Gastromorriña: the syndrome of the emigrated Spaniard
Trying to satisfy the gastromorriña (or at least moderate it) we tour the city of New York in search of the dishes and products that we miss the most.
WARNINGS:
Neither are all those who are, nor are all those who are. In the last 10 years Spanish bars and restaurants have multiplied in New York at an uncontrollable rate. New Yorkers love the concept Tapas Bar (pronounce teipas), yes, as long as it suits your tastes. Namely, has to have sangria (with a lot of fruit), there will probably be a hamburger on the menu, everything (or almost everything) is accompanied by sauces (their beloved dips) and here the trend is to be green , to be a respected restaurant you must buy most of your local and seasonal produce at the Union Square Greenmarket , which can restrict the menu a lot. In short, this is a list of places designed by and for the New York public but in which any Spaniard can shake off the gastromorriña.
LA PAELLA: “The best rice dishes in Manhattan in Socarrat” . It is the phrase most said by the Spanish New Yorkers consulted. up for the Chef Luis Bollo . The best thing they have is their menus (for 24.5 at lunch, 35 at dinner) that include starter, paella (meat, seafood, black) and dessert. With its three premises, Socarrat is the last restaurant opened by Jesús 'Lolo' Manso, from Pucelano, who also owns the oldest Spanish restaurant in New York, La Nacional, the canteen of the Spanish Center in Chelsea, where precisely one of the star dishes is paella.
CROQUETTES AND SQUID IN ITS INK: They will never be like your mother's. Neither the croquettes nor the calamari. But those of ** Txiquito ** they get pretty close. We promise. This place, decorated by Mikel Urmenta ( Kukuxumusu ), is dedicated to Basque cuisine. They have authentic piperrak (gernika peppers) grown in New Jersey and a huge variety of pintxos. It is run by a married couple, Ender Montero and Alex Raij, who after their success have opened two more stores: boondocks , without tables, more Mediterranean (with torreznos!) and the rod , in Brooklyn, with a more Catalan-inspired menu.
Txikito: Spanish cuisine + Kukuxumusu decoration
Do you do a Catalan menu in Brooklyn? The Rod is the answer
LOIN SANDWICH AND PATATAS BRAVAS: The base of the food pyramid (and affordable) for any Spaniard, right? As in recent years in Spain, in New York the bravas have also become more sophisticated and, although they are on almost all the menus of a tapas bar, those of Aunt Pol They are already a Manhattan classic. Just like his sandwich, with peppers and tetilla cheese. the chef alex ray , now the owner of Txikito, El fifth pine and La vara, was the one who revolutionized tapas in this small Chelsea restaurant eight years ago.
Tía Pol's 'teipas' are a Manhattan classic
COLACAO, NOCILLA, NOUGAT, HAM, OIL...: No, Nutella is not the same as Nocilla, nor does Nesquik taste the same as ColaCao (even less the American Nesquik, don't ask me why). Nor is the Italian torrone the same as a good nougat from Jijona... not to start with the chorizo or the ham. If you fancy any of these products, there is ** Despaña ,** a Soho store where you will find almost anything you need to satisfy your hunger for sybaritic Spanish, from San Nicasio chips to La Española olives . In addition, these Spaniards began making their own chorizo and black pudding in the 1970s, which they sell in the store; and they organize wine tastings and courses to learn how to cut ham. oh! Another recommended ham site is black leg , **they offer different varieties (also of cheeses) ** and qualities to accompany their very long list of peninsular wines.
Despaña: from Nocilla to ColaCao, everything in Soho
OCTOPUS TO FEIRA: With his paw and his paprika. New Yorkers love it, so almost any Spanish tapas bar or restaurant is bound to include it on their menu. But we are left without a doubt with one: Galicia House , **the social club of the Galician community in Astoria (Queens) **. Not only because it is one of the best and cheapest, but because it is the only Spanish restaurant where you will feel at home, even like in the village. With their TV to watch football, their gentlemen playing cards, their small bottles of Estrella Damm… And for dessert? A Santiago cake.
CHURROS WITH CHOCOLATE:
Just hearing how American waiters pronounce churro is worth a visit; but it is that in addition both those of the churro (on the Upper East Side) like the ones in The Churreria (in Nolita, from the owner of Socarrat) are authentic churros (excuse the repetition), freshly made and with their thick chocolate. Le Churro offers more varieties of fillings, sauces (we already warned about the passion for dips) and combined with fruit, for example. And at La Churrería if you don't want churros you can order a sandwich, a gazpacho or some eggs with chorizo.
A breakfast without churros is not breakfast (neither here nor in NY)
THE POTATO OMELETTE: How to agree on this. As you like? With onion, without onion, paisana, curdled, cold, hot... Almost any bar or restaurant in Teipas also has Spanish tortilla . But one that does not usually fail is the boqueria , every day they have the classic (with onion, yes) and depending on the products of the day or the season of Union Square you can also order varieties with cabbage, zucchini... By the way, the owner of Boquería, Yann de Rochefort , is the partner of Manzanilla, the new restaurant that the Calima chef, Dani García, will open in January in New York.
Boquería: not without my mother's food
BIKINI: Or the legendary mixed bar sandwich. The one you fed on in the college cafeteria. Perhaps you can find it in any deli in New York, cold and dry, it will never taste as authentic as in bikini , a small Catalan restaurant decorated like a 1970s diner that opened this year in East Village and whose bet is the sandwiches: York ham, cheese and good sliced bread, well toasted.
Eat Bikini! the most and least Spanish morsel at the same time