[Tuckerman]

Knowing that hunger would not be especially catered for at El Bulli later that evening at dinner, three of us drove up the coast from Roses for a fish lunch at a food board recommendation just on the Spanish side of the border.

Garbet is your perfect fish restaurant. On its own cove by the sea, it looks like a seaside Greek Taverna, but then you see the waiters in uniform, the menu (and the prices), the BMWs and Mercs and you realise that its your Greek Taverna with Spanish/Franco food (oh, if only all Greek Tavernas had French/Spanish food ) We ate the local "Espardenyas"- squiddish, but softer and subtler in flavour- an assortment of grilled fish and seafood, langoustines, clams, marlin, salmon in an anchovy sauce, a wonderful turbot poached on a bed of sliced potatoes braised with onion and tomato-and a terrific dessert of caramel filled raviolis, alonf with figs in wine and wild strawberries.

Everything sang of freshness, the sea sparkled in the sun, the food skipped lightly down and stimulated rather than satiated. Everything on the menu sounded good-the group next door were having a wonderful looking seafood paella (it was all we could do to stop orselves asking them for some ), a whole roasted fish looked like a golden piece of pork with the skin as crackling.......

I could have eaten everything on the menu (apart from the three folorn looking meat dishes, which are probably fine but WHY?)

This was the complete contrast to El Bulli-uncomplicated food, top ingredients, excellently cooked. An interesting comparison on the same day.

[Robert Schonfeld]

Tuck, thanks for my new sig line.

[Tuckerman]

Robert Schonfeld, on May 4 2005, 03:06 PM, said:

Tuck, thanks for my new sig line.

Absolutely-because that lovely Greek Taverna by the beautiful cove on that lovely Greek island does not know how to cook fish (or anything else) properly 99% of the time