February 2012
2 posts
¡Salud!
Last week our team took a break from the more tedious tasks of opening a new restaurant and enjoyed the cocktail testing phase of opening Boqueria DC. Here are a few of the concoctions we’re considering for the DC location: Padrón Margarita A refreshing margarita with a subtle background of spice imparted by infusing the tequila with a Spanish Pardón pepper. It’s mixed with lime juice,...
Our Manhattan Transfer
As construction continues at 1837 M Street, N.W., we’ve unearthed some interesting literary tidbits about our new DC home. The former townhouse that now encompasses Chipotle and the soon to be Boqueria was once home to 2 famous writers; Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore and John Dos Passos.
Eliza, an American writer, photographer, geographer, and the first female board member of the National Geographic...
January 2012
1 post
Boqueria is Opening in Washington DC
In two months, we will be opening our first Boqueria restaurant outside of NYC on the corner of 19th St. and M St. in Washington DC. The space was formerly a restaurant called Penang, and was an Italian restaurant before that. Since both of our current Boqueria restaurants were also built in spaces that had been restaurants for a long time prior (50 years in the case of the first Boqueria on 19th...
September 2011
1 post
Jean León Cabernet Reserva - The Man Behind the...
No wine on Boqueria’s list has a story behind it like that of the Jean León Cabernet Reserva. The namesake wine of a Spanish immigrant to the United States, the Jean León Cabernet is the result of one man’s American dream.
When nineteen year-old Cerrefino Carrión, a native of the northern Spanish city of Santander, arrived to New York as an stowaway on a merchant vessel in 1937, few could have...
August 2011
2 posts
Burger Bloodbath 2011
On Saturday, August 20th, Chef Marc Vidal competed in the 5th Annual Burger Bloodbath, a burger cook-off founded by former Eater editor and current executive editor of The Feast, Ben Leventhal.
The Gilt House, in Bridgehampton, provided the perfect backdrop for the end of summer soirée.
Among the talented Chefs in the competition were Wylie Dufresne (Wd50), Michael White (Marea, Osteria...
¡La Tomatina!
Every year on the last Wednesday of August in the town of Buñol, La Tomatina, the world’s largest tomato fight takes place. It is said to have begun when two young men (now in their 70’s) began throwing tomatoes at conservative officials during the town’s fiestas. The fight gained momentum drawing passers by into the battle and has been celebrated annually ever since.
At the onset of he...
July 2011
9 posts
San Fermínes: The Eighth and Final “Encierro”
A safe but spectacular race through Pamplona made the last running at this year’s San Fermín festival one of the most memorable. Daring participants were able to jump in front of the bulls at breakneck speed and keep their pace just steps ahead of the animals over long swaths of the route. This, Pamploneses would argue, was everything an encierro should be, a safe but dazzling display of man vs....
San Fermínes: The Seventh “Encierro”
Today the people of Pamplona held their breath for 2 minutes and 13 seconds while the bulls of El Pilar took to the streets. Although speedy, the seventh encierro had spectators turning away as participants were trampled, head-butted, and tossed in the air by the angry bulls. Although seven people were taken to local hospitals, none of them were gored. So exhale, Pamplona. There’s still one...
San Fermínes: The Sixth “Encierro”
Within seconds of the starting rocket, one of the bulls of the Victoriano del Río farm had already gored a 40 year-old Pamplona native in the lower back. And in the brief two minutes that followed in the sixth-fastest encierro on record the famously fast bulls of this renowned farm sent six others to local hospitals. A 42 year-old gentleman from Castilla La Mancha was gored in the right arm at...
San Fermínes: The Fifth “Encierro”
The Fuente Ymbro farm sent its best bulls out for a speedy trek through Pamplona this morning. It looked as though a dangerous run was in the works when one bull broke away from the pack early on, but when the results were tallied, it turned out to be the safest running since July 11, 2008. The only participant taken to the hospital was a young man from Catalunya with a broken finger.
Watch the...
San Fermínes: The Fourth “Encierro”
The bulls of the Ganadería Miura farm in Sevilla have a reputation for being noble and obedient, therefore running quick encierros with few injuries. Two years ago, however, the bulls of Miura had the longest running of the fiestas in an encierro which left no less than five people gored. But today the bulls stayed true to form with a speedy run. Despite more trips, falls, and tumbles than...
San Fermínes: The Third “Encierro”
The bulls of the Dolores Aguirre farm in Sevilla had the reign of Pamplon’s cobble stone streets this morning in a crowded encierro that left 4 people injured, one of which, a 23 year-old French man was gored. Weekend encierros draw larger crowds, and extra participants left little room to move in the streets keeping the bulls close together and making for a fairly uneventful run…
Watch...
