Today has been interesting. I was reminded of the fact that just enough is more. We had a quick bite at Casa Mono for lunch. We started off with shaved jambon and crispy, salty, bacalao croquetas with orange aioli. Our next round of plates had fried calamari with lemon and griddled dorada with dates and celery. To conclude the meal we ordered the duck egg with mojama which was served with golden brown fingerling potatoes and a shaving of black truffles, griddled artichokes with mint, and "kentucky fried" sweetbreads with fennel cooked a la plancha. The dishes progressed in texture and flavors. I enjoyed the progression of tastes, so much so that I needed to order two more dishes. Mind you we were enjoying a bottle of 2002 Pesquera and I felt a few more bites of food would help finish the bottle. I brazenly waved my hand in the air, ignoring Aki's raised eyebrows across the table, and ordered the guinea hen with cranberry mustard fruit and the skirt steak with onion mermelada. Our server suggested the pork chop with quince and granada instead of the guinea hen and I accepted his recommendation.
I should have counted my meal complete and just savored the wine and the company. Instead, two dishes came forth, unfortunately overcooked, the pork dry and sweet while the steak was just fatty and leathery. And yet, the pepper like relish which came with the skirt steak was awesome. I could eat it on a shoe, which is good because I practically did. Anyway, after a few bites I paired it with the pork and it was tasty.
In hopes of atoning for my sins of ordering too many savory courses, I ordered a single dessert as well. We had the crema catalan with bay leaf fritters. Again, I can be pretty stupid. I should have listened to my own words of wisdom and known that just enough is more. The fritter batter was tough and chewy while the crema was rich and decadent; too rich for Aki's taste, a two-biter in my world of tastes.
All things considered we had a tasty lunch. Somehow, in my hope to extend the dining experience we ended up falling a bit shorter than expected. Oh well, someone needs to pay for those orange clogs.
