Cinc Sentit

It is said by some that Barcelona has surpassed Paris as the best place to eat in the world. One of the reasons for this observation is Cinc Sentit (meaning Five Senses in Catalan), a restaurant run by a Catalan-Canadian chef, his mother and his sister which has gained a trans-Atlantic reputation for fine food.

We ordered the tasting menu to get a survey of what the restaurant had to offer, and found the quality and creativity of their food to be of the first rank. Our meal started with a layered shot of rock salt, warm maple syrup, chilled cream, and cava sabayon, a whipped custard made with sparkling wine. The shot is warm and cold, salty and sweet, and rich and creamy, all at the same time (photo). It is accompanied by a tapas of dry-fried marcona almonds and pimento-stuffed gordal olives.

Next came marinated mussels on green asparagus cream, followed by foie gras in a crisp pastry crust, with glazed leeks and caramelized sugar. The fourth course consisted of a large perfectly sauteed scallop, on a Jerusalem artichoke puree that had been seasoned with onion sauce. The second fish course was a piece of turbot filet on a bed of fresh young peas and pureed garlic shoots (photo).

The Iberian suckling pig was crisp and succulent, and served with apples of two textures. Then we were served anise and fresh mint sorbet, to clear the palate. Of course, each course was accompanied by a glass of the appropriate Spanish wine, selected to perfectly compliment the flavours of each dish.

The first dessert was three variations on the orange; blood, navel and kumquat, served with "pop rocks" a childish and unexpected addition. The final course was chocolate olive oil ice cream with shattered bread and macadamias, a combination that sounds unlikely, but was delicious. The coffee came with five different kinds of sugar, presented in test tubes (photo).

This dinner was most memorable, truly a sublime pleasure for all of the cinc sentit. We don't yet know if Barcelona has indeed surpassed Paris as the food Mecca, but we will let you know our findings after we get there.