San Fermínes: The Second “Encierro”
The aggressive bulls of the Cebada Gago farm took to the streets of Pamplona this morning in an encierro that left 8 people injured, two of which were gored. Early on in the running the 1224 pound bull “Esquillo” slipped and found himself separated from the pack, and shortly after the remaining bulls split into two groups. The haphazard positioning of the bulls probably led to some of the...
¡Encierro!
It’s July 7th and the festivities of the San Fermín Festival are well underway. Today is the first Encierro, the famous running of the bulls.
The tradition is said to have begun in North-eastern Spain in the early 14th century when farmers would transport their cattle to the market. In an attempt to expedite the process the men would spur the cattle on by frightening them. This...
¡Chupinazo!
On the morning of July 6th, thousands of revelers crowd into the small plaza in front of Pamplona’s city hall. Dressed in white with a traditional red faja sash tied around the waist, the party-goers keep red bandanas tucked away in their pockets until the official start of the fiestas at noon. The San Fermín festival, famous for the running of the bulls, is also arguably the world’s greatest...
June 2011
1 post
VIA EATER: Marc Vidal makes Croquetas con Morcilla
Last week on Eater’s Sound Bites: Tuesday, May 31, 2011, by Amanda Kludt
“Boqueria’s executive chef Marc Vidal makes his chicken croquettes with blood sausage, a dish that is much more complicated than it may seem at first. And in charge of the grooves today is Garotas Suecas with their song “Banho de Bucha.” Ahead, the chef explains what he’s doing...
May 2011
2 posts
Boqueria's 2nd Annual Calçotada
Every spring in Cataluña (Northern Spain), the Calçotada Festival celebrates the spring’s harvest of calçots, a spring onion similar to a large scallion or a small leek. During this popular, local gastronomical event, friends and family gather at a masia (typical Catalan farm) where the calçots are barbecued over large open-flamed steel grills by the bushel.
Once charred to black, the...
Introducing Jamón Ibérico de Bellota at Boqueria...
The quintessential element of Spanish cuisine is, with out a doubt, Jamón. It can be found in literally every home, at almost every meal and in every tapas bar or restaurant in Spain.
Until very recently the only type of Jamón that could be imported into the United States was Jamón Serrano. Literally meaning mountain ham, Serrano ham is made from the...
April 2011
1 post
Chef Vidal Featured on The Feast
Yesterday, Chef Vidal, was featured, on NBC’s The Feast, in an article titled “Marc Vidal Brings Spanish Tradition to Boqueria, Preps for Expansion.” Click here for the story and pictures!
Photo & Article by: Matt Duckor
March 2011
5 posts
"The Sorcerer's Apprentices"
Ferran Adrià was at Boqueria Wednesday night to celebrate the launch of a new book by Time Magazine editor Lisa Abend about the chefs who intern at El Bulli called “The Sorcerer’s Apprentices”. (Marc Vidal was at El Bulli in 2000, the last year when the restaurant was open for both lunch and dinner, a grueling pace according to Ferran himself).
Buy the book on Amazon here!...
Staff Spotlight
The best part of Boqueria isn’t our beautifully designed restaurants, expertly prepared foods, or carefully chosen wines. The best part of Boqueria is the people who work here. Starting this week, and once a month thereafter, we’ll introduce you to the managers, servers, hosts and cooks that make our restaurant great. This week we sat down with the General Manager of Boqueria...
Time Out For Hunger
Boqueria is proud to be participating in the eighth annual Time Out For Hunger on March 20, 2011 and donating 10 percent of the day’s proceeds to the Food Bank For New York City. Last year the Food Bank for NYC raised $60,000 in the Time Out For Hunger campaign; that’s 300,000 meals for hungry New Yorkers.
Please join us for Brunch or Dinner this Sunday and help us and the Food Bank for NYC...
Wine.....On Tap?
Boqueria Flatiron introduces a new wine to it’s list today, but don’t count on table side bottle service - this juice is served on tap!
The Gotham Project PX 2010 / Pedro Ximénez ~ Chile 20L keg There isn’t more iconic Spanish grape then Pedro Ximénez (PX), traditionally used in production of sweet Sherry. This one is a rare find from Chile, where Spanish conquistadors...
Boqueria Turns Green!
We are very proud to announce that last week we received our Two Star Green Certification from the Green Restaurant Association! The GRA is a national non-profit organization that provides a convenient and cost-effective way for restaurants, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers to become more environmentally responsible.
We feel that our...
February 2011
1 post
Locally Raised Berkshire Hog
This week we received a whole, locally raised, Berkshire Hog from Fossil Farms (NJ) that the Chefs at Soho are using for some very special dishes.
