La Tienda, 1st May 2009.

My children, after seeing my posts on past La Tienda dinners, had been asking me if they could try the dishes. My wife and I figured my family would like the dishes as well, so La Tienda was my choice for my 44th birthday dinner. This was the day after Aaron's olive oil and wine tasting lunch. Earlier on, Miguel, though in Barcelona (then at the airport, actually, on his way to Milan), graciously arranged my menu with Chef Javi Lecumberri.

Still sick and a bit out of sorts because of my medication, I prudently vowed to minimize drinking wine - so I limited myself to one glass each of white, rosé and red. Naturally, with the typical Spanish dishes, all wines were from Spain. I had forgotten to bring my camera, so had to take photos with my phone's camera - please excuse the poor quality of some shots. Anyway, I didn't take many as I was busy enjoying the food, wine and company - besides, I ordered all my old favorites which I have written about thrice before: here, here and here. Just to complete this post, however, I will pull food shots (some by Miguel) from our previous La Tienda dinners.

We were 9 persons in all: my wife and 3 sons, my dad, brother, sister-in-law, youngest sister and myself. My other sis who lives in the US called me during the dinner to wish me a happy birthday. Our menu was a litany of favorites. To start, we had:

Escalivadas (a typical Catalonian dish)

Boquerónes (fresh anchovies)

Pulpo à la Gallega (octopus as served in Galicia)

Kokotxas (a typical Basque dish made from fish ganglions)

With these excellent starters, I paired...

2007 Laxas Albariño - From Rias Baixas, a D.O. in Galicia that includes Condado do Tea, Val do Salnés and O Rosal. Albariño is a white wine grape that most all authorities consider performs the best in Rias Baixas (and I definitely agree, having tried several Portugese versions, alvarinhos, which have been comparably insipid). Albariño wines are typically dry, brightly/sharply acidic and floral. As such, in Galicia, they are traditionally paired with seafood dishes the area is famous for.

This wine, as before, displayed fresh, brightly dry, crisp, vibrant mineral/flint touched, slightly grassy green apple, guava, grapefruit, gooseberry and a bit of ripe lemon. There is a slight, appetite-enhancing almond bitterness that comes in towards the back. Its sharp acidity gives over-all lift to the fruit, making for a lively and refreshing wine.

With the aforementioned dishes, it was perfect. Even my youngest sister, who doesn't drink as much wine as the rest of us, loved it.

The next gustatory salvo was made up of Paella de Verduras (made with Basmati rice) and Besugo al Horno...

With which I served...

2007 Marco Real Homenaje Rosado - a grenache based rosado from Navarra, east-northeast of Rioja. I've written about this crowd pleaser of a rosado so many times, I need not belabor how good a wine it is, how well it pairs with many Spanish and Filipino dishes or how good a deal it is at its price.

This rosado was a great match with the paella de verduras and the garlic-laced besugo al horno. It has never let me down either with assorted tapas at Terry's 2º Piso. Even my two teen-age sons can't get enough of this.

Thereafter came the Chuleton...

...which I paired with...

2002 Bodegas Alion Tinto Reserva - I've written about this maker, owned and run by Spain's pride, Vega Sicilia, and have had, on numerous, separate occasions, their vintages 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004:

With 18 hectares of tinto fino (what they call tempranillo in Ribera del Duero), this bodega's maiden vintage was in 1991. The Reserva Tinto is (the) only one wine produced by this bodega, no white or crianza or anything else. Only 100% new French oak is ever used - rare these days in Spain where many use a lot of less expensive American oak - but, then, if anyone there can afford 100% new oak barrels all the time, it, obviously, would be Vega Sicilia. Barrel ageing is 16-20 months.

I decanted this upon arriving at the restaurant and, so, it had been breathing for around 2 hours by the time I started pouring with the meat course.

In a word, it was delicious. Firm and strong, rich in blackberry, cherry, some raspberry, kirsch, chocolate, licorice, cedar and vanilla/oak. Good acidity keeps the richness in check, precluding it being cumbersome and flabby, the oak very well integrated. Marginally leaner than the 2001 and 2003, but with seemingly better acidic balance. This is also clearly much more ready to drink at this point. Loved it, and so did my brother and sis-in-law. I believe my dad liked it too.

The other long table next to us was filled with abuelas, likewise celebrating a birthday I believe. They kept the resident "Trio los Panchos" busy with requests for Spanish songs as they sang along. We didn't mind at all, it added to the celebratory air; we actually sang along with a few songs. They even played a couple of old songs "Pregúntale á las Estrellas" and "El Reloj y La Vela" which my late mom used to sing to my dad when they were young.

For dessert, we had Torrejas de Leche which we ate so fast, I wasn't able to photograph it. Nice milky ice cream served with it. Very nice. Double espressos ended my memorable birthday meal.

Javi and Miguel, many thanks for helping make my birthday dinner so enjoyable. It was really great and my whole family enjoyed the food, festive ambiance, everything. Until the next!