Can Jubany is about 100 km North of BCN and is Nandu Jubany's vanguard kitchen in search of serious…read moreperfection of the farm-to-table concept. We found Can Jubany worthy of the trip from BCN as the cuisine was ingredient-driven, not involving alien flavors just for weirdness sake as has become the gastronomic trend of some gastronomic kitchens.
Can Jubany embraces the farm-to-table model and ensures the high quality of his raw materials by actually growing most them in the small garden and farm that is across the parking lot from the restaurant. These raw materials, fresh from his actual farm next door, are then refined to an extraordinary level while maintaining their recognizable flavor in his glass enclosed kitchen. During our tour of the small farm, asparagus, tomatoes, beets, peas, herbs and calçots were in season and the chicken and other fowl were providing both eggs and meat for the various dishes.
Can Jubany might best be described as a down-to-earthy masia-restaurant where locals gather together to enjoy excellent Catalan food on weekends together. There is also an outdoor patio were dinners gather post-dinning to enjoy more libations and a cigar or two.
For us, our food entertainment was lunch that took place over a 4 hour period and was titled "A Stroll Around Catalunya" and included:
Pork's tribute - Jubany sausage, cracking cheek port, andpork belly foam in an edible rice cone
Vegetable garden - included red beet, blue cheese and prune
Pumpkin gnocchi - parmesan cheese serum and Iberian ham
Puffed pastry with foie gras, caramelized figs and a little salad
Codfish "brandada" cannelloni, onions and honey
Sautéed ceps mushrooms with pork belly and egg yoke
Sea cucumber rice with langoustines broth
Hake cooked iat slow temperature with pickled vegetables
Roasted young lamb with potatoes puree, vegetables and mushrooms
Desserts included - seasonal vegetables dessert; dessert of citrus fruits and textures;
The wine pairings were also well selected/matched to complement the tastes of each course(s), and included:
Carles Andreu Trepat Rose (D.O. Cava); Sameiras 1040 (D.O Ribeiro); Venus La Universal (D.O. Montsant); Rasim vi pansit blanc (D.O. Costers del Segre) ; and Mas Llunes Garnatxa Solera (D.O. Emporda). The Mas Llunes and Rasim were clearly some of the best wine we have ever tasted. Not surprising as the Mas Llunes was awarded the Great Golden VINAR 2013 of all 700+ competing wines from Catalonia.
Our only observation regarding the sommelier was that they were very knowledgeable but were always asking 'what kind of wine would you like to have with the next course".
So overall, as we have noted in another of our gastronomic adventures, Can Jubany is currently a Michelin 1* restaurant that in our exploration was producing Michelin 2* cuisine.
Clearly you know when you have had a fantastic gastronomic experience when you can remember the highlights (many of them) months later. Now, if we could only figure out how to get from Barcelona to Can Jubany easily vs an expensive cab ride each way or stay in a hotel near by for the evening.
