Sucar, dipping bread in the Valencian tradition
Vicente Patiño has done it again . He goes one step further and fearlessly shows his origins in a restaurant where what he commands is the Valencian gastronomic tradition. We are talking about Sugar.
This cook from Setabense is a family man “They are my engine” he tells us. And he is also a cooking genius. He made his debut at the ** Buenavista hotel in Denia, ** from there he went on to Sea Salt and then Oil in Valencia. Four years later he took over the Embassy , until finally, in 2014, finding his own restaurant, Saiti .
When the owners of the store next to Saiti retired, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. Wanted to set up another place looking for the essence of traditional Valencian cuisine . "I think there are no places where you can go to eat traditional dishes," he laments. With **Sucar,** the idea is to rescue forgotten dishes, that type of cuisine from yesteryear and a culinary legacy from another time”, he comments.
Dishes that an authentic Valencian grandmother would prepare
And it is that coming from a cooking family, With more than 40 years of experience, it could not be otherwise that Vicente bet on the kitchen. To make room for Sucar, he has drawn from his memory recipe book and from old recipe books such as 'Our menjars' Y 'The book of Sen Soví' , a Valencian medieval cuisine recipe book.
Yes Saiti is the pretty girl of the group, her winter eater, Sucar was born with the vocation of being Saiti's summer gazebo . And you only have to see it to realize it. There he breathes warmth and tradition on all four sides.
The interior design, by M2 Studio , of some chef's relatives , is inspired by the picnic areas of the Saler beach. There are winks to the embers, to the wicker , so characteristic of Valencia, to the tiles and borders also reminiscent of the chalets of the eighties...
But, Do you know what sugar means? A declaration of intentions. It is nothing other than 'to dip bread' in Valencian , is a place to clean the plate and leave no drop.
Patiño has produced a Notebook of meals in which traditional recipes are the protagonists. **From a titaina del Cabanyal ** (a sauce with onion, tomato and red and green pepper with semi-salted tuna and pine nuts), to a Arròs al forn (baked), passing through nuggets, sang amb ceba (a typical elaboration of the Mediterranean basin), rabbit with tomato, esgarraet (escalivada) of cod and grilled cuttlefish, among many others.
In Sucar they also send the embers , since the vast majority of dishes go through the embers giving rise to powerful and smoky flavors. In just a couple of months open, there are dishes that succeed and are becoming the favorites of the public, such as grilled eggplant with a little honey and cheese.
"People are amazed by the flavor that a grilled vegetable can give you." Or the fish, which are roasted whole and seasoned with a sauce based on garlic, vinegar and fish broth, accompanied by a simple and delicious side dish, grilled vegetables.
An ode to the spoon could not be missing with dishes like the Valencian stew , similar to the Madrid stew but much lighter using less fatty meats, succulent tripe, soupy rice and a stew of the day that changes between beans, lentils, chickpeas...
And as a good connoisseur of what gourmets demand, he has included a section dedicated to the product with cocochas , mussels, Norway lobsters, red shrimp and shrimp, among others.
They put the sweet spot typical desserts of the Valencian Community such as blanc i negre , the pumpkin and chocolate cake, the arnadi (typical of Xàtiva) or a pastisse sweet potato
“What we like most when they tell us is that it reminds them of their mother's or grandmother's recipes; that is what we want to achieve, that Sucar reminds you of the stew of a lifetime and provoke a culinary d_eja vu_”, Patino concludes.
Definitely: " What I want is for my client to leave at ease, for the numbers to come out, to drink and eat well and to live. That's my motto ”.
Amen Vincent. Everyone dipping bread!
Vicente Patino
WHY GO
Because it is a restaurant to eat traditional recipes that are not easy to find in other places, more than in your grandmother's kitchen on Sundays.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
As for the wine offer, how could it be otherwise, they are based a lot on the Valencian Community, offering a more classic product.
Entrance hall of the Sucar restaurant in Valencia
Address: Reina Doña Germana, 4 See map
Telephone: 961 001 418
Schedule: From Tuesday to Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. and from 8:45 p.m. or 10:45 p.m. Sundays from 1:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Closed Monday.
Half price: 35 euros