I can remember my year as a high school junior and prom. I was so excited for that Saturday in May to come, but I didn’t care too much about the dance or even about my date. Sounds kinda crazy, but I was more concerned about what restaurant we were eating at. I grew up in a small town in the central valley near the mountains (Porterville) and the best restaurant was 30 minutes away in Visalia. So I would get permission to go to the Vintage Press and have my culinary treat. It was nice because it was a great dining experience without my parents around and it made me feel like an adult. I didn’t understand half of the menu, but I did know that it tasted really, really good. I can say that from that point…I was hooked.
Now, the shows on The Travel Channel and Food Network have really brought restaurants from all over the world right to your home. So, I see a Chef named Ferran Adria, from a restaurant in Spain called El Bulli on a killer show called No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. Adria was doing amazing things with Molecular Gastronomy, and put I on my list of “Big Things I Gotta Do.” Unfortunately, the restaurant books the first week in January for the entire year. That’s why I was so surprised to find out that he was closing El Bulli indefinitely.
He says he was losing a half million Euros a year with his restaurant and would rather have that money go to his new academic studies. So in 2012, he will close his doors and focus on a cooking school. You might say I have two years but since I didn’t nab my reservation this January, my next chance will be January 2011. Trying to get one then should be fun… or should I say impossible.
My dreams, for now, shattered. My thoughts of running around Spain drinking Albarino, Sherry, and going to El Bulli will have to be limited to the just the drinking part. Maybe it will just be sangria or some mediocre paella…who knows. What I have learned since the days of The Vintage Press is that it’s not the restaurant, wine, or scenery. It’s the person sitting across the table from you that makes the experience–it’s the other stuff that just adds to it.
Wow! That’s big news. Hey, I’d love to join you if you pull it off, and maybe I can even help. Amazing!