Shit got real once we stumbled up La Azotea in Sevilla. While we we enjoyed the croquettes and cured tuna and anchovies and Andalusian cuisine, getting a chance to eat a place serving new Spanish cooking was a real treat. We liked La Azotea so much that we returned for a second meal on the tail-end of the trip. 

La Azotea is a beautiful, casual place, focusing on local, seasonal ingredients. The menu is concise, and everything reads incredibly well. It was very hard indeed to come up with just a few dishes. But we managed.

This dish was rice paper triangles stuffed with cheese, prawns, and leeks. Right? When it hit the table we immediately knew we were in the hands of a kitchen that understands cooking, plating, and pleasing.

It was our second night in Sevilla and we still hadn't done much research on restaurants. After enjoying a few cocktails at the excellent The Secondroom (it took me about one day to start trying to track down a proper cocktail bar), we spied a welcoming little place called Bar Pelayo right down the block. At this point we were starving and quite frankly would have eaten anywhere.

The menu is typically Andalusian, with the typical tapas, fried fish, croquettes, etc.

The oxtail croquettes were pretty fantastic.

Churros may be traditionally a breakfast snack, but not for me. I think they go well with, say, several glasses of vermut. And there's no better time to enjoy several glasses of vermut than mid-afternoon, while the rest of Spain is enjoying siesta.

We found El Bar Comercio on the internet somewhere, and headed off to take a load off. This place is over 100 years old, and it has retained all of that charm. Black pig legs hanging from the walls. Old dusty bottles in a display case. Pleasant bartender, who could have been the owner.

It's one of the few places we found where our order of "dos vermuts" wasn't received with a blank stare. Vermouth is more commonly called "martini" in Spain, after the brand Martini and Rossi. So spare yourself the confusion and just order a martini. Unless you want a vodka or gin martini, in which case you're a savage and on your own.

They had to fire up the churro maker. This thing was quite a device. I had no idea one needed such a machine to make long donuts.

The half portion was barely 2 Euro. I think the fabulous chocolate (for dipping...and drinking if you're me) was about 2 Euro.

A pleasant little stop, not far from the Cathedral.

Bar El Comercio : Calle Lineros, 9 : Sevilla, Spain

Everyone loves a list. Especially when it contains pictures and brief, vague descriptions of food that someone else ate over the course of a year. Someone you don't even know. I mean come on. That's about as bad as suffering through a slide show of a coworker's vacation. But that won't stop me.

This is a list of the most memorable and exceptional dishes that my body processed into p**p during 2014.

Ramen
Ramen Sora
Las Vegas, NV

I have to think this was my first “real” ramen experience. I guess I've had ramen in the past, but never gave it the serious consideration that it deserves. Ramen Sora changed my opinion on ramen, and got me thinking about it, a lot. Ramen just may be the perfect dish. Those gyoza were no slouches either.


Spaghetti with fennel pollen sausage and Calabrian chiles
Local Seasonal Kitchen
Ramsey, NJ

I've been a big fan of Chef Steve Santoro since the late 90s, when he was producing fantastic and exciting food at the long-gone Dish in Passaic, NJ. He left Dish, and disappeared from New Jersey, for a good amount of time. I figured he'd never return. Recently, he did return to open the awkwardly-named Local Seasonal Kitchen. And once again he's producing fantastic and exciting food. At first bite I knew this dish would be on some sort of “best” list. And whaddayaknow, I was right. Clean clean flavors of spice, meat, and heat. Awwwww, yeah.

Cheeseburger
The Black Pig
Cleveland, OH

I'm still thinking about this burger. It remains one of the best burgers that I've had. Anywhere. DB Bistro Moderne, The Spotted Pig, Blue Smoke, Minetta Tavern, J.G. Melon. All of them take a backseat to this burger. Cooked to a juicy medium rare, an appropriate and delicious bun, house-made pickles, great melted cheese. The execution was flawless, and the burger simply outstanding. I hate this picture because it mocks me. It sits there, and mocks me, as I cannot eat it right now.
 

Chilean Seabass
Chakra
Paramus, NJ

Everything about this dish screams 1990s. The fish itself, the potato wrapped shrimp, the vaguely Asian preparation. But maybe the 90s weren't so bad after all? That potato wrapped shrimp, which I assumed would be a throw-away garnish, was excellent in its own right. Maybe nostalgia plays into it, but this dish is really fun. And visually appealing. Chef Ciszak is doing some very good work at Chakra. You and I should be going there more often than we do.