Fossil Farms NJ
The 100 % Certified Berkshire Hogs are raised in Sussex County, NJ, (Northwestern corner of the state). Their partner farms practice sustainable farming and husbandry techniques and raise all of their animals with humane...
January 2011
1 post
Wellness in the Schools
Boqueria is proud to partner with Wellness in the Schools in the “Cook for Kids” program: “In partnership with the New York City Department of Education’s Office of SchoolFood, Wellness in the Schools operates the Cook for Kids program in NYC public school kitchens. Their carefully recruited and well-trained Cook for Kids WITS in Resident cooks work alongside cafeteria ...
December 2010
4 posts
Food Bank for NYC: Eat. Celebrate. Support.
While NYC is a city of extreme wealth, it is also one of significant poverty and growing disparities where over 1 in 5 residents relies on some form of charity to meet their food needs. Boqueria (and previously Suba) have been supporting the Food Bank for NYC for nearly 10 years and we were honored to be included in last night’s celebrity chef studded launch of the Food Bank Culinary Council...
XUIXO de CREMA
At our last installment of Boqueria University, Chef Vidal made Xuixos (cream filled pastries) a favorite at the tapas bar Pinotxo at the Boqueria Market in Barcelona. The staff enjoyed them so much they asked that he share his recipe. This recipe is credited to a pastry shop in Girona, a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain, who’s owner learned the recipe from a French pastry...
WatchChef Vidal making a very special Empanada Gallega
November 2010
1 post
Boqueria University: A Visit to the Boqueria...
Nearly every month, we gather Boqueria’s staff for what we call “Boqueria University”, a series of classes on the food, wine, history and geography of Spain. For Marc’s introductory class as a member of the BU “faculty”, we created a class on our namesake; the Boqueria market in Barcelona, Spain.
Everyone came in and had Chuchos (delicious cream filled...
October 2010
1 post
Introducing Marc Vidal - Executive Chef, Boqueria
Most of my earliest childhood memories involve my grandparents’ restaurant where, from an early age I helped out doing dishes, peeling potatoes and other prep, serving drinks, and generally doing whatever was needed to feed 150 of our neighbors every day of the week.
My grandfather’s first restaurant, where my mother grew up
My mother opened around 7 every morning, and I would often get...
August 2010
1 post
La Tomatina
Every year on the last Wednesday of August in the town of Buñol, La Tomatina, the world’s largest tomato fight takes place. It is said to have begun when two young men (now in their 70’s) began throwing tomatoes at conservative officials during the town’s fiestas. The fight gained momentum drawing passers by into the battle and has been celebrated annually ever since.
Official “La...
July 2010
1 post
Spanish Butcher Shop Installs Meat Vending Machine
Just after posting the previous blog post, Hams and YouTube, about the odd juxtapositions of very old traditions and brand new technologies found throughout Spain, we ran across the following article on Eater of a 103 year old butcher shop that is now utilizing meat vending machines!
Spanish Butcher Shop Installs Meat Vending Machine - Eater Wednesday, June 9, 2010, by Raphael Brion
...
June 2010
1 post
Hams and YouTube
On a recent trip to Malaga and Madrid, it struck me that Spain in 2010 is a country where odd juxtapositions of old (very old) and new (brand new) await you at every turn.
I took this picture in a small grocery store in Ronda for instance. In front of a Jamón Ibérico display that would have been the same 50 years ago, sat a computer monitor showing…a You Tube clip of a pop singer. ...
May 2010
2 posts
World Cup 2010
The World Cup. Le Mondial. El Mundial. A World Cup by every other name sparks the same passions. Passions no other sporting event in the World can even come close to. The best players of the most popular game in the world, representing their countries on the world stage, and Boqueria will be showing every game.
View the World Cup Schedule Here Brasil is, yet again, the favorite, but Spain...
Calçotada Festival This Sunday Evening at Boqueria...
Every spring in Cataluña (Northern Spain), the Calçotada Festival celebrates the spring’s harvest of calçots, a spring onion similar to a large scallion or a small leek.
Photo by Balavenise
During this popular, local gastronomical event, friends and family gather at a masia (typical Catalan farm) where the calçots are barbecued over large open-flamed steel grills by the bushel.
Photo...
April 2010
1 post
New Artisanal Cheeses at Boqueria
Leonora Country of Origin: Spain Region: Castile and León City / Village: León Type of Milk: Goat
From the dry, arid hills northwest of Madrid comes this large brick of soft, cakey Alpine goat’s milk cheese that will dazzle your palate with bright grass and lemon flavors. The crusty, natural rind makes a beautiful contrast with the pure white interior.
...
