Finally got back to try more things.
Ordered the namesake jamón Ibérico de bellota ($40), this is what we got. Asked the server what the fuck, he said they trim it a lot. I meant to ask what they did with the fat, I’d order that dish instead. Says hand-sliced on the menu, but it was very thin and absolutely uniform. Again, what the fuck?
Looks like I neglected to photograph the tortilla (“Spanish potato, onion-&-tetilla omelette, mushroom alioli, black truffle,” $25). Came out hot, browned, with cheese, salad, and trumpet mushrooms on top. Looked pretty much like this Yelp photo:
Neglected to photograph the arròs negre (paella of squid ink rice, shrimp, calamari, clam, olive, piquillo pepper, $62) as well. We wanted to wait to order it but the server said it took 40 minutes so we said OK, go ahead. It came out in more like 20 minutes.
It was topped with huge prawns and tiny clams that were cooked perfectly. The rice was dry and slightly chalky, and didn’t taste like it was made with seafood stock (contrary to Chowseeker1999’s “it might’ve been a touch too overpowering with the oceanic brininess” five years ago) or with a significant amount of olive oil or garlic. No hint of socarrat. Looked much like this Yelp photo only with five prawns.
Nothing was downright bad, but the jamon, tortilla, and arròs negre were like nothing I’ve ever had and did nothing to satisfy the cravings that took me there. Maybe they get a lot of skinny, fat-averse customers (looked like almost all techies, which makes sense since they’re in the AirBnb building) and changed the recipes accordingly. “Why is all this gross fat on the ham?” “This omelette is cold, take it back and bring me a hot one.” “Take this paella is too garlicky and fishy, take it back and run it through the deflavorizer.” Outside of being baffled by the food we had a good time.
The bill included $1.50 for mas pan and $2.00 for mas tomate, which we did not order.