Ox tongue and tripe
Joyce Chinese Cuisine
River Edge, NJ

A newcomer to the North Jersey Sichuan scene in 2014, and Joyce is bringing the goods. Their version of ox tongue and tripe is a good a version as I've had anywhere, with the added bonus of being slightly better for some reason I cannot explain. A great restaurant overall.   


Fat Gangnam Boy Hero
Kimchi Smoke BBQ
NJ-based Southern and Korean BBQ vendor

That Kimchi fella is apparently known for his brisket, but don't let this sandwich slip through your paws. Bulgogi, pickled vegetables, scallions, processed American cheese, BBQ sauce, on a perfect hero roll. This thing is silly-good. Next time, I'll make sure a get a cold beer from neighboring vendor, which would just go so very, very perfectly.

Fish with carrots
Le Relais Des Trois Mas
Collioure, France

We had fun listening to the server describe this multi-component dish for 10 minutes, each of which had carrots incorporated some how some way. “Blah blah wis a puree of carrots, blah blah scented wis, ehhh, carrots, the feesh is blah blah wis carrots, a small glass of juice, made wis, ehhhh, carrots.” He wrapped up his explanation in his best possible English, sounding exhausted from saying “carrots” so many times, with “it's just a lot of carrots.” It's a good thing we like carrots. And sichuan peppercorn, which, to our surprise, made its way into one of the components.

The dish was a work of art. The view, sitting at Le Relais Des Trois Mas, overlooking the bay at Collioure, topless sunbathers and all, was glorious. This restaurant was very, very good. And every one of those carrots was perfect. I should also note that the hotel is just lovely as well.


Cassoulet (and ravioli)
Auberge du Vigneron
Cucugnan, France

If you find yourself tooling around the Pyrenees, exploring ancient Cathar castles, and why wouldn't you, you'd do well to stop in the small commune of Cucugnan, nestled in the shadow of Chateau de Queribus. There didn't seem to be a whole lot going on in this tiny, tiny place, but Auberge du Vigneron is well worth a stop. Or even a detour. Especially if treacherous mountain roads lacking safety rails are your thing.

It seems unfair to include two dishes from a single restaurant, especially when I couldn't figure out what made one of them so good, but I will anyway.

Not sure what the sauce on the ravioli was, but it was ethereal. Each of those ravioli was filled with a different meat product, including foie gras IIRC.

As for the cassoulet, well, what can I tell you. It was probably in the top 5 dishes of the year. Filled with various sausages and duck confit, this dish could have, and may have, warmed the stomachs of a Cathar slaughtering army. Hints of genocide never tasted so good.

Paella
Merendero de la Mari
Barcelona, Spain

It wasn't the only paella we ate in Catalonia, but it was first, and it confirmed my suspicions that what passes for paella in my part of the word is simply absolute crap. As I said here, “Every bite revealed a little piece of tender seafood or vegetable. Stuff I didn't recognize. I'm having a hard time thinking about this dish at this moment, because it was so outstanding, and I'm so hungry right now, and I know it will be some time until I have anything remotely as good as this. I don't know what else to say other than it was a revelation.”


Seppia
Gelonch
Barcelona, Spain

Gelonch wasn't the only place where we had seppia that was sliced into pasta-like ribbons during a trip to Barcelona, but it was my favorite. Linguini's got nothing on seppia. If anyone knows where to get a seppia ribbon-maker, or seppia for that matter, do let me know.


Slow roasted salmon
Cucina
Woodstock, NY

I rarely order salmon, because typical Atlantic salmon is largely unexceptional. Wild Pacific salmon in season, of course, is an entirely different beast, and should be ordered whenever it's available. The slow-roasted salmon with corn pudding at Woodstock's Cucina, however, made me rethink everything I thought I knew.

Scallops
Escape Montclair
Montclair, NJ

Chef Bryan Gregg has continued to impress the hell out of me in 2014. His commitment to seasonal, pristine ingredients squares nicely with the way I like to eat. One brunch at Escape included three scallops over corn. I believe this dish captured the essence of Escape Montclair. Simple, pure, perfect. A proper brunch, indeed.

Cauliflower ravioli
The Cookery
Dobb's Ferry, NY

The Cookery has really impressed me with some dishes, while others have landed a bit flat. The cauliflower ravioli was one that impressed. Brown butter, of course.

