We will be back
Gastronomy has always been part of the journey . In my case it has been, in many cases, the reason for the trip . These days, in the wake of the closures, the protests and the time that we are all dedicating to t try to guess what will happen in a future more uncertain than ever , I remembered how much restaurants have meant to me when it comes to traveling.
He remembered, for example, that time when he had to go up from Seville to Galicia by car and ended up spending the night in Córdoba -evening tapas session included- to eat, the next day, at the Baga by Pedrito Sanchez , in Jaén, and have dinner at the Trivio restaurant, by Jesús Segura, in Cuenca. It took me a little longer to arrive, it's true, but that trip no one takes away from me.
A delight in Jaen
Or the times I left the house in the morning to eat at Gerard House . Total, it's 3 and a half hours of travel. Or, better yet, to make the most of it and, since I was there, stay the night in Gijón, explore Avilés and, along the way, perhaps stop to eat those verdinas with seafood from Casa Consuelo, in Otur.
I remembered all the times that I have crossed the plateau by car from Galicia thinking of stopping. Sometimes in the Leonese Cocinandos, other times in Lera, in the middle of the Land of Fields . Others at La Botica de Matapozuelos… And always taking care to arrive on time, because that night we had to explore Madrid. maybe some traditional tavern (and who says a few, says a dozen, we all know how the nights in Madrid get mixed up as soon as you get lost). Or one Salvadoran pupusería, that Madrid is also that.
I remembered when we went by car to Barcelona, about 1,000 km there and the same return, to go up to eat at Els Casals. And by the way, the night before, to Hisop. Or when we visit Rome jumping from neighborhood – from Flavio to Velavevodetto, in the Testaccio , a Antonello Colonna , at the foot of the Quirinale, and from there to Roscioli, at the gates of the Ghetto.
Eels, egg and truffle at Casa Gerardo
That trip to Berlin, from exploring the Ashkenazi kitchen next to the New Synagogue, to the bars of the KaDeWe and to breakfasting sausages under the train bridge in Georgenstrasse . New York, tacos in the Village, falafel on Atlantic Avenue, dim sum in Chinatown. Haggis in every tavern I was put ahead in the Highlands . Paris, from the Ambassade d'Auvergne to La Tour d'Argent or to try the Ivory Coast cuisine in Rue Doudeauville. Turin, Milan, Lisbon . And of course, Malaga, Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza…
You have always been part of my day to day life, but never before have I seen in such a clear way that you have also been the backbone of my travels . We will travel again, of course. And with travel, we will also return to restaurants.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO TELL YOU HOW MUCH WE CARE ABOUT YOU?
Gestures matter. In times of crisis they are key . Maybe we can't go celebrate with you, sit at a table in your place and share talks. We will, of course we will.
But while that comes, we can remind you that we think of you , that we miss you , that our days are a little less ours now that you are not here, because you were that space in which we felt free and at ease , in which to leave everything at the door except the desire to enjoy.
So I think we should tell you. When we see you on the street, on your social networks, on ours. Sharing images and memories, chatting about cooking, about dishes, about that memorable meal or about those beers that seemed to have no end on a terrace, in summer.
That fight, the symbolic one, is the only one that is fully in our hands. And that is a war: against oblivion, against forgetfulness . And against discouragement. You have made us immensely happy. You know it, but it never hurts to remember it. And you will do it again.
But we can do more: we can continue to be customers of the premises that offer kitchen to take away or to pick up at the premises . They are not all, but a few. That menu is much more than an economic transaction. It's a pat on the back, it's a hug. It is a way of saying that we are here, that we care about you and that we encourage you.
Or, if only that, we can go for a coffee to go.
Restaurants: we will return as soon as all this is over
There are half a dozen bars near my house . In an administrative neighborhood where, between restrictions and teleworking, the atmosphere is really sad. Of that half dozen only one is open. This morning I went down there to, instead of having my coffee at home, in front of the computer, to stand in line in the rain and ask for a coffee to go. And drink it in the street, while I was slowly coming back.
It's not that coffee that's going to save anyone's life. But contact with the client, even if it is just looking into each other's eyes from behind the mask and with a safe distance; the queue at the door, Even if it's sparkling outside, it matters . We are there and we want you back. I could drink this coffee at home, but I want to drink it here, with you.
They are gestures, but gestures mean much more than we imagine . They are, sometimes, what we need to move forward, to raise our heads and make the effort. They are our way of giving back to the hotel industry everything that it has offered us.
Think about it: how many joys have you celebrated with them, how many disappointments has it helped you cope with, how many times have they given you a talk and made you feel at home. It's not the coffee. It's not the beer. It's not that dish you remember years later . It is that and everything that surrounds it. It is what we call hospitality and that today we lack.
We will go out again, we will travel again. Maybe not like before, at least for a while, but we will. And you will be part of it again. Because I refuse to imagine a trip without taverns, bars, terraces or restaurants . And because we cannot imagine a future without you.
We will be back