Pakta full of fusion-y goodness

Ceviche

Where does one go, I found myself wondering when you've created perhaps the greatest upheaval in recent world cuisine (El Bulli) when the steam runs out of the idea which has fueled and inspired thousands of chefs worldwide. When molecular gastronomy gives way to New Nordic. Niche cuisines!

"After all those years at El Bulli, I just wanted to take it easy and have fun", Albert Adria explained to me last night at his hot new table, Pakta, located in an edgy and seemingly uninteresting corner of Barcelona, across from a massive concrete fire station. The thirty something seater, with a small Japanese style counter at the entrance, wooden looms filled with colorful yarn and minimalist tables and wood seating has a vibe that shares both Nippon and Peruvian influences. The restaurant, you see, is inspired by the same homegrown fusion (termed Nikkei) that sent Nobu on his path to fame and fortune. Here it allows Adria to avoid the trappings of a traditional high level Japanese restaurant, which he thought would be too difficult for him.

Nikkei was grown from Japanese immigrants to Peru, which was  the first country to accept them a century ago. They brought their own cooking techniques and started to use local produce, the result being a natural fusion cuisine.

The team, from waitstaff to kitchen is almost entirely Peruvian and Japanese, with a few Spanish, Mexican and Argentians thrown in for good measure, and most of them have worked in the Adria empire in one form or another, either staging at El Bulli or gaining experience at the nearby 41° or Tickets.

Genial Argetinian chef Sebastien Mazzola, the imagination behind these establishments (and chef of 41° Experience, where he will return once his work here is done) developed more than 100 recipes for the new concept with Japanese head chef Kyoko Ii for a menu that will probably change monthly.

At 90€ for 25 dishes, it's a wild ride for the tastebuds and an incredibly interesting concept that seems to be going somewhere. Their next establishments, Bodega 1900 and Mexican influenced Yauarcan will expand their empire in another completely different direction and I look forward to trying each and every one of them.

Flashed sirloin steak, peppers, quail egg and potato "pillows"

Ceci n'est pas un bar a tapas - tickets, Barcelona

Last year I tried to hit the hottest tapas bar in the world, but unfortunately, they were closed. And if they weren't closed, there was anyway, I was told, a two month waiting list. Luckily the chef's girlfriend was able to fit me in with a two day notice this time around.

Tickets, as the Adria brothers new project is called, their first post El Bulli restaurant, is an experimental tapas place housed in a former theatre and with a marked circus-y theme (Maitre d' in top hat at the door, etc). It was relatively surprising, even though the Spanish eat quite late, to find that this, the hottest restaurant in town, was empty from 7pm-9pm, after which time groups and families flooded the space for pre-Christmas dinners and office parties.

The concept is pretty simple: classic and experimental small dishes, brought out until you say stop. The staff is happy to help out with choosing how much to eat and what to drink depending on you, and we devoured a large part of the menu (15 dishes or so) before saying stop.

It went something like this (some photos here)

ticket's olives (direct from El Bulli), two different types of sphere filled with olive essence (Gordal and Kalamata)

Seaweed tempura with vinaigrette jus

"Mini airbags" with manchego cheese

Salad taco with sea bass ceviche, i.e. the "taco" was a salad leaf

Razor clams in escabeche, saffron pearls and soy sauce "shards"

Avocado cannelloni with crab and romesco sauce (i.e. the ultimate crab/avocado maki)

Crostini with Cantabrian anchovy and tomato seeds

Razor thin tuna belly with a dollop of sea urchin

"Christmas" tapas with smoked beef and beetroot gelé

Tandori style fish cakes

Baby calimari "straight from El Bulli"

Steamed brioche with truffled cheese

Tuna belly confit with traditional escabeche

"High level" sirloin steak

Liquid cheese ravioli (payoyo cheese)

Truffled Canarejal cheese torta

Cheese and honey cupcake with strawberry ice cream

I've probably forgotten a few things along the way, but this is a great place for those who never got to try El Bulli and those who have Adria withdrawal symptoms, as well as for globetrotting gastronauts looking for a novel new hot table.