Spanish Vacation: Tapioles 53

Day Twelve continues...

While preparing for my Spain trip, I did a lot of research, including seeking out interesting restaurants. My local newspaper, the Boston Globe, had an intriguing article on Tapioles 53, a relatively new restaurant in Barcelona. I checked out some other resources on Tapioles 53 and it continued to intrigue me. It certainly seemed unique so I made reservations for dinner.

The restaurant is located in a more residential area, in the Poble Sec region, and can be difficult to find as the door lacks a sign. Tapioles 53 is not only its name, but also its address. You can look through the large front room and see that it is a restaurant. But, this is not a place you are likely to find unless you specifically seek it out.

The restaurant is only open from Tuesday through Saturday. There is a single seating each night and reservations are almost essential, especially considering the small size of the restaurant. There are only six tables, five that fit two people and one that fits eight. It is a cozy and intimate restaurant. It is certainly not stuffy or pretentious. Interestingly enough, we sat near another couple from Massachusetts. They too had read the Boston Globe article.

The wine list is small, about twenty choices, though prices are good, mostly under 40 Euros. Though the list is primarily Spanish, there are also choices from Italy, New Zealand and Australia. We ordered a bottle of 1997 Pago Jean-Leon Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva ($34 Euros), a very good price. This is an excellent wine from a winery we visited while in Spain. I definitely recommend it.

There are no menus for dinner. Instead, Sarah Stothart, the Chef and co-owner of Tapioles 53. comes to your table and explains the available choices. Chef Stothart is Australian and was once the personal chef of Rupert Murdoch. She is very personable.

There were three options for dinner, two different three-course meals ($34 Euros) and one five-course meal ($54 euros). The choices change every two to five days. Chef Stothart selects only the freshest ingredients and shops in a few of the food markets in Barcelona, as well as a few other select providers. This is obviously a Chef who works hard each day, shopping, planning her meals and then cooking them. And while she explained our options, her passion was more than evident.

And that is a significant reason why I chose to go to Tapioles 53. From all that I had read, Chef Stothart appeared to be a very passionate individual. I felt that passion would lead to some superb food. And I was not wrong.

We decided on the five-course dinner, which I would recommend to anyone going to Tapioles 53. You are going to want as much of Chef Stothart's food as possible. Prior to our first course arriving, we received some homemade bread, Spanish olive oil (from Priorat) and an Egyptian mix of spices. An excellent start to our meal. You dipped your bread in the oil and then the spices. The bread was very fresh and tasty and the oil was clean and flavorful. The spices were very interesting, with a bit of sweetness.

The kitchen is small, almost like what someone might have at home. There were two people helping Chef Stothart, including Noelle, the pastry chef. The size and closeness of the kitchen to the dining are helped make the restaurant seem cozier and more intimate.

Our first course was Gravadlux (marinated Salmon) that was cured on bread with several different seeds types. There was a layer of sweet French butter, a squeeze of lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper. This was simply fantastic, silky, creamy and a delicious blend of flavors. The salmon was very fresh and almost melted in the mouth. A great start to our dinner.

I was a little hesitant about the second course. This was Gnocchi, made with fresh spinach and cabra de ronda (fresh goat cheese made by nuns in Ronda), served with a sage infused butter and parmesan. This is a signature dish of Chef Stothart. Why my hesitancy? Because I dislike spinach. There were six Gnocchi though they seemed more like meatballs than traditional gnocchi. I actually did enjoy these and my wife loved them. If a Chef can get me to eat something I dislike, then they have to cook very well. The flavor of the spinach was more muted by the goat cheese and parmesan.

The next course was a Boned Quail sprinkled in a five-pepper mix then fried in Albequina olive oil from the Priorat. At the last minute, the Chef also put 4 drops of white truffle oil on the quail. This was served with black rice from Verona in Italy and baby green beans. We received a breast and two legs. The quail's skin was very crispy, just perfect. I love crispy skin on poultry and this was exactly what I loved. The quail was also meaty, and the meat was tender, juicy and flavorful. Absolutely superb. The black rice was interesting and I enjoyed it as well.

Our fourth course was a selection of three cheeses. We had Don Enrique, a sheep's milk cheese from Andalusia cured with rosemary and paired with quince paste. We also had a Tete de Moine from Switzerland, a cow's milk cheese. This was paired with two home-made jellies, one from Cava and the other from Etim, an over matured sweet red wine. The third was a Brique made with goat's milk from France and paired with a rose petal jam from Greece. An amazing combination of cheeses and pairings. I loved all of the cheeses and the pastes and jellies were so delicious and very much complemented the cheeses.

We had a choice of desserts and we chose the meringue with passion fruit and the flourless chocolate cake. Both of these were excellent. They certainly were an excellent ending to this phenomenal meal.

Service was excellent. Everyone worked hard to make sure you enjoyed your dinner. They were all personable and almost made you feel like family. Chef Stothart impressed me with her passion and incredible food. Each dish was inventive and delicious.

If you are going to Barcelona, I cannot recommend enough that you should make reservations for Tapioles 53. This is a special place, the epitome of passion. A foodie paradise.