VALENCIA: Paella, etc. 11-12/24

[erica1]

We are spending a week in Valencia and have had several good meals which I will probably post about later. So far, we’ve been to:

RAUSELL (two dinners)
LLISA NEGRA (paella)
LA SASTRERIA
BAR CENTRAL (lunch)

NAPICOL

Our latest meal was lunch this afternoon and since I forgot to bring my phone, I do not have photos so will comment on this now before I forget the details.

(Thanks to TigerJohn for lead on this excellent Sunday meal)

We are staying in a hotel in the center city, so took a taxi (20 euro) to Alqueria La Roca/Meliana. The restaurant is across t he street from the train station, where trains arrive from Valencia Nord station, so that would be the more economical way to get here from the city.

I booked several weeks ahead and even then, was put on the waiting list but within a day the booking came through for Sunday at 3:30, the last time slot. Since my partner does not eat shellfish, I ordered the Paella Valenciana.

By the way, the restaurant takes its name not from the surname of the owner, which I had assumed, but from the vegetable which translates from Valenciano to English as kohlrabi. (At least this is what I found online and it looks to be true, although I forgot to ask)

The taxi ride took only about 20 minutes, most of which took us along the main highway linking Valencia with Barcelona to the north. Great roads and the place would be simple to find if. one has a car.

Napicol has an unassuming entrance along what looks to be the main street of the small town. There is a lovely enclosed outdoor space with orange and olive trees, and a large, white indoor dining area. Every table was filled when we arrived at 3:30 on the dot.

The owner is omnipresent and very welcoming to us, as was the entirely female wait staff.`. Menu is by QR code but since I had forgotten my phone (really sorry I could not take photos of this restaurant) it was recited orally.
I’ve only had true paella twice. One was years ago, at La Matandeta in La Albufuera south of the city, and I was not pleased with their rendition, nor were my two companions, one of who lived in Valencia, and the other being last week at Llisa Negra. So this was a pretty novel experience for me.

Orally recited entrances included grilled or fried calamari, hake croquettes, a few things I’ve forgotten already, AND: Berberechos.

These cockles were, hands down, the best I have ever had and, happily, I had the entire portion to myself. So great was the sauce, that I told the owner he ought to sell it as a sopa. This might be the best single plate I’ve had on our entire trip so far. The sauce was made of:

butter
tarragon (I have never seen an herb so finely minced!)
shallot
chicken stock
cava
and: a small amount of nata, or cream
I cannot convey how delicious this was and mopped up all of the sauce with the excellent pan de Cristal, served in a basket, already oiled. Also among the best breads we’ve had so far. I had to hold myself back from devouring my half of the entire basket.

To drink we ordered only water and sweet red vermut which the server confirmed was a popular “palate opener” in Valencia. (I know next to nothing about vermouth but the hotel mini bar has been replenished every day after I consume my daily allotment of this beverage, this version flavored with orange and made in or near Valencia.

The paella Valencia: I was overjoyed when the giant pan was set on the table, and we started to dig in. There was less socarrat than I had hoped, but I did manage to scoop out what was there and oh, my, this was excellent. The paella had these ingredients: Duck, rabbit, minuscule snails which I dug out with the spear the held the olives in the vermouth, lima beans, and flat green broad beans. I guess it’s not surprising that the best ingredient of all was the rice and, second, the broad beans. I was very surprised that there was no chicken but confirmed this with the server. The price of the paella was 45 euro; the berberechos were 20euro. Coca pan Cristal: 5.50.

Total price with the drinks: 78.30euro. Absolutely, smashingly worth the price not only for the food but for the atmosphere of the place which, as I mentioned, was wonderful; I did not hear any English spoken and most tables were occupied by what appeared to be couples and family groups with a l generations represented. Absolutely worth the taxi fare!

Tomorrow I will bring my phone when we head for lunch a few steps away at CA PEPICO!

Restaurante Napicol

[tigerjohn]

Glad you had a nice at Napicol. The seafood there really is fantastic in addition to the arroces.

The issue is soccarrat is interesting for visitors because in other countries there has been a heavy emphasis on this as critical to a good paella when visiting Spain. My assessment of the reality is that paella is just one type of a large range of rice dishes served in the region and the soccarrat varies greatly based on region and type of rice. Talking to locals the most important part of the paella is the stock that the rice is cooked in, that is where the flavor comes in, and the soccarrat is a matter of personal preference. You will get different answers as to how important it is. Also, a paella in Valencia has a slightly thicker layer of rice than an arroz seco (Alicante region) and the latter tends to have a more pronounced soccarrat than in Valencia.

Finally, just like a steak sometimes the cooking isn’t perfect, particularly on a busy Sunday lunch. In any case I am glad you appreciate the rice as the best part of the paella. Looking forward to the pepico report. Don’t forget to get both kinds of croquetas. They are fantastic.

[erica1]

TJ, thank you for all your insight and information.

Today, Monday, as planned, we took a taxi to CA PEPICO. although it might seem like overkill, I was glad that we had the two back-to-back rice lunches as that made it easy to compare them.

