H
Harters
New member
Of course, it was the sort of evening when you want to sit outside for dinner. But then, everyone had said that, for your first time, you must eat inside at Celler la Parra. They’d said it was quirky. And they were right. Of course, the Celler isn’t a cellar and, founded in 1962, was possibly never a place where wine was stored. But it’s been “done out” in a style to suggest that it was converted to a restaurant early in the last century. You know the sort of thing – someone went down the local fleamarket and bought a job lot of “stuff” to hang on the walls or stick in cupboards. I liked it.
As to food, the village of Llubi doesn’t appear much in the Mallorcan guidebooks. It’s somewhere near Inca, I think. And what they do in Llubi is grow capers. Now I like capers. They’re a great Spanish product. So, when I saw a starter of tongue with Llubi capers, there was never a doubt that I was going to order it. But it was a disappointment – not least as it was, I think, the most expensive starter on the menu. The meat was fine – several thin slices of good tongue. The capers should have provided a sharp, piquant contrast to the unctuous meat but there were far too few of them to do anything like the job. The thin tasteless sauce did nothing but add wetness to the plate. This was a duffer of a dish – but it was the only duffer of the evening.
Tumbet was the other starter. Perfectly fine, if not the finest example you’ll ever come across. Yellow courgette, aubergine, waxy potato and red pepper, topped with a decent tomato sauce. A few fried whole garlic cloves lifted the dish. And we still had some bread for dunking.
Aubergine took centre stage in the main course that followed – stuffed with a long-cooked and very tasty minced meat, lightened with a little rice. Luckily the tomato sauce from the starter was worth eating as it also cropped up here, covering the baked aubergine. Alongside, some salad and crisply fried chips provided a welcome contrast to the softness of the aubergine and mince.
Suckling pig was as fine an example as you’d want to come across. A good sized portion of very tasty pork. A little covering of soft sweet fat and a superb crisp thin skin. Chips and salad garnished this plate as well.
Good value for money at around €43, including a jarra of house red and a couple of bottles of water.
As to food, the village of Llubi doesn’t appear much in the Mallorcan guidebooks. It’s somewhere near Inca, I think. And what they do in Llubi is grow capers. Now I like capers. They’re a great Spanish product. So, when I saw a starter of tongue with Llubi capers, there was never a doubt that I was going to order it. But it was a disappointment – not least as it was, I think, the most expensive starter on the menu. The meat was fine – several thin slices of good tongue. The capers should have provided a sharp, piquant contrast to the unctuous meat but there were far too few of them to do anything like the job. The thin tasteless sauce did nothing but add wetness to the plate. This was a duffer of a dish – but it was the only duffer of the evening.
Tumbet was the other starter. Perfectly fine, if not the finest example you’ll ever come across. Yellow courgette, aubergine, waxy potato and red pepper, topped with a decent tomato sauce. A few fried whole garlic cloves lifted the dish. And we still had some bread for dunking.
Aubergine took centre stage in the main course that followed – stuffed with a long-cooked and very tasty minced meat, lightened with a little rice. Luckily the tomato sauce from the starter was worth eating as it also cropped up here, covering the baked aubergine. Alongside, some salad and crisply fried chips provided a welcome contrast to the softness of the aubergine and mince.
Suckling pig was as fine an example as you’d want to come across. A good sized portion of very tasty pork. A little covering of soft sweet fat and a superb crisp thin skin. Chips and salad garnished this plate as well.
Good value for money at around €43, including a jarra of house red and a couple of bottles of water.