Lion's Head Meatballs
Fu Restaurant
Fairfield, NJ

A new Shanghainese restaurant in New Jersey, brought to you by the folks who run the excellent Chengdu 23 in Wayne. Maybe it was due to the fact taht I hadn't had this dish in close to 6 years, but diving into the Lion's Head meatballs were like nuzzling into the soft bosom of an old lover. Or something like that.

Cocktails
Stockade Tavern
Kingston, NY

Stockade Tavern is a world-class cocktail bar run by a super nice husband and wife team. Every cocktail I had during various visits was interesting, mostly new-to-me, and eye-opening. There's a lot of craftsmanship here. No messing about. They've got ingredients that I've not so much as heard of, which is not easy to pull off. This is a great experience, and not to be missed. I cannot envision a time when I'll be near Kingston and not make time to spend an hour or two at Stockade Tavern.

Cocktails
Park West Tavern
Ridgewood, NJ

80s cheesy laser treatment courtesy of Duong L.

Andrew at Park West Tavern continues to grow and push the envelope with his cocktails. I rarely order anything specific here, and given my status as a semi-regular irregular, he generally has time to surprise me.  Just recently I had a new concoction. My comment after the first few sips was the somewhat absurd “this tastes like Christmas.” "That's what I was going for," he replied. Impressive.

Anchovies
Casa Leon
Collioure, France

Collioure is known for anchovies. It has been argued that the world's best anchovies come from the waters here. Who am I to argue? I didn't even think I liked anchovies until eating them during almost every meal during a visit to this colorful, beautiful coastal town in the south of France. Before I left, I was a convert. Anchovies are magical.

Casa Leon is a lovely little restaurant serving pristine seafood, local wine, and, thankfully, anchovies. This plate of anchovies stood out, and went quite well with the bottle of Collioure rosé. Seek out Collioure AOC wines. You may be quite pleased.

Clams
Los Toreros
Barcelona, Spain

Clams aren't generally my thing, but the big bowl of sweet, tender, briny clams at Los Tereros in Barcelona filled me with joy, and reinforced my understanding of simple Catalan cooking. Los Toreros is a quaint, not-very-touristy Barcelona gem.


Northern Style larb
Lotus of Siam
Las Vegas, NV

This horrible photo hurts my eyes. Sorry.

I haven't missed an opporunity to visit Lotus of Siam since my first visit in 2002 or so. When we returned this year, we were surprised to see the place has more than doubled in size. And it is more popular than ever. So much for a little hidden secret.

The selection of German wines remains impressive (and those wines go perfectly with the spicy Thai food), and the Northern-style larb remains delicious. And powerful. This dish is much different than the typical larb you'll find on most Thai menus. It's a deep, dark, rich, masculine affair, probably made with some liver and blood, and doesn't include the acidic bit that its cousin does. And boy oh boy, is it spicy. If you go to Lotus of Siam, consider their separate Northern-style menu, which is filled with rare and exciting treats.

House-cured pork with leeks
Lan Sheng
Wallington, NJ

A version of this dish can be found at most Sichuan restaurants, but I recall really, really enjoying the dish at Lan Sheng. Slightly smoky, a bit salty, pure and porky. Lan Sheng's liquor license will likely keep me from ever returning, but if I do, I'll order this dish again.


Fried chicken
Peck Peck Chicken
Teaneck, NJ

2014 marked the start of a more serious exploration of Korean food at the t:e organization. While one might foolishly dismiss fried chicken wings as being nothing more than a snack, Korean fried chicken is certainly one of Korea's greatest gifts to our collective food culture. Move over, southern states.

Crab cake
Chakra
Paramus, NJ

Two dishes on this list from Chakra, a restaurant to which I really haven't given much consideration over the years? I'm more surprised than you. There's not denying the crab cake at Chakra is the tops.  The dish is perfect, right down to the lightly dressed snow pea shoots. There's a bit too much vodka on their cocktail menu, though.

Pasta with clams
Confetti
Piermont, NY

It's not easy finding a decent plate of pasta with clams in the North Jersey area. It's really not. All of those Italian-American restaurants really don't do a very good job.  Most versions suffer from any number of flaws. But not the dish at Confetti. It should be the standard to which all other restaurants aspire. Beautifully and functionally plated, as well.

