A truer thing was never said.
Gabe is the owner of this fine establishment. He was entertaining some friends at the small stand-up only bar within earshot of my table. These guys were laughing, joking, talking food, drinking cocktails, and nibbling on some tapas as they came out of the kitchen. And then Gabe brought out the ham. So I did what any self-respecting new-girl-foodie-in-town would do. I walked over, introduced myself, and asked if I could geek out and take a photo. And then, well, that slice of ham Gabe had cut was just sitting there, so he offered me a taste, "So you have the context of what you're blogging about." So soft, so rich, but not light on flavor. Slicing is clearly key to making this dish work.
Forget prosciutto, even the really good kind. I just can't imagine tastier dry-cured meat coming from a pig, or any other animal, for that matter. Scott and Alex (the two guys at the bar) had been discussing this, and we all acknowledged that pig is an excellent product - you can really use all of it to make all kinds of tasty things.
Now, after the ham incident, I was all cozy up at the bar. I moved my drink from the table; as an early diner, I'd had my pick of the place, and I'd already wolfed down the best patatas bravas I've ever had and was working on my cocktail. I don't remember the name of it, but it was Maker's Mark, a blackberry shrub, grapefruit juice and maybe some kind of bitters? Or perhaps St. Germaine. It was the oddest one they had on the menu, and I thought it was surprisingly tasty. Up next, delicious mussels which I ordered on Robert's recommendation, and then Chef sent out some house-made blood sausage to Scott, apparently because there had been some challenge tossed out about house-made charcuterie. And I was offered a sample of that too, Blood sausage was a first for me, although I knew of it, and this was some spectacularly tasty sausage. Rich, deeply flavorful. Almost made me forget the ham (but not really).
And before dessert, I met Chef Brandon - nice guy, seemed happy to meet me, took the ribbing from his friend Scott really well. Scott, it turns out, used to be a fine dining chef, and Alex (his brother from another mother) was a fine dining waiter. So I was in good company. And the finishing touch on my meal was bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with a marcona almond. It had to have had something else, or maybe these were just the best dates I've ever had. Magical. And just the right amount to finish off my meal of assorted tiny cute foods.
"Women love tapas," my server Robert waxed poetically. "Women love tapas because..."
"Because they're tiny, and tiny food is cute, and women love cute tiny food," I finished for him.
And I knew I'd picked the right place for dinner that night: Mundaka, a Spanish tapas restaurant (not just a place that serves small plates and calls them tapas). It's right next to Ody's and was recommended by a guy who works at Mundaka whom I met at Ody's. Pretty darn convenient (since I already knew where Ody's was); beautiful, warm ambiance; and the menu looked pretty tasty as I was seated and guided through some favorites by Robert. And then I saw Gabe bring out the ham.
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| Gabe poising to take a paper-thin slice of meat off this cured jamón ibérico. What's that you say? Only the best ham in the world. Acorns. Pigs love acorns. I love pigs. |
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| A better view of the ham. |
Now, after the ham incident, I was all cozy up at the bar. I moved my drink from the table; as an early diner, I'd had my pick of the place, and I'd already wolfed down the best patatas bravas I've ever had and was working on my cocktail. I don't remember the name of it, but it was Maker's Mark, a blackberry shrub, grapefruit juice and maybe some kind of bitters? Or perhaps St. Germaine. It was the oddest one they had on the menu, and I thought it was surprisingly tasty. Up next, delicious mussels which I ordered on Robert's recommendation, and then Chef sent out some house-made blood sausage to Scott, apparently because there had been some challenge tossed out about house-made charcuterie. And I was offered a sample of that too, Blood sausage was a first for me, although I knew of it, and this was some spectacularly tasty sausage. Rich, deeply flavorful. Almost made me forget the ham (but not really).
And before dessert, I met Chef Brandon - nice guy, seemed happy to meet me, took the ribbing from his friend Scott really well. Scott, it turns out, used to be a fine dining chef, and Alex (his brother from another mother) was a fine dining waiter. So I was in good company. And the finishing touch on my meal was bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with a marcona almond. It had to have had something else, or maybe these were just the best dates I've ever had. Magical. And just the right amount to finish off my meal of assorted tiny cute foods.
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| Scott the Plumber Chef and Chef Brandon |
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