I’ve said this before, but my short stay in Jerez convinced me that this is a surely up-and-coming food mecca and one that travelers to Spain’s south ought to keep on their radar. I love Sevilla as much as the other aficionadas, but despite the vast range and high quality of the dining scene there, the city is more and more a tremendous draw for travelers and tourists of all stripes. n my last stay, I found the Sta Cruz area one to be, if not avoided, than to be given a fairly wide berth due to the streets crowded withh tourists of course, of which I am one. But Jerez has a different feeling altogether. For one thing, it is a smaller city, almost completely walkable even by non-hikers of which I am one, and I say this not with pride.
Jerez felt new and fresh. Maybe it was just a feeling specific to me, as I had never spent more than a few hours, many years ago, on a business-related visit to a bodega. There is something in the air here, a small and beautiful city on the cusp of, perhaps, and I say this with only a “personal” feeling. I see new eateries opening up, many of such quality that it was impossible to winnow down my list to 3 dinner spots. The kindness shown to me by every single person I met was something I will never forget.
And perhaps the best of all was a meeting with the person who has set me on the road to discovering the experience of Spain…the food, the smaller unknown places, the joy of the people, the landscape, the language…and not, this is not a petition for a deification if that is the right phrase for this non-Catholic to utter. And this person shared her love for the land and people (and food!!) of Spain in a way that I fell and fell hard for, years ago when she first whispered that secret name: Pedraza de la Sierra.
That’s another tale, but on my third and last night in my now beloved city of Jerez, at well past midnight in the bar of my hotel, the enchanting address that I will forever think of as mi casa en Jerez de la Fra–CASA PALACIO MARIA LUISA, none other than the legendary Maribel was waiting patiently for me to return after a superb dinner, and all around fantastic experience that Maribel herself had recommended to me!
I will put it simply. This woman is already the premier food, wine and culture ambassador of Spain to the US and lands far beyond. I felt as if I were meeting a favorite author…to the n’th degree! “Knowledgeable and charming?” ; I pale with my words.
Suffice to say, Maribel, is a name who every serious traveler to Spain looking especially but not only for, great food in out of the way and on the well-trodden trail, places, is familiar with through her incomparable online guides. And she arranges personalized wine, food and culture tours through her long-running www.IBERIANTRAVELER.com custom planning site.
Maribel knows everything about Jerez, and lands far beyond, and it was she who influenced my choices of restaurants in the city which, as I mentioned, were limited to 3 due to jet lag and a short city stay.
So after my verbiose ramblings, I come to my second dinner in the city: LA CARBONA. I had originally booked Abala, but several locals who(m) I trusted (from a taxi driver with a serious food interest, to locals I met during my ramblings (recommend visit to the Lustau bodega; for some reason I’ve put Lustau on a pedestal and have traveled far and wide to track down their PX vinegar…never fear, their bodega sells two types of vinegar, (the PX 1/5 and the PX 1/24; these wee among my first loves of vinegar, discovered in an old-line food shop in Barcelona many years ago. Note that these are made with 100% Pedro Jimenez, not with a token tipple of the PX…that means much to me…hopefully someone can comment on this, as I am far fom a vinegar expert but do know that even the oldest tradtionale from Modena and around is not the be-all-and-end-all of vinegars.
Lustau also sells an olive oil (they do not produce this) and the range of wines for which they are legendary. ( I did buy both; they are right here but too distant for me to rouse myself unless someone asks!0)
Easy walk from my hotel, although I did get sort-of-dazed-and-confused, as are other bodegas but for me, somehow, Lustau has long been THE magic name and they are the only producer whose production ranges over the 3 regions of the legendary “sherry triangle:” Jerez de la Frontera; Sanlucar de Barrameda; and Puerto Santa Maria outside Cadiz, where I spent a very happy week a few years back…(in Cadiz, not Puerto Sta Maria; ( I highly recommend a stay in this fairly unheralded city (Cadiz; their Parador is top rate) that has now become a popular cruise-stop port).
Off track once again:
LA CARBONA…now well onto 13;30 and have many food plans for tomorrow, so LA CARBONA experience will be brief:
In brief, Chef Javier Munoz is a gem, both in person and in his kitchen.
The dining room is open and airy, whitewashed walls, cement accents…handsome to the hilt.
This restaurant gets an enthusiastic recommendation from yours truly. Another easy walk from the center city.
What I ate:
Amuse of a pate of pigeon and chicken topped a PX gelee (or is it jelly…who knows, it was "close your eyes great, in my personal lingo).
And since I was wiped by this time by the dreaded jet lag, I chose a personal, can’t go wrong but oh, so fabulous red Carabineros, sold as in all reputable restaurants, by weight; in this case the price per kilo was 160 euro so I paid 38.40 for the quartet of .240 kilo: This was, if I remember right, four Carbineros from Huelva (you need to learn those origins when it comes to seafood in this region and, I think, in all regions of Spain…none of this unlabeled farmed stuff on these menus! Carabineros are among the world’s shrimp royalty (please do not ask or query me on the difference between shrimp and prawns).
When a well-known Portuguese chef brought them in to his offshoot Manhattan restaurant they were quite the sensation even at 19USD each and even at that, locals balked.
My Carabineros were grilled, served with a most memorable flaked salt that put Maldn to shame (sorry, Maldon-ites) and demolished head, tails and all black, green and red parts, as well as the actual meat… sans eyes, within a few minutes. I was sad to be finished as I was having such a good evening! ARe the eyes ok to eat, albeit a tad gruesome??
Next course: Suckling pig cooked over low temperatures for about 24 hours and properly seared (??) to give the top a crunchy, crispy deliciousness that makes this a personal favorite main, even outside the legendary suckling pig temples further north; Segovia is the most famous but not the only one.
I know and love North Carolina BBQ but this pork was another realm entirely…the tenderness and flavor of the pork and the impeccably finished crispy top…this dish will linger in my dreams for along time…no offense to Ayden’s Skylight Inn and all the great pork we have in the surprising number of US “bbq” zones.
Total: 72.40, my priciest meal in Jerez and well worth the price.
LA CARBONA
https://lacarbona.com/carta2.html
As at all seafood centric eateries in Spain, I think, a good sign is the mention of the provenance (sp?) And do not forego a serious pore through the cold case and the conversation with your waiter. (it’s more than ok to discuss price on the spot, or to ask how much a pair of langostino will cost…)
If Spanish is not your language, there is almost always, in my own experience, someone who is near- or perfectly fluent in English and, probably, other languages…