House-made sausage
Mill House Brewing Company
Poughkeepsie, NY

As I've noted, several times, Mill House Brewing Company has really impressed me. Elevated pub grub, great cocktails, excellent staff, a beautiful room. Every town needs a Mill House Brewing Company.  The house-made sausage made an appearance on my plate on our most recent visit. Juicy, flavorful, cooked just north of that's-too-raw, and a great version of bangers and mash.

Breakfast taco
Destino II Cart Tacos at the Rhinebeck Farmers' Market
Rhinebeck, NY

On a whim and just because, I ordered a breakfast taco from Destino II during a quick run-through of the Rhinebeck farmers' market. And I'm glad I did. Was this a perfect breakfast taco? I don't have much experience with breakfast tacos, but I'd venture to say “yes, this was a perfect breakfast taco.” Fluffy eggs, ground chorizo, fresh corn tortillas, hot sauce, salsa. What's not to LOVE.

So there you have it. I'm sorry I put you through that. I hope this helps someone, somewhere, at some point.

tommy:eats is a freelance food writer, photographer and curmudgeon, based in North Jersey. When not making lists he can usually be found putting together slide shows of his trips.

Leaving Barcelona was not preferable. We could have stayed there until we ran out of money or died (I'm guessing the money would go first). What a wonderful city. But the next part of our trip was directly ahead of us, and calling. We checked out of the hotel, grabbed a cab, loaded up our bags, and went off to the Hertz office to pick up a rental car.

Our destination was France. Collioure, to be precise. We drove up the coast of Spain for as long as it made sense (a very leisurely drive this is), and then got on the highway, which led us to Figueres for lunch. Figueres is probably best known for the Salvador Dalí Museum. It's a tiny little town, just south of the French/Spanish border. Some research lead us to Meson Asador Castell 4, which seemed like a fine place for a meal.

They had a good crowd going, many of whom appeared to be locals, eating tapas and sipping wine at the bar. We grabbed a table and tried to decipher the menu. It certainly wasn't in English.  But we were getting pretty good at the menu thing by this point.

El Rincon Del Cava may not be among the best tapas places in Barcelona, but I have to think it's among the cheapest.

We spent the morning walking up to Olympic Park, site of the 1992 Olympics. It's a good little hike to get up there. There's not a whole lot going on once you do get up there, but it was somewhat interesting and offers a great view of the city. More importantly, all of that walking contributed to a good appetite. Down the hill we went in search of El Rincon Del Cava.

I did promise the missus that I wouldn't subject her to any more marathon tasting menus after the last one, just as I did the one before that. And I lied.

Rias de Galicia specializes in seafood and the cooking of Galicia--that area of northwest Spain that I'd love to visit at some point. It's also a very highly regarded restaurant, possibly one of Ferran Adria's favorites, and run by a couple of his partners. To not indulge in the tasting menu seemed foolish. Yet when we were done with the meal, the missus advised that we should have just ordered the regular stuff. We'll probably never know who was right. For my part, I had an outrageously good meal, very good service, and wonderful wines.

When I saw the tweezers being placed on the table, I thought "uh boy, an overly precious meal is ahead of us." To some extent that was the case. But the food was all grounded in top-notch high-quality seafood, and not futzed with too much. Here is the run-down of this exceptional meal, with some brief thoughts.

This lady tried to pin a flower on my chest. I mean she poked me with the damned thing. This picture, mind you, isn't of her initial approach. This is after she poked me, and after I had walked past her. This is her friggin' chasing me with the deadly flower. It's really not a solid business model if you ask me.

"That's no way to start a day," I thought. Thankfully there was a very pleasant day ahead. A largely accidental one that I couldn't have planned better.

It was Sunday, and very few people were around, aside from the chest stabbing gypsies. We were well away from Las Rambla and meandering through fascinating little sections of Barcelona on our way to Park Guell, Antoni Gaudi's silly garden and park. The walk was well over an hour, and took us to parts of Barcelona we didn't know existed. Gràcia, for example. It's a very different world in the outlying districts of Barcelona. These were once towns in their own right, but were eventually sucked up by the expanding city. I cannot speak with much authority on this, but I suspect many have retained their own unique identity, which makes these towns-within-a-city great places to visit.

