Restaurants I Want To Go To

November 18, 2018November 18, 2018 GOING NINETY MILES1 Comment

With the holiday season coming up it all really turns to food. Am I right? What’s on the menu for Turkey Day? While obviously Spain doesn’t celebrate it, Felix and I always try to make a nice dinner on the weekend after. I’ll remember to do a weekend update to let you know about it. Gonna try a new side dish – something with potatoes! And of course, I will need to make my favorite of favs – deviled eggs.

So, food. The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards just came out and wouldn’t you know but number 2 is in Girona, Spain – El Cellar de Can Roca. Putting this on my list of restaurants to try. Plus I have always wanted to check out the medieval city of Girona.

I’m only sharing the top 10 here (three are in Spain!). Click on the link above to read the full list. And congrats to numero uno – Osteria Francescana in Italy. Gotta get back to Italy soon too.

So many places so little time!

1. Osteria Francescana (Modena, Italy) *best restaurant in Europe*

2. El Celler de Can Roca (Girona, Spain)

3. Mirazur (Menton, France)

4. Eleven Madison Park (New York City) *best restaurant in North America*

5. Gaggan (Bangkok) *best restaurant in Asia*

6. Central (Lima, Peru) *best restaurant in South America*

7. Maido (Lima, Peru)

8. Arpege (Paris, France)

9. Mugaritz (San Sebastian, Spain)

10. Asador Etxebarri (Axpe, Spain)

eat ~ mallorca · food · Majorca · Mallorca · restaurant · yum

Laos ~ Colonia St. Jordi, Mallorca

October 14, 2017October 24, 2017 GOING NINETY MILES2 Comments

Another one of my favorite restaurants in Colonia St. Jordi is Laos. They actually advertise it as restaurant – bar – chillout, considering what level you are on.

The bottom level is the restaurant with a patio out front, a covered outdoor area and then my personal favorite, the inside where you watch the chefs make the food – I love to do that. Of course, then I start watching for my food and I tell Felix – hey! I see ours, it’s coming out soon. And then it’s served to another table. Patience is a virtue.

The staff is super friendly. Laos is run by a sister – brother team and they couldn’t be nicer. Or sweeter. The normal Spanish bread and aioli (which I find so tasteless and boring) most restaurants typically serve is not the thing here. Nope. A most delicious chicken pate covered with an orange sauce and a fresh, personal-sized, homemade baguette plus yummy olives is their “amuse bouche”. And damn it’s good, don’t say no to that.

The menu is quite large (and in many languages) from salads to steak tartare to lamb chops to salmon. And they offer half portions or full portions to most of the selections (which I think is cool). But my most favorite thing about Laos is that every month they have a specials menu – three appetizers, three entrees and usually one dessert. And the first time we go every month I always try one of the specials. Last month they had salmon ravioli and oxtail on the specials menu and we ordered that the entire month. It was THAT good.

After you’ve eaten to your hearts content. Have a delicious dessert – my favorite is Crema Catalan (pretty much crème brûlée (so many accent marks with that one!) with a strawberry sauce on top – so freaking delicioso).

When you are full and happy, you can head to the top floor which is their chillout area. Overlooking the one of the main streets of C. St. Jordi and just a block over from the sea, its the place to be. With its open windows, the fresh breeze and a cocktail in your hand, you can relax and let the cool tunes and mellow vibes wash away all your problems.

It’s Saturday and we are planning to go to Laos tonight. See you there!

LAOS RESTAURANT Av. Primavera, 26, 07638 Colònia de Sant Jordi 971 65 58 73

eat ~ mallorca · food · Majorca · Mallorca · yum

Top 5 Restaurants in Palma

February 12, 2017 GOING NINETY MILES4 Comments

palma-cafe

There are so many restaurants to choose from in Palma. And so many good ones too! Over the years I have been to quite a few. Here are my top five that I feel are best overall – in food, price and atmosphere. Still looking for that great Mexican restaurant here!

What are your favorites in Palma? Please share in the comments!

These first two are in the Santa Catalina area. LOTS of bars, LOTS of restaurants and usually a lot of fun.

nola

NOLA – This place just feels like home to me. They have Brooklyn Lager on tap and some darn good cajun cookin’. Whenever I am missing my good ole U.S. of A, I head on over to NOLA and eat some fried pickles and a big plate of BBQ ribs. So tasty, great flavor. And on most Wednesdays it’s RIB NIGHT – all you can eat ribs for 15euro per person.

Also great is the Jambalaya and Gumbo. Actually, it’s all delish. GO!

NOLA C/San Magí, 13 +34 971.667.006

rotana

ROTANA – Just up the street from Nola is Rotana. If you are craving some yummy Lebanese food, this is your place. I like to get the assorted starter to share with my peeps – hummus, falafel, stuffed grape leaves and more. Then my favorite lamb dish as a main course and I am FULL! They also have a few tasting menus to try. The mint tea is a perfect end to your dinner. Or they have hookahs that you can smoke from! Not sure if you have to bring your own tobacco.

