Ive been a fan of Quique Dacosta's for a long while now. However the journey down to Denia where…read morehis flagship has always eluded me. I come back to the area a couple years later and he's now got three restaurants! So what do I do? Go to all of them of course!
Having carted me around for a good day and also cooking for me in their home, I felt I needed to treat my friends to a night out. Since we had done many traditional eateries the few days prior, it was time to get a modern take on the local Spanish cuisine.
Unlike the remote flagship in Denia, Vuelva Carolina is smack dab in the middle of the Valencia city center. After the stone like facade with the large open glass windows and doors, the makeup is majorly blonde wood throughout, accented in every way. It's very modern, nothing like the tapas bars in the rest of the old town. A set of banquettes line the left side, recessed into the wall.Plentiful bar seating is opposite. As you look forward,the wine cellar towers above the entrance to a back dining room, with the kitchen and restrooms sweeping to the right. It is notable that chef Dacosta has built El Poblet, the former restaurant owned by his parents where his flagship lies now is right next door.
We are seated in the middle of the main room my friends peruse the menu and realize these are takes on many of the foods they grew up with. So I let them order, after all this is their night. We are started with a bowl of olives, a selections of rolls and bread crisps. My friends being the Spaniards they are, immediately get a bottle of Pazo Senorans Albarino from Galicia. My friends confer with our server and we end up with:
-Mackerel wrapped in bitter greens
-Jamon sliced thin in savory sauce
-Shaved una belly in savory sauce
-Foie gras cuba libre
-Scallops in their shell
-Grilled octopus with pimenton
-Date cake with almond ice cream
-Chocolate torte with mandarin oranges znd their gelee
-Violet Yogurt
Everything was delicious. My friends quickly realized the flavors were all mostly from their childhood but the presentations were all reinterpreted. Sometimes no initial recognition but when it hit their palates, you could see the look in their eyes of familiarity. All I know was it all tasted great. The service was solid and they took great care of us. I think some of it may have been because of an encounter Ill describe below.
I got to use the restroom and as I walked through the back dining room I saw a familiar face. A man I had seen at lunch at Ricard Camarena's restaurant earlier in the day. We look at each other and we start to chat. Turns out he's Rafael Palacios of the famous Palacios Rioja family. He however has decided to go on his own and make wines with the Bobal grape in Galicia. He's sitting with a local winemaker of Bodega Mustiguillo. What are the chances in all of the restaurants in Valencia and all of the time slots, that I would run into this man twice in the same day? The world is a crazy small place. When I get back from chatting with him and the restroom, the sommelier shows up with a bottle of 2012 Mestizaje. I look at my friends, they look at me. "Did you order this?" I say. "No. I have no idea where it came from" they respond. The somm then tells my friends that Rafael and his friend had sent it over. Talk about hospitality! They dont even work at the restaurant. I think the mutual love of food however, could not have gone un noticed and as I always say, "the best way to be accepted by a culture is to eat their food".
Not only did I get to celebrate with my friends, we got the opportunity to make new ones. I will definitely be visiting their vineyards in my next trip to Spain. Top that off with the great food we had, it made for one great night. We had just missed chef Dacoasta by an hour or so, but I would be headed to see him in Denia the next night. An awesome alternative to your familiar traditional Spanish fare, done with flare and creativity, with plenty of Spanish hospitality to boot.