We arrived at Park Guell and found out that you have to buy tickets. In advance. It's nuts. Here I thought we'd be walking through a park filled with Gaudi's Willy Wonka-esque art and spirit. But that wasn't meant to be. We did find out that you can walk through much of the park without a ticket. I really don't know what we missed, but we had a nice time walking around the free section. The walk takes you up and up and up, exposing grander views of the city at every turn. Lots of cactuses and various flora to take in. And, of course, you'll have a chance to see some of his wacky creations.

Our walk through Park Guell terminated at the opposite side of the hill, away from the entrance. It just sort of plops you out onto a street. I really had no idea where we were, but I knew the walk back to Gràcia would be long, but downhill. Away we went, off to find a suitable place for lunch.

After a half day of walking and eating Barcelona, the rooftop bar at Hotel 1898 was feeling quite comfortable in the mid-afternoon sun. There were times when watching the seagulls and staring off to the sea and mountains while sipping vermouth seemed like the best possible use of our time. Even Las Ramblas appeared pleasant and quiet from this perch, with the line of tree tops being the only hint of the mass of tourists below.

The trees of Las Ramblas heading toward the sea

Venturing too far afield for dinner wasn't in the cards on this night. Luckily we found a little place called Los Toreros during some googling. Even more luckily was the restaurant is located directly behind Hotel 1898, in a little alley, tucked away, and seemed to be relatively tourist-free.

Los Toreros, which I believe means bullfighter, is a cheery, brightly yet warmly lit, energetic little place. The menu is extensive, with plenty of tapas. It felt, to us, very authentically "Spanish," with a little whimsy thrown in, what with all of the pictures of bullfighters on the walls. The most old-school place that we visited to that point. (It will be noted that the t:e organization does not support bullfighting or the killing, torturing, or taunting of anything for sport. Well, OK, I do enjoy taunting people who have that fabulous combination of ignorance and arrogance and insist on proving it at every turn.)

We did not screw around and got right to the food. Which is what I'll do right now. But first, sangria.

We woke up at the crack of 8 am looking forward to a day without any reservations, or plans of any sort for that matter.

It was a glorious morning and we decided to go check out Gaudi's Sagrada Família, a spell-binding basílica which Gaudi started 30 years before his death. At the time of his death, the thing was a quarter complete. That was almost 90 years ago, and they are still working on it, with a scheduled completion date of 2026. A full 100 years after the man's death. Scope creep? Or maybe a lot of siestas.

A partially-completed church couldn't possibly draw big crowds, especially so early in the morning, we figured as we moseyed on over. Errr, the thousands of people waiting in line to get in obviously knew differently. Bus loads of people. I have never seen a line this long. I think it went around the block twice. And this is a large block.

I'm not one to wait in lines, so we walked around the block, taking in its curious beauty, and then got the hell out of there, looking for the next thing to stare at. But first I had to buy something for that sunburn that I had foolishly acquired the first afternoon of the trip on the rooftop of Hotel 1898. It was a burn like I've never had before. My skin was itchy and stingy and felt like it was crawling off of my body. I have quite a bit of skin I should add.

That nice gentleman is looking this American's belly, just barely hiding his shock and disgust.

We stopped at a Farmacia, a place where I assumed they'd speak English and I'd be able to simply ask for the remedy. No such luck. I resorted to picking up my shirt, pointing at my red and sizable belly, and making what in hindsight were baboon-like gestures to indicate itching. The missus found this exchange very, very humorous. The lady behind the counter probably not quite as much. I already had a bottle of aloe from the shelf, but was advised by a nice gentleman who happened to be there that "it's for teeth." For TEETH!?!  Ack. I was given a proper bottle of aloe for skin and was advised that it was 27 euro. "Whaaaatt??!" was my reply. The lady suddenly spoke very clear English and said "it's very good." Well bloody hell I should hope so.

We saw some kids playing soccer, and spent some time taking pictures and relaxing in the sun. The aloe was working already. It was in fact, apparently, very good.

Then we stumbled upon Ciutadella Park, which is certainly worth a visit. We spent some time at the Casada Fountain, not knowing a damned thing about it or what we were walking on/looking at. Still don't. That's OK.

With hunger setting in, we started looking for a place to eat in the Barri Gòtic . Nothing was really jumping out at us, aside from a nice little bar that had vermouth. We had vermouth.

Aimlessly making our way back to La Rambla, a street on which I advise spending as little time as possible, we ran into one of the many outposts of Enrique Tomas, a sort of charcuterie chain. With cones of pig for your snacking pleasure. And snack I did. Jamón ibérico in a cone. Whaddacountry.