You can sit inside or outside (if the weather is nice). But careful, on some nights they have belly dancing inside and the music can be a bit loud.

ROTANA C/ San Magí, 58 +34 971.286.078

The next two are in the Old Town of Palma – My favorite area is the Old Town (La Antigua Lonja), full of narrow alleys, historic monuments and inspiring architecture. In just a square kilometer there are quirky cafes, funky shops, art galleries and of course lots of restaurants.

bov

LA BOVEDA – Tapas, tapas and more so very delicious TAPAS! The classics – prawns and garlic in oil, Iberian ham, pa amb oli, plates of tempting cheese and sausages. I recommend their plate – Estrella de la casa, which has a little bit of everything. If you’re lucky, you might get the occasional guitarist. Go early because it gets full quickly. But if that happens you can always go over to their sister restaurant around the corner – La Taberna de la Boveda

La Boveda C/ Botería, 3 +34 971.714.863

forn

FORN DE SANT JOAN – This one you definitely need a reservation for if you want to eat here. They do have online reservations, which is nice. And it is a bit on the pricier side than the others but worth it. Full on menu with lots of tapas style appetizers to start with – my personal favorite is one of the oysters, the grilled octopus and the king crab. Then there is a grande selection of things to tempt your palate with pastas, fish and meat. Oh and the desserts! The cocktails are excellent, the service is superb and it is one of my top favs on the island.

And if you want, you can go across the street to the over-the-top bar cocktails at Abaco Cocktail Bar. It’s pricey, but quite the experience.

Forn De Sant Joan C/ Sant Joan,4 +34 971.728.422

And my last one is in the Genova area of Palma. If you don’t have a car, you will need to get a taxi to get here, but it’s not too far out of Palma.

cj-wine

CASA JACINTO – This is your typical Mallorquin/Spanish restaurant that focuses on the popular tapas, fish and meat. Not much decor to talk about but it’s more of a place with good food, good prices, nice waitstaff and to get in with the locals and away from main stream of Palma. Order some dates with bacon or the pimientos de padron for a starter and my favorite is cooking your own steak on the hot stone they bring to your table. The house wine is pretty good too.

Casa Jacinto Cami de Tranvia, 37 +34 971.401.858

BUEN PROVECHO!

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food · france · paris · travel · yum

Paris Rue des Rosiers aka Falafel Street

August 10, 2015September 11, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

I had some hours to kill in Paris before my plane back to Mallorca in the evening. I had done a bit of research (like always, hello!) to find something cool, different to do. And like always, it usually ends up with food. We all gotta eat! And to quote Anna Lösegeld directly – “Isn’t it funny how we have to eat?”. And true that Anna, we do. She is one smart cookie.

My search brought me to Rue des Rosiers. A divine street with hip, cool shops but is also known for its delicious Middle Eastern and Eastern European specialties, as well as some of the best restaurants in the area. I went to L’as du Fallafel, which claims (rightfully) to have the world’s best falafel. This sandwich comes with grilled eggplant, cabbage, tahini, hummus, and hot sauce. But don’t think that nobody else knows about it. Prepare to wait. But they were decently fast about it. You can also sit inside but the place seemed quite crowded and you must wait for a seat. The outside line moved pretty quickly.

I’m at the end of the line and just ordered my falafel. Some dude is standing by the line taking orders, very proficient!

Almost there!!

Competition directly across the street.

Sooooooo close now, I can taste it.

HALLELUJAH!!

It was all it was cracked up to be and more. And apparently, Lenny Kravitz is a fan of L’as du Fallafel. Hey, you never know who you might run into. After you eat, continue exploring the bookshops, boulangeries, and trendy boutiques. This is one cool street, peeps. And this was on a Sunday! So get thyself over to Rue des Rosiers. You won’t be disappointed.

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food · ireland · Road Trip · travel · yum

Restaurant ~ Stoop Your Head in Skerries, Ireland

November 28, 2014September 27, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

After Newgrange we were hungry but we wanted something with a bit of a nice view. We took the “scenic” route, scenic to us because this was all new! And tried to drive along the coast as much as possible. We came into a small fishing village on R 127 called Skerries. It was almost too perfect. We spotted a restaurant by the harbor. It’s name – Stoop Your Head. Awesome name, must be an awesome place. My friends, it did not disappoint. Everything was so delicious.

Apparently we weren’t the only hungry ones. The place was packed. It isn’t that big of a place but it does have an outside patio to eat at too. But the weather was a bit chilly so we waited for a table to open up.

Finally one did. Hooray! I had my usual Ireland drink order – Guinness with black currants. And we each ordered the seafood chowder and I ordered the Rockabill Crab sandwich on brown bread. They have quite the full menu – everything, really. From soup, salad, sandwiches, appetizers of paté and falafel to main courses of tempting fish pie, baked salmon or Irish fillet steak. My mouth is now watering thinking of the savory foods! All of their meat is fully traceable from farm to fork. And they only use Free-Range Chicken and Eggs.

