When we arrived in Valencia last March, Vuelve Carolina was really new and hot, and though the service was a little bit hesitant, we were wowed by the food. Self-described as "tapas with a toque", it really is a lot more than that: it's Chef Dacosta's remarkable fertile gastronomic imagination reinterpreted in a relaxed, highly accessible package. Here are a few images from that first visit...
We just had to try the savoury 'yogur' — three flavors to choose from — which come in replica retro-style glass yogurt pots.
The one on the left was infused with the seafood flavour from the tiger mussels buried inside its dense creaminess; the other (also chilled) was full of parmesan umami under crisp shards of crackers and almond, perfumed with basil and mint...
Cristal — a length of crisp light ciabatta-like bread — served a bit like a pizza bianca, here with bottarga of tuna (hueva de attun), nice and rich and savoury, and with a light tomato salsa on the side to moisten the bread.
One of the prettiest gazpachos I've ever had the good fortune to behold. This one an homage to Ferran Adrià, which starts as a salad...
...before being then submerged in delectable smooth pimiento-rich soup.
We followed this with the gallina de los huevos de oro (the chicken/goose that laid the golden egg) — a wonderful slow-cooked egg covered with layers of golden "paper". Like several of the dishes here, it's based on a recipe originally featured at Dacosta's main restaurant in Dénia. Here at Vuelve Carolina we get to enjoy it for a fraction of the outlay.
As with the gazpacho, the dish is presented in its full glory before being doused with its deep thick warm chicken-base soup. Outstanding!
Then on to dessert: The bosca chocolate (homage to Torreblanca, the master patissiers), constructed from spongy chocolate-studded brioche base.
And the gianduja de citricos (homage to Santiago Orts), another fantastic dish as full of flavor as it is colour.
And just to underscore how affordable Vuelve Carolina is, here's the quenta (which included 4 glasses of good wine)...
[photos from this week's visit to follow in a separate post...]
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