Boqueria Restaurant

Spring is just around the corner and that gives us a great excuse to start pouring (and drinking) some great new white wines.

This year our New York locations will be toasting to the new season with the most unique and exciting collection of Galician wines we’ve ever featured.

Spanish wine guru Gerry Dawes traversed the northeastern reaches of Green Spain to seek out this handpicked selection of Albariño and Godello from some of the country’s most out-of-the-way small production wineries. These one of a kind wines transport you to Galicia. Cool rolling green hills, salty sea air, crumbling stone mountainsides…it’s all right in your glass.

Albariño grapes, Meaño, Val do Salnés Rías Baixas (Galicia).
Photograph by Gerry Dawes©2012.

Tinto drinkers, no need to see red! Gerry didn’t forget about you. An amazing Mencia grown on the craggy cliffs of Ribeira Sacra rounds out the selection and makes for the perfect final stop on any Boqueria barstool journey through Galicia.

Here’s the line up, pouring now at both NY locations.
Stay tuned for the back story on each winemaker and their Galician juice!…

Adegas D. Berna 2010 ~ Godello

Lagar de Broullón 2010 ~ Albariño

Lagar de Candes 2010 ~ Albariño

Avó Roxo 2010 ~ Albariño

Rozas 2010 ~ Albariño

Cabaleiro do Val 2010 ~ Albariño

Viña Cazoga 2011 ~ Mencía

Feb 27

“Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non”

Named for the municipality of Padrón in the providence of Coruña in Spain’s North Western Galica, these beautiful sweet peppers are fried until the skin blistered and are generously sprinkled with sea salt. Sometimes spicy, 1 in 10 depending on the time of the year, they are perfectly addicting.

The tropical notes of Albariño, a variety also found in Galicia, will round out the spice and saltiness of the peppers. We recommend the Finca de Arantei with flavors of peaches, apricot, jasmine tea and wet stone. The flavors are equally rich and complemented by vibrant acidity, with a long and lasting finish.

Feb 04

Torta del Casar

New to our repertoire of artisanal Spanish cheeses is the Torta del Casar, from the city of Casar de Cáceres in Extremadura, Spain.

In the production process, cardoon thistles (relative of the artichoke), are used as a vegetarian source of enzymes and replace the acid or rennet that is traditionally used to coagulate the milk. The result is a pleasantly sharp, rich and extremely creamy texture, perfect for spreading.

Jan 22

Featured Winemaker: Bodegas Ponce

In the region of Castilla-La Mancha lies the Manchuela DO, a land of high plateaus, winding rivers, deep gorges and spectacular landscapes.

The Bobal grape, with its colorless and meaty pulp, thick skin and vibrant color, finds it home here and thrives in the long, hot dry summers. It is this grape that young wine maker, Juan Antonio Ponce has embraced like no other wine maker in the region.

Having learned vine husbandry from his father and after a 5 year stint as winemaker and vineyard manager at Bodegas Telmo Rodriguez, Juan Antonio began the Bodegas Ponce winery in 2005 at the age of 23.

Embracing biodynamic vineyard practices, wild yeast fermentation and natural wine making methods he has created a portfolio of wines that celebrate the rusticity of Bobal and other native and lesser known grapes of the region.

THE WINES OF BODEGAS PONCE
Boqueria is proud to feature the portfolio of Bodegas Ponce and Juan Antonio Ponce as this quarters featured wine maker.

Bodegas Ponce “Clos Lojen” 2011 / Bobal ~ Manchuela
Bright raspberry fruit with an earthy finish and a distinctive funk.

Bodegas Ponce “La Casilla” 2011 / Bobal ~ Manchuela 
Dried rose petals with elegant red fruit and vibrant minerality.

Bodegas Ponce “P.F.” 2011/ Bobal ~ Manchuela
Pure Bobal. Pre-phylloxera vines boast deep ruby fruit and a penetrating acidity.

Bodegas Ponce “Pino” 2010 / Bobal ~ Manchuela
Aromas of wet chalk and gypsum give way to a boisterous balsamic palate and lingering spice.

Bodegas Ponce “Buena Pinta” 2011 / Moravia Agria, Garnacha ~ Manchuela 
The virtually unknown Moravia Agria (a local blending grape with naturally high tannin and acidity) adds freshness and tart fruit to the rustic Garnacha.

Bodegas Ponce “Reto” 2011 / Albilla ~ Manchuela
Luscious lemony fruit with stony acidity and a long finish.

Jan 06

Roscòn de Reyes

Chef Vidal’s Roscòn de Reyes, Three King’s Bread, commemorating the arrival of the 3 Kings (3 Wise Men) on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany.

Jan 04

NYE 2012 in Washington DC

Dec 18

We are so proud of our DC team for making the Washingtonian list of the Top 10 Restaurant Openings of 2012 and even happier to be part of the DC restaurant scene!

Dec 13

We couldn’t be more proud of the most recent addition to our family; Boqueria Hong Kong. In Tuesday’s restaurant review on Bloomberg.com, Frederik Balfour explored Hong Kong’s recent obsession with Spanish cuisine and visited 3 new Tapas spots, yours truly included.

Of the many tapas samples, Balfour highlighted the baby squid served in a romesco vinaigrette, tomato confit and crispy scallions which he and his dining companions “wouldn’t let the waiter remove…until [they’d] mopped up every drop of the sauce with bread.” They finished the meal with Piña Inopia, slices of fresh pineapple served with molasses and fresh limes that he describes as “simple yet sublime.”

Dec 06

Brandied Cranberry Sangria

We love this Sangria for a festive holiday treat.

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 Spanish Rosé
1 cup Spanish Brandy
1 cup triple sec
2 cups cranberry juice
1 cup pomegranate juice
0.5 cup lemon juice

To serve,
pour ingredients over ice and
top with one heaping teaspoon
of cranberry mixture
and an orange slice.

Refinery 29 loves it too! It made their NYC Holiday Cocktail Map:

Nov 19

Drunken Goat

Featured Cheese at Boqueria Flatiron:
Queso de Murcia al Vino (aka: Drunken Goat)

A fatty goat’s milk cheese from Jumilla in the province of Murcia (Southeastern Spain). The cheese is cured in a local red wine for 3 days. The wine, a Doble Pasta, is made from Mourvedre grapes and is macerated with double the normal ratio of grape skins to juice. The doubling of the grape skins and pulp results in a heavy, dark red wine that imparts the reddish-purple color to the rind of the cheese.

The cheese, aged for 75 days, is semi-soft, sweet and smooth with a delicate grape flavor. Pairs beautifully with a glass of Tempranillo. After all, the cheese shouldn’t be the only one to enjoy the wine!