Great report! I am making a note of your Madrid recs as I will be there for 2 days in May.

While I plan to enjoy tapas and Spanish food in Barcelona, I know that there must be some excellent Italian restaurants there, and that people who live in Barcelona don't eat Spanish food all the time.

Does anyone happen to have any recs for good Italian in Barcelona? Price not important - ISO house-made pastas, etc.

Many thanks for any help!

Thank you so much! I just made my lunch reservation at Akelarre and I can't wait. :)

please forgive the bump but I also had this exact question and wondered if anyone had recent opinions between the two places. Many thanks for any input!

+1

great report. My favorite restaurant in the city is Herbsaint.

Agree - would take Remoulade off the list

+1 for Luke instead of Desire

is it byob?

I personally can't recommend the wine pairing. I wish I'd spent the money on a nice bottle of wine instead at half the price. *sigh*

+ 1, Nancy S.!

That's how I interpret it too. I would doubt you leave hungry with the LB tasting - is that the 4-course one? I had that last December and was stuffed when I left.

ellenost, that's a really good point. I remember back in the 2-course lunch day at EMP (and even the 4-course day) seeing several business lunches surrounding me and the place was packed.
During my lunch visit last month I did notice that 2 ladies beside us from Hong Kong were unaware of the length of the meal and it had to be cut short so they could leave. I felt badly for them.

sneakeater - I am agreeing with you yet again! I can eat quite a lot when I plan for it, and I have found that in the Salon, one app, one entree, and a shared dessert are more than enough when combined with all the amuse, bread, bonus courses, etc. I've never actually eaten at the dining room in Per Se, only at the FL, but I think I would prefer the Salon over the dining room anyway.

ScottC - that makes sense! And you're right - we also had lunch at JG, which was, and always is, in my experience, full to capacity.

loratliff, I'm sure you're right. We did mention a few times that we were not fans of white wine (except for bubbly). I accept responsibility for failing to ask about the wines before committing to the wine pairing - that was an error on my part.

LOL Spiritchaser! I thought it did taste similar to grappa, which I also dislike. Oh well!

I had the same thoughts/questions, sneakeater, regarding whether he was holding off and "warning" EMP before doing his review.

i agree, sneakeater.

Reply to original post - yes, I should have mentioned that in my lunch review - there was no grid at least as of Nov 14. We were simply asked to choose between the duck and the beef, and for any likes/dislikes.

Eating at the bar would be a good idea for next time, you're right!

Spiritchaser - I know from reading your posts that my palate is not nearly as sophisticated as yours!

I think I remember our server saying this - I really wanted to like it!

ramenbound - I think you're right! ;) So weird that it was so empty when you had lunch there, too.

I wish I'd known that before going to PFs a couple of years ago! I was really disappionted in the place. LOL on cone full of stubs!

I forgot to add that we were given the granola, a copy of the menu, a deck of EMP playing cards, and EMP Christmas ornaments as parting gifts.

I had lunch at EMP on Wednesday, Nov. 14. I had a similar experience to Tubulus (although his was dinner). I won't go into the menu so as not to ruin the surprise for anyone, but I share Tubulus' thoughts re: parsnip and salsify courses. We were also allowed a choice between beef and duck, and chose the beef because we had the duck on a previous visit in 2011. I thought the entire experience was wonderful and fun, with lovely touches like a card thanking us for making EMP our Christmas present (it was).

A few things I noticed:

There were more than a few open tables during the lunch service. I thought this was odd, but maybe it was intentional.

Not everyone gets invited to the kitchen for the cocktail, as another poster observed. Not sure how they decide who gets to go for this.

We did the wine pairing - in retrospect, I wished we had either shared the pairing or simply ordered a bottle of champagne. The wines were great, but were all whites except for one. Not our favorite.

I know that EMP scaled back on the narrative after the negative feedback they got, and even though I voiced a desire to hear it, the narrative was minimal. But still a fun, NYC type experience.

The apple brandy or whatever it is they leave on the table at the end is AWFUL. Just objectively awful. What happened to congac?!

I agree with posters who suggested that it is a transcendent experience, but "how many times can you see that show?" and so forth. The meal was the most expensive of my life. As much as I loved it, I don't see myself going back there on my annual trips to NYC unless they bring back the 2-course lunch menu or something.

thank you! stay safe!

kathryn, thank you! Your help is invaluable. I ended up rescheduling my trip for the following weekend, but my itinerary will be very similar. Thank you so much for the help, and stay safe up there! I will be watching Sandy and thinking of you all.

chowbaby - thanks for the clarification. The cocktail you had sounds really cool!