The trip was planned around a gift that we received for Christmas, a one night stay in a hotel in Mora de Rubielos, in the outskirts of Teruel. Since the trip was a four hour drive from Barcelona, we divided it into two sections. The first night we made a stop in Tortosa, which is south of here, and it has a lovely Parador (government selected national monument, which has been turned into a hotel) where we decided to spend the night. Since we always love a good restaurant reccomendation, we chose a colleague who enjoys food as much as we do to guide us in those murky waters far from our comfort zone. He suggested we make a 15 minute drive to a town called Xerta, where there was a restaurant which had recently (2010) been given a Michelin star.
After we dropped our bags off at our castle turned lodging for the night, we made our way to our destination with our stomachs empty, and I mean really empty, and our expectations high. When we finally arrived at our little town, I was somewhat amused by its, well, smallness. I mean, even the roads were small, so small that the car wouldn't fit in the road, and we had to drive it a la Starsky and Hutch with two wheels on the sidewalk. It's incredible that we got lost, because when I say this is a one horse town, I mean it literally. We could not find our restaurant, Villa Retiro, and stopped some teenage girls to give us directions. They knew of the place, but told us, "Oooh, that is really far away!" She gave us the directions, and a minute later, after turning down a side street about 20 meters away........ Voila! There she was. This large outcrop of a building in the middle of nowhere with dubious architectural style. It was reminiscent of a scene out of Lost.....all of a sudden we were surrounded by tropical foliage, banyan trees, green iridescent lighting illuminating this pseudo colonial manse, with a large garden, pool and terraces straight out of Gaudi's Park Guell....All of this in the Ebro River Delta in northern Spain?!? I felt like I had somehow entered the Twilight Zone. But hey, I love these types of evenings, when nothing ceases to amaze you.
The restaurant itself is quite plain, what you would imagine an outdated seafood restaurant to look like. We were escorted upstairs to this blah dining room with a large tank of live lobsters at the back. I was suddenly feeling a bit uneasy about the whole experiment.....if the food mirrors the environment, we were surely doomed. But, the minute the Maitre came over to the table, my fears were immidiately dispelled, and I settled down for a lovely night, with my 2nd favorite person (1st being my daughter, of course) and let the magic happen. We perused the menu, and my first impression was.....I want everything. That happens to me often, so often that it happend to me last night, but alas, you will have to wait for another blog to find out!
I decided to go the Full Monty. There was one dish that caught my eye, and my boyfriend's, but I remained adamant that it was to be mine. And it was. But, let me go in order. We chose not to have the tasting menu, instead opting for an appetizer, main and dessert. We were told that we had to order the dessert in advance, since the kitchen made them to order. This is great for the restaurant, because they have a guarantee that you will have dessert, even if you are full. But as I said, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs ( I really wish I could beleive that but for posterity's sake I will add this) and we would order anything.
So, on to the food. We were first offered two mini bites:
I really can't say the same about the second taste item. It was goat cheese and apricot covered with sesame seeds, with an edible almond flower and placed over balsamic vinegar glaze. When she explained this to us, I thought....there are too many ingredients to this whole dish. But, unfortunately that wasn't the only thing wrong with it. The sesame seed completely cancelled out any other taste that the dish had. And I have to say that it would have probably been the same without them, because instead the balsamic glaze would have cancelled anything out. 
Now, please excuse the quality of the photo, but this is my starter. The name is ESMORZAR DE RIC- which translates to Rich man's lunch. Yes, they meant it literally. Wait for it.....Creamed potatoes, with caramelized artichoke, sauteed foie gras, a fried duck egg, all topped with freshly shaved black truffles. This is just, too good for words. The only way to eat this is to cut it all up and mix it together. The egg yolk, mixed with the foie and the truffles......oh, it is orgasmic. My boyfriend's starter was delicious as well, although it had a softer, smoother quality to it. If mine was the rich man's lunch, his was the noblity's lunch. Kind of like new money vs. old money.
This is his starter, a gorgeous brothy rice with fresh lobster (maine lobster, but obviously not from maine.) It was perfectly cooked, the rice and the lobster, in this divine broth made from crustaceans. I think that this is a dish that its subtleties made it more enjoyable with every bite.
On to our mains. By this time, to tell you the truth, I am quite full. Nothing like a plate of cholesterol to take your hunger away. But, we ordered fish as our mains, so it wasn't that bad. I do have to say that I wasn't very impressed with my fish though.......... it was a bit of the same thing with the initial cheese tasting plate. I think there were too many components. It was a poached sole, stuffed with mint butter, with a caper cream sauce and fresh peas and bacon, topped with roast red pepper. Honestly, it was cooked to perfection, but it was too much. The mint butter was so cold it really made a noticeable contrast with the rest of the dish, and it wasn't harmonious. I think that it would have been just perfect with just the caper cream sauce and the fresh peas. I found the mint butter, bacon and peppers to be extraneous. Now this is my dessert. It was called DELICIAS DE PLATANO
, or, banana delicacies. It was fantastic!! It was a surprise in every bite. The layers were, brandy flambeed banana, topped with nougat ice cream, with brownie chunks, whipped cream, chocolate pop rocks, and fried sweetened plaintains on top. Look at this! It was soooo much fun to eat, and delicious too! The only thing I can complain about is, that outside of the U.S., they don't know how to make brownies. They are always dry. But everything else was a success!
, or, banana delicacies. It was fantastic!! It was a surprise in every bite. The layers were, brandy flambeed banana, topped with nougat ice cream, with brownie chunks, whipped cream, chocolate pop rocks, and fried sweetened plaintains on top. Look at this! It was soooo much fun to eat, and delicious too! The only thing I can complain about is, that outside of the U.S., they don't know how to make brownies. They are always dry. But everything else was a success!I think that this little restaurant is a gem. If you are anywhere near Tortosa, or fancy making a day trip or a night out of it, stop here. You won't be disappointed. My next blog will be about our dinner in Mora de Rubielos. A 100% Black Truffle Tasting Menu. YUM.MY.
Carrer del Molins, 2
43592 Xerta (Tarragona)
977 473 810
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