Critics’ choice: Three takes on the flavors of Spain

Manzanilla New York

Modern Spanish food has been, in New York, “a cuisine in need of a hero,” said Joshua David Stein in The New York Observer. Enter Dani García, as if on a white steed, eager and prepared to triumph in a city where many an acolyte of Catalonia’s world-renowned El Bulli has already fallen. The 37-year-old chef, who operates the two-Michelin-starred Calima in his native Andalusia, has gambled big in his first U.S. venture, opening this two-story, 150-seat “Spanish brasserie” in the Flatiron District. And he’s provided a menu that at first “seems like no great shakes”—octopus appetizers, suckling pig, and black rice fill a lineup that “reads like a Now That’s What I Call Music! compilation of greatest hits.” But García turns every cliché into a surprise. His squid-ink-and-cuttlefish croquettes, made with a sauce that combines milk and mussel jus, “may be the best fried thing in the city.” His pulpo à la gallega, served in a custom wooden cloche, sets cherrywood-smoked octopus atop peppery potato gnocchi that have been crisped with a blowtorch. Clearly, a savior has arrived. 345 Park Ave. S., (212) 255-4086

Rincón 38 Minneapolis

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Tapas may be ubiquitous these days, but few tapas chefs are as “ridiculously talented” as Hector Ruiz, said Emily Weiss in the Minneapolis City Pages. The Cordon Bleu–trained chef brings French technique and a passion for Basque, Italian, and Latin American cuisine to the small-plates menu at his intimate corner restaurant. All of Ruiz’s food is “fabulous, accessible, and completely affordable, especially considering the caliber,” but his seafood dishes are “far and away his best and brightest.” The piquillos de atún—peppers stuffed with tuna and set atop a baguette coated in tomato and citrus oil—taste like “the lightest and loveliest tuna melt you’ve ever had.” The langoustines are so sweet, “they could almost be mistaken for dessert.” But Ruiz’s best work has to be the pulpo plate— braised octopus, spicy chorizo, fried potatoes, and “a mélange of creamy and vinegary sauces.” The dish is “a master class in the balance of texture and flavor.” 3801 Grand Ave. S., (612) 824-4052

Chico Madrid Seattle

I’m just going to come out and say it, said Bethany Jean Clement in TheStranger.com. Chico Madrid is a restaurant I could see myself going to every day, “possibly forever.” The tiny café and bar on Seattle’s Capitol Hill specializes in simple, delicious Spanish fare. Recently, I stopped in once a day for a week and reveled in the array of flavors. On day one, I paired a romaine salad peppered with “salty-tart” preserved lemon with a very solid $4 pan con tomate. For my next late lunch, it was the bacon bocadillo, a baguette sandwich made with three thick slices of bacon, tomato pulp, aioli, and salsa verde. “Like everything at Chico Madrid, it is not rocket science; it is a simple, authentically Spanish snack that is really good.” On Saturday, I stopped in for a sangria and couldn’t resist adding a few slices of serrano ham and soft Garrotxa cheese to my order. Needless to say, I’ll be back again next week. 711 Bellevue Ave. E., (206) 453-3234