I intend to write a full trip report of our truly amazing 4 weeks in Spain within the next week. For the moment I have added a link to a 2 minute video which shows most of the courses my husband and I enjoyed at El Bulli. The evening was spectacular; including viewing the red lunar eclipse.
I think you might need to highlight the link in order to paste it. I hope you enjoy watching. The meal was a total emersion of the mind, palate, and eyes....
http://www.youtube.com/pinnacleaudio.../7/MgbQ171VpiM

Thank you for your report of your evening, and the video. The food looked interesting, but captions would have helped. The explanation below the video, being black print on a black background, was unreadable.

Actually, a couple of the dishes looked like the "Puke on the Running Board", which is what we called Creamed Chicken on Toast in the military. We will look forward to your trip report to see what these strange and (frankly) unappetizing appearing dishes were.

Gorgeous! And follows right on the heels of Anthony Bourdain's show two nights ago, where many of those same dishes were featured. It was amusing to watch AB try his hand at crafting some of them.

nukesafe, I understand the "distain" upon viewing the "odd" food. I will scan the menu (which Mr. Adria signed and numbered) in my trip report. I hope you will find the Monday night August 1 TV show Anthony Bourdain did on the Travel Channel (http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Show...uides/El_Bulli)
I hope that is the correct like.
The savory memorable tastes belie the appearances..absolutely!
StCirq, we did watch the program and had posted our own clip July 1...which I am super proud to remark is the number one El Bulli video world wide..a bit of pride in my husband is showing. He actually made the tiny video as a surprise gift to me; low and behold it now is everywhere.

I have so much to share and pictures to enrich the report. Please will someone tell me how to embed photos which are not links? Thank you.

Curious, as far as I know you can't embed photos on Fodor's - you must link to them. Looks like amazing food!

I saw that episode of No Reservations on my DVR this morning - can't wait to watch it!

Thanks for sharing, CA.

I don't think that you can imbed things in your trip report. Just links.

Lucky you for having the opportunity to dine in that fantastic restaurant--and thanks for sharing the experience. I too recently watched the AB show and your dishes and photos reinforce the incredible atmosphere. Even with both resources, it is difficult to explain all those dishes but I think it a bit harsh to speak in terms of "Puke on a Running Board"--Come on!?
Thanks again Curious.

Many thanks for a few thrilling, vicarious minutes!


I thought Tickets was outstanding so I can barely comprehend the heights of the magic at EB.

So glad you were able to experience it!

Thanks, and looking forward to your report!

I am configuring the links and Sunday my husband and I are going to start the trip report.
We are such novices at this; please be understanding.
There are so many luscious pictures with descriptions ..
OH..
We also dined at Extebarri Restaurant. a report and menu will follow.
The tapas and pintxos were out of this world delicious. We need some way of exhibiting all our goodies. As with others our report will be incremental.
Thank you.
Suggestions about how to submit our pictures?

Juat read an article that the restaurant was closing as of July 2011 and that even though they charge an astronomic amount just to make a booking - like hundreds of bucks like presumably you paid, they could not turn a profit - incredible as that may sound, and are turning the place into a culinary school.

Q- How much did it cost you to dine there? As much as the article I read claims?

I do think this is the realm of only the super wealthy>

Juat read an article that the restaurant was closing as of July 2011 and that even though they charge an astronomic amount just to make a booking - like hundreds of bucks like presumably you paid, they could not turn a profit - incredible as that may sound, and are turning the place into a culinary school.

Q- How much did it cost you to dine there? As much as the article I read claims?

I do think this is the realm of only the super wealthy>

elBulli[1] (Catalan pronunciation: [əɫ ˈβuʎi]) was a Michelin 3-star restaurant near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by chef Ferran Adrià. The small restaurant overlooked Cala Montjoi, a bay on Catalonia's Costa Brava, and has been described as "the most imaginative generator of haute cuisine on the planet"[2] and does a great deal of work on molecular gastronomy. The restaurant is closed as of July 30 2011, to reopen as a creativity center in 2014.[3][4]

It accommodated only 8,000 diners a season, but got more than two million requests. The average cost of a meal was €250.[6] The restaurant itself operated at a loss since 2000, with operating profit coming from elBulli-related books and lectures by Adrià.[7][2] As of April 2008, the restaurant employed 42 chefs.[8]

Avetage cost of s single meal was 250 euros or about $400!

Just to put this in perspective for others pondering a meal there!

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/...nt-closes-down

Heston Blumenthal here in the UK uses similar methods to produce dishes like snail porridge or bacon and egg ice cream. I always felt that El Bulli was on a treadmill of having to change things for changes sake, not necessarily for tastes sake and it became one of those places that's famous for being famous.

God forbid that anyone should dare to comment and be other than gushingly sycophantic...and yes, I have eaten there.

You can call it sour grapes but all it elicits from me is a big yawn. In fact, I would rather eat sour grapes.

Cannot wait for the details on the Exteberri meal!

It is at the very top of my list for "must visit" restaurants in Europe.

Those of us without access to YouTube eagerly look forweard to your report of your meal at El Bulli ! I'm quite sad we never made it.

Very nice video and thanks for sharing.
My only quibble is in wishing that some of the photos did not advance so fast, so as to be able to inspect the food a little longer. Too bad that the restaurant is closing. I'd hoped to get there some day, but I guess it's on to Barcelona now to taste his food.

Curious: (from one Angeleno to another)
Although not being a foodie, per se', video was very clear and mouth watering..even not knowing what all the offerings were. Driving from Cadaques to Girona a few years ago, we probably drove past Roses and the resto, but knew nothing of its fame. If we had, perhaps I would have dropped in for a bowl of soup(grin). Oh, well...back to "In-and-Out Burgers"!

Curious, thank you for sharing...you certainly have had an experience to remember and savor. Keep on truckin'...Happy travels.

stu tower

"Although not being a foodie, per se', video was very clear and mouth watering..even not knowing what all the offerings were.'"

I understand it is a special ( and probably delicious), cuisine , but the food does not look
appetizing to me at all:
drab in colour , covered in slime- like foam.