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Find Culinary Gold at Barcelona’s Maleducat
We waltzed into Maleducat in #Barcelona without a reservation – talk about rolling the dice. Fortunately, luck was on our side, and we scored one of the few tables at this local favorite. The service? Spot-on. It’s like they’ve mastered the art of making you feel right at home, even when you’re miles away from it. @maleducat is a champion of culinary insurrection, blending and bending grandma’s recipe with a menu that’s a wild ride of tapas and heartier plates meant to be shared. While we tried dishes made with ingredients that we never imagined seeing together on a plate, like their beef tendon and fish, we mostly stuck to a few of the staples (croquetas de jamón, paletilla ibérica, to name a few) in the spirit of continuing to calibrate our baseline. This place stuck in my memory as the best jamón de bellota we had during our…
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Unforgettable Dining at Celler de Can Roca
I’m excited to share with you in a little more detail our recent visit to the legendary Three-Michelin Star Celler de Can Roca in Girona, which is, without a doubt, a bucket-list-worthy experience and my favorite destination of 2023 The restaurant is a testament to the talent, passion, and know-how of the Roca brothers- head chef Joan Roca, sommelier Josep Roca, and pastry chef Jordi Roca. Embodying the values passed down from their parents– authenticity, hospitality, and generosity, this family team offers a journey through Catalan flavors with an innovative twist in an atmosphere that is sophisticated but warm and unpretentious. The restaurant’s décor is organic, with plenty of natural lighting and a beautiful courtyard that welcomes guests as they arrive. We were greeted by a hostess and immediately seated at a table by a floor-to-ceiling window. Our area was divided by a console, making the space feel more like…
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Unveiling My Top Eats of 2023
2023 was incredible to us in unsuspected and meaningful ways! As the year draws to a close, I can’t help but reflect on the unforgettable culinary journey we embarked on this year that went way beyond the streets of #Chicago. Here is a quick recap and a list of my top three favorites: 1. Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain 2. Apron in Vienna, Austria 3. Gaudir in Mexico City, Mexico. A Delicious Melange Our year started with bubbles and a waltz in Vienna, where I fell hard for melange- a very light cappuccino-like drink. Coffee always seems to be consistently mind-blowing here, and I have not found anything quite like it outside of Vienna. Beyond the beans, I believe the secret might be in the quality of the city’s water. Food in Vienna surprised us by being equally fantastic, affordable, AND ubiquitous. I developed a taste for street-side…