Gresca, Barcelona, 11/11/16

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Exterior

Gresca has about a dozen tables with a open kitchen in the back of the house. They offer longer tastings but at lunch they have a nicely priced lunch tasting menu with 2 choices for each of three courses. The friendly staff spoke good English but the majority of talk I heard was in Spanish.  One large mirror adorns one wall and otherwise it’s just ecru colored paint. Lunch had a full house of patrons.  

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Interior
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Table set up
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Sommelier Sergi Puig and Frankie
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Menu cover
Short menu
Short menu
Clasic Menu
Clasic Menu
Frankie and the lunch menu
Frankie and the lunch menu

 

Each table gets a crispy cheese biscuit to munch while you decide your choices.  I could have eaten a plate of these.

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Cheese sticks
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Wine
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Wine back
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Frankie wanted a drink

 

Our lunch started with a dish of beans and baccala accented with sausage. The sausage slices had been crisped on one side which added a wonderful bite to the dish.  The beans were perfectly tender and the fish nicely firm. A great dish made even better with a piece of their crusty, doughy bread.

Beans, sausage and bacala
Beans, sausage and baccala
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Closer
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Bread
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Frankie looked at the knife

 

Our second course was a Magritte duck breast with a side of fennel. The firmer and tender meat was perfectly rare with a slight fat cap. The tangy fennel added a nice crunch to the dish and a great sauce really enhanced the tasty meat. Again the bread was perfect to accompany this plate as you didn’t want to leave a bit of it. Yum!

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Magritte duck breast with fennel
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closer
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Frankie checks out the duck

 

We finished with a poached pear in coffee sauce. The pear had been peeled and soaked in the sauce to give a wonderful color and make it void of any peel grit. The pear was perfectly sauce and sweet and the Kahlua-like sauce had a great strong flavor of coffee.  All it needed was a touch of the lovely sweetened cream to make the dessert soar. An amazing meal for the price!

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Poached pear with coffee sauce
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clsoer
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Frankie played in the arrangement
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Frankie checked the towels
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kitchen
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kitchen
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kitchen
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Frankie wanted some coffee
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Chef Rafa Peña and Frankie

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