Last night (Sunday)…A fish place with a different concept” is how they bill themselves.
The maître d’ handed us an oval tin of sardines with our table number written in sharpie on the top. “Would you like to start with a glass of cava?” she asked. “Well sure” I said as Grubb shook his head no. She explained their process: there is no fixed menu, nothing is written down, you choose from what we have on hand today. First stop: the “fish market” where she turned us over to her colleague.
We stared at the rows of fish on ice while getting the run down on our choices. First a starter. We choose sashimi (hamachi). Then from the top row of sea food, we needed to choose another starter. Scallops, 2 each please. The fish market host selected 4 scallops and placed them in a metal container.
Next, the main course. Our fish host described each fish as well as its preparation and sauce (“this mullet is grilled with a pineapple salsa”, “the polpo is…” and so on). We chose the little devil fish (monk fish). Mainly because it only has one bone. With the others, since the fish is served whole, we’d be picking out the bones as we ate. Never much fun. Our fish host selected one monk fish, wrapped it in butcher paper and placed it in the container with the scallops. These were then sent to the kitchen for cooking and plating.
Last, the sides. She listed various salads and vegetables. We opted for a Japanese salad, grilled leeks and fries. Wow, okay.
We were then fetched by the wine steward to choose a wine for the meal. I opted out as I still had the glass of cava in my hand. I thought I might order a cocktail later.
Finally we were led to our table. “Bread to start?” A whole-grained round of bread with a dish of whipped, herbed butter was delivered shortly on a wooden plank. The butter had a fishy taste. Not unpleasant but a little surprising.
One after another but well spaced, the courses arrived. Sashimi on a glass dish served on top a bucket of seaweed. Grilled scallops in a punchy garlic sauce, two each served on a shell. A bowl of salad. The monkfish, grilled with a sweet garlic salsa served on a platter. And grilled perfectly I might add. A small plate of grilled leeks on a modest mound of herbed mashed potatoes.
About Cava. I’d seen it on wine menus but hadn’t explored it until now. Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine, made primarily in Catalonia (the Penedès region near Barcelona) using the traditional method — the same process used for Champagne, where the second fermentation happens in the bottle rather than a tank. It is more affordable than champagne. The taste was subtly savory and quite mild.
My guess is that they blended fish roe into the butter.
And the Germans/Austrians have their (less expensive) version of Champagne. It is called “sekt.”