Our Favorite Restaurant on the Planet

The finest restaurant in the bustling resort town of Sitges is El Velero (the wooden ship). We eat there at least once a week. We never miss their weekly menu which matches 5 courses with 5 wines - the Marriage of Wines. I first noticed Velero in 2005 when walking along the seafront. I noticed a stack of Wine Spectator magazines and the Marriage of Wines menu through the window. It was love at first sight(bite)!


The food and wine were incredible.



Chef and owner Florencio Martinez is a master of both traditional and nouvelle interpretations of Catalan cuisine. He is a great guy - none of that Gordon Ramsey, hell's kitchen insanity.


Florencio cooks using only the finest of
ingredients: seafood from just down the coast in Vilanova, angus beef from Scotland, and herbs he harvests himself from the local mountainside.







His son, David, is a master sommelier, winner of Spain's 2008 Sommelier of the Year competition, and a budding winemaker. He has introduced us to dozens of wines from Spain's diverse regions. We love the local cava and still wine of Penedes. Of particular interest are the wines from the six wineries in the Garraf National Park just outside of town.



Now that I have your attention let's see some food.

Catalan Xato salad, with special------------------- House cured salmon.
dressing, salt cod and anchovie.

Broiled eggplant with Spanish ham, cheese and caviar.

Strawberry Mousse stuffed in a pastry tube.



Wines will have to wait for another time.