I got a good feeling as soon as we entered CA PEPICO. Surprisingly, both dining areas were just about filled on this Monday in November.

When I was asked if I had pre-ordered a Paella Valenciana, I told Pepe, the son of the late Pepico, that no, I had ordered the paella with setas and duck. He corrected me: OK, you ordered the arroz seco with duck, and vegetables.
Point taken!

A few things stood out: The menu is much larger here than at Napicol, and we noticed a couple of neighboring tables did not even have a rice dish. They have (as you know) a main menu and a “fuera de carta” paper sheet listing quite a few specials that, according to Pepe, change every day.

It’s not fair to compare service between the two because we visited NAPICOL on a Sunday when it was really bustling, but on the whole, the service at CA PEPICO was outstandingly welcoming and efficient, with Pepe and the various male and female wait staff checking in many times to see how we were faring. I just got a great feeling in this place right from the start. That bench outside dedicated to Pepico, who passed away last Christmas time…the photos of him as an old man framed on the wall; even his wooden cart mounted high on a shelf… (Can you believe that as we left after lunch, a wooden cart driven by a horse bedecked with fringes and all sorts of dangling things trotted by, ferrying his owner (?). Was this planted for us like a scene in a film?)

I just can’t say enough about how kind and friendly were Pepe, the main female server, and a couple of male waiters; Pepe’s wife works in the kitchen.
I do not think anyone on the staff speaks English but I’m not sure and, in our case, its did not matter. There were no diners speaking foreign languages, or at least I did not hear any.

I began with a half order of tallerines; these were nice but lacked that fantabulous cava sauce that caused me to swoon over NAPICOL’S berberechos. So they were good but not special.

What were special: The sautéed artichokes, the first of the season, first day on their menu. Maybe the best artichokes I’ve ever had and they way they salted them, where I could almost taste the ping of salt in every mouthful but they were not actually salty–amazing! Just amazing.

The arroz seco: This had abo.ut three times, if not more, the amount of garnishes than the one ate NAPICOL. I imagine there was half a duck there: Wings, necks, liver, and various meaty bits. Some of the meat was a tad dry but not so much that I waste put off. Two types of setas: Roverello and the black, smaller trumpeta de muerte. Two types of beans. Thyme.

Again, no socarrat, about the same amount of very barely crispy rice on the bottom. I liked the rice better here. For one thing, it was far less salty than the one at NAPICOL. My partner, on the other hand, much preferred the rice at NAPICOL. Go figure! To each his own. He was adamant in his preference for yesterday’s rice. Of course, he ate far too much breakfast, despite my, and your, warnings!!!

They served us an entrante of ensaladilla, very good, and slices of a sweet-soaked (honey?) cake after the lunch. I had a Mistela before the meal, and they gave us two glasses with dessert.

I’m a total novice here, as I mentioned but given the two, I preferred CA PEPICO, mostly for the warm family feel and the less-salty rice itself. I loved how the waiters stepped outside so many times to feed a number of stray dogs who lived with a “vagabond” under nearby bridge. I loved the photos of Pepico and the family pics scattered around, and all the personal attention and warmth. I liked the large variety of dishes other than rice.

So I give the edge to today’s lunch while my partner takes the opposite stance. The only sure thing is that we have to return to both.

CA PEPICO was slightly less expensive.with the rice at 16.50 each.
Clams: Half order: 8.50 euro
Smashingly great artichokes: 9.50
I Mistela (wine) 2.50. (2 granted at end of meal no charge)

Total, with water: 60.35

CA PEPICO, unassuming exterior:

Locally made sobresada, available on front counter:

Front dining area filled for Monday lunch; last booking: 2:30pm:

Main carta:

Fuera de carta which changes daily:

I’m getting tired so may have to continue with (many more) photos, tomorrow. Please forgive the break…

[tigerjohn]

Glad you enjoyed ca pepico. They really do create rhe most welcoming feeling. My wife said she felt like we were members of the family. I’ll have to try the duck rice there.

[erica1]

I so agree with your wife. I do wish I could have tried the seafood rice; my only option would be to order it for only me, however. (??).

Here are more photos of CA PEPICO:

Perhaps the best artichokes I’ve ever had!

Tallerines; media ration, or a half order:

Rice with plenty of duck and two types of mushrooms:

Pepico’s bench outside the restaurant, where he went to smoke:

Current Owner, Pep, with enthusiastic American tourist:

[erica1]

RAUSELL, VALENCIA.

We had two solid dinners at this long-running local favorite haunt. The long bar was filled every minute that we were there, seated in the dining room. Rausell is not fancy or creative but we liked it very much. After the last dinner the owner insisted on walking us outside and waiting until our taxi arrived. Quite a lovely man!

These photos represent dishes ordered at both dinners; there is a very popular take-out annex adjacent:

Quisquillas as a welcome dish I was spoiled by those a few nights before at TABERNA CASTELA in Madrid but these were good as you can tell by how few remained once we were almost finished with this course:

I’m no expert but might these be the best patatas bravas in Spain? I believe they were heralded as such by a well-known food critic; we fought for the last forkful.

