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Gerry Dawes

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About Gerry Dawes

  • Birthday October 15

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    http://www.gerrydawesspain.com/
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  • Gender
    Male
  • Interests
    Spain, Spanish gastronomy, Galician wines, Spanish culture
  • Location
    Putnam County, New York

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  1. Hi Andy. Some observations on your post about dining in Spain. I am with you on this. I have not been to Ibai, but I also think the level of quality in the traditional cuisine places in and around San Sebastián makes this one of the greatest gastronomic spots in the world. Right on target, glad you included Kaia-Kaipe, one of my long time favorites. Elkano may be the greatest fish restaurant in the world--you will tell me if some place in Japan is better--and Kaia-Kaipe, owned by the brother of the late Pedro Aregui at Elkano, is one of my all-time favorites. Elkano has the edge, but I try to go there at night and, though I have been to Elkano many times for lunch, Kaia-Kaipe has the incredible views over the port and an exceptional wine list full of really great old Riojas (Spaniards often drink red wines with fish) at very reasonable prices. I have been to several others restaurants in Getaria (30 kms. west of San Sebastián), including Iribar (just up the street from Kaia-Kaipe) and el Astillero (upstairs at the end of the port) near San Antón, where there is also a restaurant where I took Thomas Keller back in 1990, but I have not been back there since, probably because I became aware of Elkano and Kaia-Kaipe. Have not been here, but I know the owner Alfonso Iacarrino and have been out with him and his wife Lidia, Charlie Trotter, Norman Van Aken and Tetsuya Wakuda, in the same night in Madrid. Almost went there when I was in Naples ten years ago, but there was not enough time. Gerry Dawes Gerry Dawes & Friends, Pawling Public Radio, Pawling, NY Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel John Mariani's Virtual Gourmet Two Faces of Barcelona Cuisine --- Andy, Forgot to add this: San Sebastián Gastronomika, A Basque Trilogy: Kaia, Elkano and Etxebarri
  2. New Michelin Three Rosette Restaurants in Spain: ABaC Barcelona & Chef Jordi Cruz and Chef Angel León A Poniente in El Puerto de Santa María With an exclusive video with Jordi Cruz.
  3. Because it is Michelin doing the rating. Don't get me started!
  4. In the first place, I have little respect for Michelin stars, less for guides that rate a restaurant just on the size of its wine list. Not everyone is a full-bore wine geek and most will only sample a bottle or two or a degustacion anyway. And how many times will you go to a place like this anyway, let alone go there just for its wine list? I have never paid much attention to the wine lists in most of these restaurants because I know that many of the somms are out to make a name for themselves by having multiples of all the darling wine stars of the moment, most of whose wines are undrinkable to me. As to ABaC as a restaurant, I have been following Chef Jordi Cruz, now a rock star chef, for a long time and he is a friend of mine. I gravitate more towards great traditional cuisine restaurants, both modern and classic, but I have a lot of experience in Spanish Michelin starred restaurants and Jordi Cruz at ABaC is one of the very best and his food is usually delicious. I wrote this back in 2011 and predicted Jordi Cruz would get three stars: ABaC Barcelona (From my article in Departures, May 2011) Want to catch a true rising star in the Spanish food firmament, one that many predict will soon be awarded three Michelin stars? Jordi Cruz first cooked at the restaurant L’Estany Clar in the village of Berga, north of Barcelona, where at the age of 26 he became the youngest chef in Spain to receive a Michelin star. He then moved further into the Catalan hinterlands, to Món St. Benet, near Manresa, where he cooked at L’Angle, the restaurant attached to Ferran Adrià’s food research center Fundació Alícia. Anyone who ate there immediately recognized his rare talent. Cruz is now lighting up the sophisticated Barcelona culinary sky at the glittering new ABaC Restaurant & Hotel, which opened in 2008. Dishes might include smoked salmon with cauliflower purée served under a smoke-filled cloche, or an ethereal mushroom-and-truffle focaccio accompanied by a little tumbler of champignon bisque with hazelnut foam. Not to be missed is Cruz’s extraordinary extraterrestrial gin-tonic, made with cucumber and a dollop of lemon sorbet. Cruz is not just creative; his food is as delicious as that of any Spanish modernista cuisine chef today. Dinner, $215. 1 Avenida Tibidabo, Barcelona; 34-933/196-600. (Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011)
