Camino Estell s/n, 46012
Valencia, Spain
Many cities were tossed around when we were planning our trip to Spain. As soon as I found out that Valencia was the paella motherland, I knew we had to make a stop in this city, even for one night, to sample what many people have deemed the best paella in the world.
We settled on L'Establiment, a popular paella restaurant in the town of El Palmar, a fishing village about 20 minutes outside of Valencia. The restaurant is nestled in the Albufera lagoon area, where all the authentic paella rice is grown. L'Establiment was impossible to get to. Knowing that a taxi would cost an arm and a leg, we tried to track down a red bus line that was suppose to take us to El Palmar, or at least close to it. With our limited Spanish, the four of us ran around all over town, trying to find this elusive bus, with no success. We were so hungry and exhausted that it didn't take much convincing to get everyone to take a taxi to L'Establiment.
No one's Spanish was up to par so we let the manager recommend a few dishes for us. I can't recall the names of everything, only what the basic ingredients are.
Fried cod - Not much can be said or remembered about the deep-fried cod. It was the accompanying roasted red pepper chutney that really got our taste buds excited. It was the perfect combination of sweet, salty and acid - we couldn't stop eating it.
Sauteed Shrimp - Nothing special or impressive about this dish. The shrimps were cooked in a tangy sauce sprinkled with green onions. I don't even remember eating this, so you can imagine how good it was.
Worse dish of the meal - I can't remember what this was, only that it was a fish cooked in a tangy tomato sauce and very fishy. This dish was left pretty much untouched.
Seafood paella - Now THIS is what made the entire adventure worthwhile. The paella rice was cooked al dente, drier than any other paella I've had in the US (which I love - the last thing I want to eat is soggy paella). Each rice kernel was slightly moist and separated, without clumping.
You can see how the bottom of the rice was nicely charred - scraping up the crunchy bits was the best part of the dish. My only qualm was the paella was too heavily salted. However, the great texture and flavors of the rice and seafood more than made up for the salt.
We finished off the meal with shots of frozen dessert liquor. Too strong for a 3PM meal but a great way to sample Valencia's alcoholic offerings.
All in all, this was quite the paella adventure. While we will probably never make our way out to El Palmar again, the memories of this awesome paella won't be forgetten any time soon. You don't need to travel 20 miles outside of Valencia- there are definitely some great paella places closer to the city that we would have loved to try (L'Estimat, La Pepica). Until next time, Valencia!
Valencia, Spain
Many cities were tossed around when we were planning our trip to Spain. As soon as I found out that Valencia was the paella motherland, I knew we had to make a stop in this city, even for one night, to sample what many people have deemed the best paella in the world.
We settled on L'Establiment, a popular paella restaurant in the town of El Palmar, a fishing village about 20 minutes outside of Valencia. The restaurant is nestled in the Albufera lagoon area, where all the authentic paella rice is grown. L'Establiment was impossible to get to. Knowing that a taxi would cost an arm and a leg, we tried to track down a red bus line that was suppose to take us to El Palmar, or at least close to it. With our limited Spanish, the four of us ran around all over town, trying to find this elusive bus, with no success. We were so hungry and exhausted that it didn't take much convincing to get everyone to take a taxi to L'Establiment.
No one's Spanish was up to par so we let the manager recommend a few dishes for us. I can't recall the names of everything, only what the basic ingredients are.
Fried cod - Not much can be said or remembered about the deep-fried cod. It was the accompanying roasted red pepper chutney that really got our taste buds excited. It was the perfect combination of sweet, salty and acid - we couldn't stop eating it.
Sauteed Shrimp - Nothing special or impressive about this dish. The shrimps were cooked in a tangy sauce sprinkled with green onions. I don't even remember eating this, so you can imagine how good it was.
Worse dish of the meal - I can't remember what this was, only that it was a fish cooked in a tangy tomato sauce and very fishy. This dish was left pretty much untouched.
Seafood paella - Now THIS is what made the entire adventure worthwhile. The paella rice was cooked al dente, drier than any other paella I've had in the US (which I love - the last thing I want to eat is soggy paella). Each rice kernel was slightly moist and separated, without clumping.
You can see how the bottom of the rice was nicely charred - scraping up the crunchy bits was the best part of the dish. My only qualm was the paella was too heavily salted. However, the great texture and flavors of the rice and seafood more than made up for the salt.
We finished off the meal with shots of frozen dessert liquor. Too strong for a 3PM meal but a great way to sample Valencia's alcoholic offerings.
All in all, this was quite the paella adventure. While we will probably never make our way out to El Palmar again, the memories of this awesome paella won't be forgetten any time soon. You don't need to travel 20 miles outside of Valencia- there are definitely some great paella places closer to the city that we would have loved to try (L'Estimat, La Pepica). Until next time, Valencia!
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