Dining room after opening:

Rausell bar; always crowded with what looked like repeat diners:

Cartas:

Tallerines, half order; I could not bother with utensils.

Chuletas de Cordero, half order (not many places will cut these to a half order) and cannelloni of pollo and setas, with a lot of sauce; comment on that dish was “all right.” The lamb chops were nice.

With the second meal we also had a second order of those bravas…cannot get enough of those.

Each dinner cost us about 40 euro for two, with minimal alcohol.

BAR CENTRAL tin the Mercat Central, Valencia

So much has been written about Ricard Camarena’s casual bar that I’ll be brief here. We arrived at noon but since we had just finished breakfast I asked the host is we could return in an hour. No (I guess I knew that), we had to put our names down when we were ready to eat. At noon there was no line. When we returned at 12:45 there was one party ahead of us but the line grew to about 20 hopeful’s by 1:30pm. I was surprised that several parties were only relaxing over a beer feeling no need I guess to order any food. Is that an ok thing to do? Here I felt impolite ordering the little we did until my partner pointed out the others. The star here was the Bocadillo (sandwich) de Ricard, named for the legendary chef. Pork loin, mayo and (too much?) mustard on an excellent roll…super, super, super. Is it as good as the pork loin in red lard at VBENTA PINTO in Vejer? Maybe not, but it was so tasty that I’ve been thinking about it almost two weeks later and wondering if I could possibly made at home. (Unlikely). With that, we had a pair of croquettes de pollo–excellent flying no grease at all, and an equally excellent ensaladilla, although no restaurant we tried could match the bruleed ensaladilla at LLISA NEGRA which we had on an adjacent evening. But this was a great example of that ubiquitous Spanish dish. A restaurant owner in Sevilla once told me that, just as the French say they can tell the quality of a restaurant’s kitchen by the omelette they turn out, the same can be true of the ensaladilla in a Spanish restaurant. Following that lead, BAR CENTRAL is an excellent, if casual, restaurant.

Our bill was not much more than 21 euro:

Bocadillo at right, rear of photo. I wish I had one RIGHT NOW!!

LA SASTERIA in el Cabanyal, out of center city, Valencia

It’s part of a restaurant group and it’s very heavy on design but the food is good. We loved wandering around the immediate area, also home to the venerable CASA MONTANA which is just down the street.

We only had two dishes here: A coca (local flatbread) made from corn, topped with pesto of pumpkin seeds and sliced mogote of jamon, and some delicious beef meatballs with parmesan. Both were very tasty; neither would draw me there for a second visit unless I were already in the neighborhood (for example, at CASA MONTANA). They have a meat locker and a banque displaying the fish on offer. So what we ate was only a minisclue faction of dishes on offer, as we were not very hungry after BAR CENTRAL that morning.

Here are some pics of the design-heavy restaurant, and the pair of dishes we ordered, along with one glass of local Moscatel, and water. The tab came to 27 euro.

[erica1]

About 50 minutes from Valencia, CASA SALVADOR, at the end of a long peninsula that juts out from Cullera. For ingredients IN the paella, and starters I think this was my favorite of the five rice restaurants we visited during this two-plus-week visit:

Casa Salvador has been around sine the 50s; they post an award given for gastronomy from Juan Carlos I and a million other testimonials to the founder, no longer with us.

This place is vast! Many interior dining rooms and a long terrace facing the lagoon, which has another name in Spanish. Colorful rowboats, birds, water plants…you get the idea…it’s lovely, and only a block from the sea.

Our entrante was fried artichoke halves draped with jamon and this inks --hands down, among the my favorite dishes of the trip. It’s on the carta with eggplant but I asked for only the artichokes, just coming into season, with the jamon.

After that, paella with boneless duck and artichokes plus the usual beans. The rice was loaded with meat and veg. Loaded–far more ingredients than we had had before, and it was good to have the duck without the bones…so much meat!

And it had a good amount of salt, less than those at Napicol and Ca Pepico.

In short, I loved this place and also enjoyed being there at 2pm on a Sunday when the place was jam packed. Service A-plus. Our waiter, from Lanzarote (!) spoke English pretty well and they have cartas in Ingles.

Here are some photos of CASA SALVADOR, and our artichoke and paella; highly recommended. With a glass of white sangria (yes, and it was delicious!) and water, and bread with tomato and ailioli, the bill came to about 100 euro.

If you have a car: GO! If you have to go by taxi: Consider.

Unusually, the restaurant stays open from morning until about 11pm, non-stop, and rice dishes are offered, with advance notice, at lunch or dinner. I queried the waiter about the rices at dinner and he told me that many people come at that time. I asked if they were Spanish, or foreigners who come at that time and he answered, no surprise: “Foreigners eat rice for dinner.”

No socarrat, however. My quest has failed!!!

The pics with the greenery are the view from our table, at the edge of the water: