interesting, but if you're going to go, I've heard the coffee and dessert route is the way to go. We got the fixed price lunch menu and a chance to sit up on the balcony looking down on the main dining room. The service was friendly, but the food was awful. I got a creamy pasta starter that was the best of everything we got. J's fish came with veggies that looked and tasted like they had been boiled for 2 days. We felt snookered, afterward, to realize that the desserts we had ordered were not part of the fixed menu as we had believed. Go here, take a picture, and then go someplace else for lunch.

We went back to our hotel and picked up our bags to go to Sitges. The train ride was about 35 minutes, and while it had been drizzly and cloudy in Barcelona, it was sunny in Sitges. We got off the train not knowing how to get to our hotel. Finding the information booth closed, we walked around Sitges, stumbled upon the Mediterranean Sea, and then lucked into finding our hotel, Parrots. After booking the hotel, I read up on Sitges and found it described as, "The internationally renowned sun-drenched gay mecca of Europe" and, "Gayer than the capital of Gayland". I saw "Is Sitges too gay?" and, "Too gay for families?" on a couple of message boards, and whatever that means, the answer is no. Yes, there are a plethora of gay men in Sitges. Unless you're a secretly gay Republican that pretends not to be gay by being virulently homophobic, you will have a lovely time in Sitges. That said, Parrots is a gay hotel with a sauna that just opened and J was the only woman down at breakfast, garnering a few inquisitive, but friendly looks.

We asked Douglas at the front desk where to go for dinner, and he sent us to, what he called, "The third best restaurant in Sitges", The Beach House. It was amazing and the portions were very generous. J got the watermelon salad and baked tortelini and I got the Cesar and Tuscan chicken. Everything was fabulous and, well, fabulous.

There are 10 chapters in the Free Barcelona Travel Guide. I hope you find them useful.
Introduction
Day 1: Barcelona to Boston: Plaça de Catalunya
Day 2: More Walking: Santa Maria del Mar, Picasso Museum, Ciutadella, Euskal Etxea
Day 3: Gaudi and Eating: Casa Milà
Day 4: More Gaudi: Parc Guell, Sagrada Família
Day 5: Sitges and Birthdays: Barcelona Cathedral, Parrots Hotel, The Beach House
Day 6: Sitges and Beach
Day 7: Sitges and Montserrat: Montserrat
Day 8: Sitges
Day 9: Too Hot to Shop: Aparthotel Calabria, La Boqueria, Tapaç 24
Day 10: Montjuic: Montjuic

Map of where we went or wished we had.

Click here to blow out the map and get the full effect

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Free Barcelona Travel Guide – Day 4: More Gaudi

aaron cohen — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:21:11 +0000

Thanks for clicking on the Free Barcelona Travel Guide. There are 10 chapters total, listed at the end of this post. Check out the introduction for more information.

Not much is open in Barcelona on Sundays, so we decided to complete the Gaudi tour by going up to Park Guell. There's a bus you can get in Plaza Catalunya that goes all the way to the entrance of the Parc. I'd suggest you take this because the Metro stop is almost a mile away and up a steep hill to boot. On the street leading into the Parc, there is a grocery with a crazy old man in it. I tried to buy a bottle of water from him, but as I was counting out the change, he snatched the bottle and put it back in the cooler. There wasn't anyone in line and he wasn't doing anything besides sitting behind the cash register. I'd like to blame this on my USA elitist sense of entitlement, but I literally hadn't done anything. JR asked him "En serio?" "En SERIO" was his curt reply. I'm not sure what I did to piss him off, but hopefully he goes out of business soon.

Parc Guell is lovely and filled with Gaudi's signature mosaics. There is a wide open terrace with a tiled bench all the way around, and a great view of the city. About a 10 minute hike further up brings you to the top of the parc and an even better view. We decided to take the metro back, but I wish we had taken the bus. Parc Guell is nice, but maybe skipable if you're short on time?

We took the Metro to Sagrada Familia and decided to walk around for a bit before going in. We walked around the corner to Alkimia to see about lunch, but along with being woefully underdressed, there is only one seating for lunch and we had missed it by about 2 hours. Walking down the block, you'd never guess that one of the 3 best restaurants in Barcelona was behind one of the doors. We'll have to check it out the next time we're in town. We instead lunched at a chain bageteria, which was fine if not twice as expensive as every other bageteria in the city.

