Canalla Bistro, by Ricard Camarena
During the last two years, Valencia has suffered such a gastronomic disaster that no one expected such a return of the Phoenix Bird, neither of the bird nor of the smallest of its chicks . Let's remember: Vicente Patiño leaves Óleo, Torrijos closes, Sangonereta closes, Ca Sento closes, Tossal closes, Enópata closes and Ricard Camarena leaves Arrop. Stars fly, the risk premium rises and those of us here accept that, without further ado, it is the end of good food.
But not. It is not the end. It's nice sometimes to see how the guts of being the best version of oneself are born from the ashes and the highest walls, the only one that works when everything else fails. “Das beste oder nichts” reads the wonderful slogan of Mercedes. The best or nothing. Let's see if it's going to be true that "Life begins when you leave your comfort zone" . I am sure.
Let's roll up the brave.
CHAMBER. In February 2012 ** Ricard Camarena ** and his wife Mari Carmen Bañuls closed the shutters of the gastronomic restaurant Arrop in Caro Hotel. The wait for what was coming was not -fortunately- excessively long. And after a few months locked up behind pouts and beakers, the best version of Ricard returned in a four ring circus : the gastronomic restaurant Ricard Camarena , the contemporary bistro Canalla Bistró , the Ramsés stoves in Madrid and the bar of the Mercat Central de València: Central Bar . Four impeccable scenarios.
I get paid to get wet. So I insist: Ricard's is the best table in Valencia.
Ricard Camarena: the best table in Valencia
RICARDO GADEA IN ASKUA. Askua is the pear. I was taught to love the product so I always considered myself lucky to have a temple so close where the product is venerated like this, without measure. At the side of the greats of the country (that Etxebarri that he loves so much, the outstanding turbot of Elkano or the honesty of his friend Juanjo López in La Tasquita de Enfrente) Askua has reformulated his proposal towards what -for me- is the ideal table : dishes to the center, impeccable service, unhurried after-meals (this is not a gastrobar, thank God) and simple but roundly savory dishes : the kokotxas, their oxtail croquettes or Luismi Garayar's steak tartare are -always- fixed dishes at my table.
Askua croquettes
QUIQUE DACOSTA. Quique's is not normal. It has revolutionized the gastronomy of the Valencian Community so many times that they should plant their mask next to the gargoyles on the bridge of the Kingdom . And precisely a gargoyle was the image he chose to present Mercat bar in the Ensanche, his first bet in Valencia, where it is essential to dine at the bar and enjoy the movement of chefs and historical tapas. A breath of fresh air followed by ** Vuelve Carolina **, the restaurant that has laid the foundations for the third gastronomic way in the capital of Túria: tapas with a twist. But there is more. Is named El Poblet Y It is already essential on my route through the center , stop and inn where you can enjoy the mythical dishes of Quique's gastronomic history, such as 'Bruma' or 'Bosque Animado'.
One note. And there is life beyond the magician: the time has come to put in bold the names that make such gastrodeployment possible: German Carrizo, Carolina Lourenco and Manuela Romerano.
Carolina returns, tapas with shock
BEGOÑA RODRÍGUEZ IN THE LIVING ROOM. La Salita is the big cover-up -I hope you'll forgive me for this- of the city and it's because they've been doing it extremely well for so many years that there's no way to understand why it's not essential (it will be, I'm sure of that). I speak with Begoña about the situation of the sector in Valencia: "I would say that it is on standby, especially if we review what has happened in the last year", she comments. "The big ones are closed to reinvent themselves in gastrobars, those that are they keep doing the same for fear of taking risks and entrepreneurs have one leg more outside than inside because the proposals are not feasible“. I understand the pessimism but it is not entirely true. Not everyone does the same for fear of risking. They, for example.
La Salita: the great covered of Valencia
VICENTE PATIÑO AT THE EMBASSY. After Óleo, Vicente Patiño has put a pike in the Valencian golden mile: Marqués de Dos Aguas and The Embassy of Alfonso the Magnanimous. He does it hand in hand with the architect Alfonso Bruguera and with a proposal that is pure Patiño: flavour, purity, technique, honesty and personality. But above all flavor . We hope - we really hope - that this is the place where Vicente can settle and grow. He deserves it.
The Embassy: flavor and purity
VICTOR SERRANO IN KOMORI. Komori is the flagship restaurant of the Westin Valencia and from now on the best Japanese restaurant in the city next to Tastem and Sushi Home. Behind the bar is Víctor Serrano, former Kabuki sushiman and -unfortunately- late Kirei. Víctor is an outstanding puppy of the master who also signs the menu, Ricardo Sanz "chef awarded a Michelin star at the Kabuki Wellington restaurant in Madrid, prepares the Komori menu with its most representative dishes, famous for the quality of the raw material and the elegance and simplicity of its elaborations“. Komori's proposal -I attest- promises great joys with its Japanese-Mediterranean cuisine . Here is a sample of the menu (for now only with two options, 37 and 42 euros) from which the fantastic nigiri of eel from the lagoon or the -already classic- butterfish with truffle.
Komori Eel Nigiri
I leave many -many- honest restaurants, bars and houses where I am so often happy : Raúl Aleixandre in his new 543, Tomás Arribas in Q´Tomás, Jorge Bretón in La Sucursal, Nacho Romero in Kaymus, Enrique Medina and Yvonne in Apicius, the Rausell family, La Pitanza, Duna or Samsha. We will talk about them. of all