March 2010
1 post
Boqueria University: Valencia
Last week the staff of Boqueria gathered at our Soho location for our monthly installment of Boqueria University. At each session the managers and chefs choose a different region of Spain and prepare a discussion on the local culture, food and wine as well as a tasting of regional wines and cuisine. This month’s region of discussion was The Levant, one of the oldest inhabited and wine growing...
January 2010
3 posts
Introducing New Artisanal Cheese Selections
Spain has a rich tradition of artisanal cheese making, with over 100 different varieties, each reflecting the tradition, landscape and climate of the region from which they hail.
Being a large part of the tapas culture in Spain and here at Boqueria, we feature 10 varieties on a regular basis and starting today, we will feature two new cheeses a week to supplement the list.
View our Artisanal...
Support Doctors Without Borders in Haiti
© REUTERS/Kena Betancur, courtesy www.alertnet.org
In response to the recent earthquake in Haiti, Boqueria restaurants are working to raise $5,993 for Doctors Without Borders’ relief effort. This sum is the amount needed to purchase an emergency medical kit to meet the basic needs of 1000 people struck by disaster, for 15 days. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an...
Feliz Día de Los Tres Reyes
Boqueria wishes everyone a Happy Three Kings Day. Here is our recipe for Roscón de Reyes - Enjoy!
Ingredients 1/2 cup sugar zest of 1 lemon zest of 1 orange 2 1/2 tsp dry yeast 2/3 cup milk (90-100 F) 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp 3 eggs 2 TBSP orange-flower water 1/2 tsp salt 3 cups sifted AP flour Olive oil 1/2 cup candied dried fruit, roughly chopped Directions In a food...
December 2009
4 posts
Año Nuevo y Reyes Magos
New Year’s Eve, or Nochevieja as it is called in Spain, is a day for celebration and superstition. People wear red underwear to bring them good luck and eat 12 grapes during the last minute of the day to ensure prosperity in the year to come.
Spaniards get together with their friends and family to greet the New Year and after dinner, everyone gathers around the TV to watch the celebration at the...
Feliz Navidad
Spaniards, like people all over the world, celebrate the holidays in the company of family and friends. Not unlike here in the States, the holidays are a time of feasts, charity, gift giving, dancing and song, but certain celebrations take on a unique and decidedly Spanish character. The most definitive symbol of Christmas in Spain is the nativity scene or “Belén.” These scenes are displayed in...
Holiday Sangria with brandied cranberries
For the brandied cranberries 1 bag fresh or frozen cranberries 2 cups sugar 1.5 cup water 0.25 cup triple sec 0.5 brandy 1 cinnamon stick 1 clove 1 star anise Simmer spices, sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and heat over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to boil remove from heat. Add brandy and triple sec. Allow the cranberry mixture to cool. For the Sangria 1 bottle...
Boqueria University
Once a month the entire staff of Boqueria gathers at our Soho location for what we call “Boqueria University”. Each session the managers choose a different region of Spain and prepare a discussion on the local culture, food and wine. Seamus and the Chefs contribute some typical dishes (more typical than what you might see on our menu day to day), Gil picks some wines from our list to pair with...
November 2009
3 posts
Next Iron Chef: Behind the Scenes, Episode 7
“And so it begins….” or ends…this past Sunday was my last battle on the road to becoming the Next Iron Chef. We were in Tokyo, charged with creating a five course Kaiseki inspired meal, 60 minutes to shop for all our ingredients in the Tsukiji fish market and 120 minutes to prepare the meal. It was rough, it was beautiful, it was inspiring, it was painful. It was perhaps...
Next Iron Chef: Behind the Scenes, Episode 6
Photo Courtesy of The Food Network
“Going to Japan was in many ways the realization of a culinary dream. I am a huge admirer of Japanese food and have wanted to go for years. My first impressions of Tokyo were incredible, the packaging of produce, the quality of seafood, the attention for detail, all amazing. Our first challenge was to produce 5 skewers, focusing on Umami in 30 minutes in...
The Next Iron Chef: Behind the Scenes, Episode 5
“Battle India, from Hollywood to Bollywood! We had no idea what was in store for us. The day before the battle we were told to be dressed for a formal party and that a van would pick us up at 7 pm. Everyone got changed, we met in the lobby and we were taken to a huge venue space in Hollywood, packed with people (mostly Indian), formally dressed. Inside there was a huge Indian buffet, a...
October 2009
7 posts
The Next Iron Chef: Behind the Scenes, Episode 4
“There was nothing easy about battle Tamarind. Nothing. We had 90 minutes to shop and cook a Mexican inspired meal incorporating tamarind into every bite. When we got to Grand Central Market in downtown LA the place was already packed with shoppers.
Photo Courtesy of The Grand Central Market in Los Angeles
I had a five minute advantage because I won the previous battle, but with my...