You must check this place out. It is only a 20 minute drive north of Dublin. And about the name – well, it is true, some of the doorways are a bit short. And you MUST STOOP YOUR HEAD! Enjoy. And don’t forget about the Guinness!

food · new york city · usa · yum

Sweet Chick

August 2, 2014October 12, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

Get thyself over to Sweet Chick pronto. Not only was this restaurant a perfect stop after a girls night out with the fabulous, one and only Jeannette Cornell; it was also the best fried chicken and waffles that I’ve ever had. It was SO good, that we showed up the next morning for another round. Yup, you read me right – less than seven hours after shoving our faces full of belgian waffles and crispy fried chicken completely slathered in syrup in our stylin hotel room at the new Ludlow Hotel, we did it again. This time adding bloody mary’s to our brunch.

Um, yeah. See what I mean!? Check out the link above for their full menu options but everything sounds mouth watering – Kale BLT Salad, Mac N Cheese, Bacon Wrapped Oysters, Duck Confit, and the Pickle Plate with watermelon rinds, okra, eggs, carrots and dill pickles is what I will be starting off with next time. They have two locations, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Check it out soon and I promise you will not be disappointed. Sweet Chick, I love you.

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2014 · amsterdam · food · save our world · travel · yum

The Seafood Bar ~ Amsterdam

May 11, 2014October 11, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

The Seafood Bar restaurant in Amsterdam is where it’s at. We got there around 9:30 while navigating the streets with my iphone, we turned the corner walked a few steps and bingo, there it was! As we walked into the restaurant I could already tell this was gonna be good. The place was casual, fun and the food on everyone’s plates looked amazing.

The place was completely packed. We asked a waiter for a table and he said there would be one opening soon. But then we decided to eat at the bar. So we sat down, adjusted ourselves for some damn good food, and just as we did that the table against the wall (pretty much the third table back that you see in the picture above) opened up. We asked our kind and funny waiter again if we could have it and magically it became ours. We ordered a bottle of white (dry) and looked at the menu. I had no idea what to order! Everything sounded tantalizing. The lobster soup to the boiled king crab legs to the plate of oysters, I had major trouble deciding.

Donita settled on the lobster soup (delicious, fyi) and the prawns mango salad while I ordered the fruits de mer. Again our humorous waiter reminded me that this was a cold plate that I ordered. Good with me! Maybe Donita needed the cold plate considering she mentioned while our waiter was near that she was hot as she fanned herself with the menu. The waiter then helped her with the fanning process and said, “Shall I help you with that? And, by the way, of course you are hot!” Haha. He had a line for everything.

Check out our food. First, Donita’s prawns mango salad:

Looks amazeballs! And my fruits de mer. Lemme just say, it did NOT disappoint.

From the restaurant, to the food, to the service, this place was top notch. PLUS, what I liked about it the most is The Seafood Bar uses exclusively day-fresh products of the highest quality. Their products are 100% natural with no additives. When possible they use biological and Fair Trade products that have a transparent and responsible origin.

I look for this more and more in the restaurants that I go to. I want healthy food, but also I want food that has obtained the correct way. Look around people, this world isn’t going to last forever if we keep treating it badly. Wake up.

If you are in Amsterdam, do not miss The Seafood Bar. It is located at the Van Baerlestraat 5, one of the most beautiful streets of Amsterdam. The Vondelpark is on its side and only two blocks away from the Rijks museum.

ENJOY!!

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catalonia · eat ~ mallorca · food · Mallorca · spain · yum

Please pass the coca.

February 9, 2013November 19, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

Coca is so muy delicioso!

I bought some at the bakery the other day. Doesn’t it look scrumptious?

This coca to be exact is the coca trempó (also known as coca de trampó). It is a pastry made of pepper, onion and tomato. The coca trempó is popular in Mallorca and the Balearics. And it is my favorite. My friend Pilar, her mother makes this every summer and I pretty much don’t leave the table until it is done. Feeling adventurous? Here is how to make it… in Spanish even. You can do it!

The coca is a pastry typically made and consumed in Catalonia, eastern parts of Aragon, most of Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Andorra and in French Catalonia. The coca is just one way of preparing a dish traditionally made all around the Mediterranean.

There are many diverse cocas, with four main varieties: sweet, savory, closed and open. All of them use dough as the main ingredient, which is then decorated. This dough can be sweet or savory. If it is sweet, eggs and sugar are added, and if it is savory, yeast and salt. As regards the topping or filling, fish and vegetables are usual at the coast whilst inland they prefer fruit, nuts, cheese and meat. Some cocas can be both sweet and savory (typically mixing meat and fruit).

A popular coca is served during is the “Coca de Sant Joan”, a sweet coca with candied fruits and pine nuts, typical of Catalan summer solstice celebration.

But whatever coca you choose to enjoy, the are all DEEELISH. Just look at the variety to choose from.

It’s a hard choice but one you have to make. I know – try one of each!

Buen Provecho!

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