  5. Click on link for the article: English Version of Boquerí­a Gourmand (Published by Viena Edicions), a Book about Barcelona's Fabulous La Boquerí­a Market (Foreword by Gerry Dawes) La Boquerí­a: My Favorite Pueblo is a Gastronomer's Paradise (Foreword includes additional paragraphs not in the published version.) By Gerry Dawes©2011
  6. Club Chefs of Connecticut & New York Taste of Spain Tour 2014 with Gerry Dawes, Days 1 & 2, Jan. 13 & 14, A Gastronomic Adventure in Barcelona The lovely Gemma Bosch Roca at her Palmira i Neus - Gemma seafood stand. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon EOS 6D / Tokina 17-35mm f/4. The legendary mushroom-and-truffle guru, Llorení§ Petrí s, now-retired, but who just happened to be at his Bolets Petrí s Fruits del Bosc stand in Barcelona's Mercat de La Boquerí­a that day (the stand is now run by his sons Isaac and Xavier) and showed the chefs a pile of prime black truffles. Club Chefs of Connecticut & New York Taste of Spain Tour 2014 with Gerry Dawes. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon EOS 6D / Tokina 17-35mm f/4. Quim Mí rquez, Quim de la Boquerí­a, La Boquerí­a Market, Barcelona. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon EOS 6D / Tokina 17-35mm f/4. Chef-owner Quim Marquès shows his paella Catalana con mariscos, mar y muntanya (Catalan "sea and mountain" paella) with cigalas (Dublin Bay prawns), mejillones (mussels), pollo (chicken) and ciruelas pasas (prunes), Suquet de L'Almirall, La Barceloneta, Barcelona. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon EOS 6D / Tokina 17-35mm f/4. Jordi Cruz in his open kitchen at ABaC Restaurante, Hotel ABaC, Barcelona. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon EOS 6D / Tokina 17-35mm f/4.
  7. Bobby Flay in the kitchen at his new restaurant, Gato, a new restaurant in Manhattan by Bobby Flay and Laurence Kretchmer, 324 Lafayette St. (NoHo), New York, NY, 212-334-6400. January 8, 2014. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM. Appetizer from the kitchen menu: Oven roasted shrimp with diavolo oil and oregano at Bobby Flay's and Laurence Kretchmer's new restaurant, Gato, 324 Lafayette St., Manhattan (NoHo), 212-334-6400, January 8, 2014. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Panasonic Lumix DMC ZS30 43-86mm f3.3 "“ f6.4. Pizza with lamb sausage, tomato jam, mozzarella and mint at Bobby Flay's and Laurence Kretchmer's new restaurant, Gato, 324 Lafayette St., Manhattan (NoHo), 212-334-6400, January 8, 2014. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Panasonic Lumix DMC ZS30 43-86mm f3.3 "“ f6.4. Tarte tatin with salted Calvados caramel and vanilla-black pepper gelato at Bobby Flay's and Laurence Kretchmer's new restaurant, Gato, 324 Lafayette St., Manhattan (NoHo), 212-334-6400, January 8, 2014. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Panasonic Lumix DMC ZS30 43-86mm f3.3 "“ f6.4.
  8. Grandview Bakery and Sweet Shop, Vickie Pisowickz, owner. Highly recommended on Mt. Washington
  9. BTW, Don, Coincidentally, I just saw the banner advert on this site for eBags. I highly recommend these eBags packing cubes. Since Kay gave me a couple of sets of these bags, my like on the road has gotten much easier. Component packing keeps me better organized on my frequent trips to Spain (and elsewhere) and makes getaway days so much easier. (I have no commercial connection to this company whatsoever.)
  10. Dear Don, Many, many thanks for giving me a forum on DonRockwell.com. I greatly enjoyed the interaction with your followers and for the opportunity to share some of my Spain with them. I will continue to post items now and then and I will let you know when my wines from The Spanish Artisan Wine Group are available in Washington, D.C. Un abrazo fuerte, Gerry
  11. Chinchón II: Lunch at Mesón de la Virreina, A Memory From a February Lunch Long Ago My first trip to Chinchón was way back in February of 1971 with my old friend, Edwin J. Mullens III from Clarksdale, Mississippi. It was a very cold day, so lunch at Mesón de la Virreina in the upstairs dining room next to the fireplace at a table by the windows that overlooked La Plaza Mayor was especially welcome, cozy and memorable. I still recall that I had alubias con chorizo (beans with chorizo), chuletillas de cordero (baby lamb chops) and the local red wine (now from the D.O. Vinos de Madrid). With dessert, flan and leche frita, I ordered café con leche and brandy snifters of anís (anís liqueur) de Chinchón, which we sipped as we lingered by the fire in some other time, other place reverie. Even though I have returned to Chinchón many times, that day is still a cherished memory. Leche frita flambeed with anis de Chinchón, El Mesón de la Virreina, Chinchón.