Sagrada Família is an amazing site, steeples rising high above the neighboring buildings, it's visible from every somewhat elevated area of the city. We paid the 8 Euros entrance, admired the large carvings that adorn the outer walls, and went into what is essentially an empty shell of a cathedral with a hole in one entire side. The wait that everyone talks about is to ride an elevator to the top, which costs another 2 Euros. If you're not going to wait the 30-60 minutes to get to the top, it's probably not worth going in at all. Wait we did, though, and the view is amazing, both of the city, and the close ups of the different statues, designs, etc on the steeples and outer walls. It's difficult to explain, so maybe you ought to see it. There's a museum underneath the Cathedral which we skimmed, but it likely had something interesting. At least I hope so.

We took the Metro back to our hotel but stopped in La Colmena in Placa Angel for a delicious strawberry tort. I would have liked to have tried 7 other items, but that would have been imprudent.

We got back to the hotel and rested for a while before arguing about where to go for dinner. The dilemma was that very few restaurants in Barcelona are open on Sundays, and none that we were super excited to check out. We finally settled on Cuines de Santa Caterina which had the added benefit of being close to our hotel. The restaurant is in one of the much bigger buildings we were in in Spain and the menu was an eclectic mix of 4 different styles - Asian, Mediterranean, Italian and vegetarian. I had a fried rice that was tasty, though I couldn't tell if the crispy rice texture was on purpose or not and J's tofu curry was delicious. We had about 7 waiters who were constantly asking if everything was OK, but never returning with requested items (water, dessert, the bill...). A big open kitchen adds to the atmosphere.

There are 10 chapters in the Free Barcelona Travel Guide. I hope you find them useful.
Introduction
Day 1: Barcelona to Boston: Plaça de Catalunya
Day 2: More Walking: Santa Maria del Mar, Picasso Museum, Ciutadella, Euskal Etxea
Day 3: Gaudi and Eating: Casa Milà
Day 4: More Gaudi: Parc Guell, Sagrada Família
Day 5: Sitges and Birthdays: Barcelona Cathedral, Parrots Hotel, The Beach House
Day 6: Sitges and Beach
Day 7: Sitges and Montserrat: Montserrat
Day 8: Sitges
Day 9: Too Hot to Shop: Aparthotel Calabria, La Boqueria, Tapaç 24
Day 10: Montjuic: Montjuic

Map of where we went or wished we had.

Click here to blow out the map and get the full effect

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More Chinese Restaurants in the US Than You Think

aaron cohen — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:06:28 +0000

Shocked and happy. There are more there are more Chinese restaurants in the United States than McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, and Wendy's. Paging Morgan Spurlock. ###Possibly related posts:Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread Sandwich Restaurants Raising Their Own Animals 2010 Boston Bacon & Beer Festival ### Possibly related posts:

On Prinicple, I Will Not Make A “Have It Your Way” Pun

matt — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:53:43 +0000

Yet another reason to avoid fast-food restaurants, particularly Burger King:

In 2005, Florida tomato pickers gained their first significant pay raise since the late 1970s when Taco Bell ended a consumer boycott by agreeing to pay an extra penny per pound for its tomatoes, with the extra cent going directly to the farm workers. Last April, McDonald’s agreed to a similar arrangement, increasing the wages of its tomato pickers to about 77 cents per bucket. But Burger King, whose headquarters are in Florida, has adamantly refused to pay the extra penny — and its refusal has encouraged tomato growers to cancel the deals already struck with Taco Bell and McDonald’s.

This month the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, representing 90 percent of the state’s growers, announced that it will not allow any of its members to collect the extra penny for farm workers. Reggie Brown, the executive vice president of the group, described the surcharge for poor migrants as “pretty much near un-American.”

...

Now the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange has threatened a fine of $100,000 for any grower who accepts an extra penny per pound for migrant wages. The organization claims that such a surcharge would violate “federal and state laws related to antitrust, labor and racketeering.” It has not explained how that extra penny would break those laws; nor has it explained why other surcharges routinely imposed by the growers (for things like higher fuel costs) are perfectly legal.

What's ironic is that while Burger King refuses to take a stand in support of farm workers, it been relatively vocal on better treatment for chickens and pigs. Until they change their mind, Burger King is off my list, as are Florida tomatoes.

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