Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Really? It’s Noma!

THIS is exciting. I just saw the list of the top 50 restaurants in the world. El Bulli has been replaced at the top spot by a Danish restaurant called Noma.

Now, THIS is the cool part, although it DID take me awhile to remember and I did need to confirm it with several folks, but I’VE BEEN TO NOMA.

The bad news is it that it was pre-blogging and so I have no documentation and also very little memory of it. Should I admit it was only 5 years ago?

I do remember that the restaurant was hard to find and that it was on some deserted quay across from a beautiful part of Copenhagen. I wouldn’t exactly call the building a warehouse, as they do on their website, but it was rustic.

About the food…I remember some simple, yet unusual for me, fish preparations. And I remember that we could see the kitchen from the dining room. But that’s IT! That’s all I remember! It’s hardly worth bragging that I’ve been there! Obviously, I need a second visit to refresh my memory and I won’t forget my camera this time.

PS I’ve been to El Bulli too, but long before Ferran Adria had invented (or some say “codified”) molecular gastronomy. He had arrived at El Bulli in 1981 in the era of Nouvelle Cuisine. This was the menu back then.

It was about 25 years ago, when we were living in Madrid and traveling around Spain. We took one of the most treacherous roads I had ever been on to a little country restaurant sitting on the cliffs. It was pitch black, so we couldn’t see anything outside, which might have been a good thing, since the roads were so scary.

I remember large terracotta uneven tiles on the floor and maybe a wooden farm table in the front foyer of the restaurant. I also remember LOVING the food, but not what we actually ate. H(usband) has been there since and sent me pictures of each course. It looked amazing. I’m just glad I have my memories of the place, even though they are fleeting and fading fast.

Am I the only one to have such poor recall of great eating events? Remember, though, I am talking about the days before we took pictures of every salt cellar and bread stick.

4 comments:

DebCarol said...

I think most people tend to remember the atmosphere of a restaurant experience over the exact foods that were served. And the service . . . if the service was horrible that trumps all, I don't remember anything but that. One of the fondest memories I have of a great dining experience was at a small restaurant, just on the border of Philadelphia. There was a Chef there, a graduate of CIA, who put her heart and soul into each plate that came out of the kitchen. The Wait Staff made you feel like you were the only person in the room, there was one perfect rose in a vase on the table and I have no idea what I ate !!

Sue said...

DC,
I'm so with you! Bad service is far worse than so-so food in my book.

But, um, why aren't you sharing the name of THAT restaurant?

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

So many of those restaurants are right in NY and I haven't been to any of them! The closest I ever came was that I have clients in the Madison Park building and I was visiting them with a coworker and we joked about going there for lunch. I think we got a "concrete" at the Shake Shack instead.

Of course there are some restaurants out there you feel deserve to make the list, but never will, but you will always love them. To me, I don't think I could ever have better food, atmosphere, or service than The Iron Forge Inn, although I suppose some places may come close.

Sue said...

I know Rach,
Isn't it a shame? I think I can squeeze five out of that list and only one is from New York.

And the important thing is that the Iron Forge Inn is on YOUR list.