  12. I am just back from one Hell of a trip to Spain, at Madrid Fusión 2013 introducing on stage Chef George Mendes of New York's Portuguese and Spanish influenced Aldea Restaurant; sharing abrazos to some of Spain's top chefs such as Quique Dacosta, Albert Adrià, Martín Berasategui, David Muñoz (Restaurant DiverXo, Madrid), Dani García, Paco Torreblanca, Sergi Arola, María José San Román, Paco Torreblanca; sitting by my old friend the legendary Godfather of modern Spanish cuisine, Juan Mari Arzak, at dinner at Esmeralda Capel (a director of Madrid Fusión); hanging out with Colman Andrews, George Semler, John Sconzo and his son El Jay. Had a blast with George Mendes and one of his chefs, Mitch Barr, dragging them to all my old favorite down home places such as Casa Lucio, La Castela and Casa Botín, having carabineros at El Mercado de San Miguel and Canary Islands papas arrugadas con mojo verde y mojo rojo (classic Canary Islands "wrinkled" potatos cooked in salt water and served with a green cilantro-olive oil-and garlic based sauce and a spicy red mojo sauce) at El Escaldón, taking in Flamenco at Café de Chinitas and late night gintonics with George Mendes, George Semler, writer Lisa Abend, CIA's Anne McBride and Starchefs.com Caroline Hatchett. Turning on George Mendes, Doc Sconzo, a passle of Colombian foodies and others to the wonderful jamones Ibéricos from my buddy, Clemente Gómez, the expert ham cutter for the Pedroches (Córdoba) D.O. and having Paco Castro, the official venenciador pour glasses of the wonderful Montilla-Moriles D.O. fino from a height for my friends. That was just the first four days, then the road trip began (more to come). Francisco 'Paco' Castro (l), venenciador for the DO Montilla-Moriles, and my great friend, Clemente Gómez (right), ham cutter for Pedroches hams, at the Pedroches (Córdoba) stand at Madrid Fusión 2013. Photo by Gerry Dawes copyright 2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter. Papas arrugadas con mojo verde y mojo rojo, El Escaldón, Cava Baja, Madrid. Photo by Gerry Dawes copyright 2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter.
  13. The Full Monty on Another Exceptional Lunch at El Crucero in Corella (Navarra) with the Wines of Carlos Aliaga, Jan. 28, 2012 Aliaga Lágrima de Garnacha Rosado 2012 at El Crucero Restaurante, Corella (Navarra). Photo by Gerry Dawes copyright 2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter.
  14. Café de Chinitas, One of Madrid's Best Classic Tablaos Flamencos Click on link to see photographs and a slide show of Chinitas. Victoria Duende, one of the stars at Madrid's Café de Chinitas, also danced at Corral de la Morería in Madrid. Victoria Duende was born in el barrio de la Macarena in Sevilla and began to study dance at age 3 under the great Matilde Coral, a splendid dancer who used to perform at Sevilla's legendary La Cuadra with her husband Rafael El Negro and the great dancer El Farruco. In the late 1960s and 1970s, I used to watch that incredible trio dance at La Cuadra. Photo by Gerry Dawes copyright 2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter.
  15. Hi, Folks, I have just returned from ten days in Spain and have many more things to post, including visits to wineries, some wonderful luncheons and dinners, more adventures at Madrid Fusión 2013 with Aldea NYC's George Mendes; John Sconzo and his movie star look-a-like son, L.J. (Docsconz: Musings on Food and Life (http://docsconz.com); Colman Andrews, Editorial Director of The Daily Meal (www.thedailymeal.com); George Semler (WSJ and Saveur); Caroline Hatchett, Features Editor of Starchefs.com and more. Soon I, will also be offering the opportunity for any interested donrockwell.com readers to tour Spain with me in October on an exclusive food, wine and cultural trip to Madrid, La Mancha and Andalucía. Prelude to another great luncheon at one of my favorite restaurants in Spain, at El Crucero Restaurante, Corella (Navarra): Report to follow on the January 28, 2013 luncheon. Upgraded to Four Dalí Watches: El Crucero in Corella (Navarra), Lunch with the Wines of Aliaga at One of the Great Restaurants of Navarra's Ribera Baja Wine-growing Region, Also Home to One of Spain's Finest Vegetable-Growing Regions and Some of Navarra's Little-known, But Best Country Restaurants. Cardos con semillas de granada (fresh cardoon salad with pomegranate seeds and the restaurant's own extra virgin olive oil), El Crucero, Corella (Navarra).
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