War Zone

Flor, the passionate owner of 'Lo de Flor'

There is an area in my city which resembles a war zone at certain times of the night - the Raval. You will see police in plentiful, body checks going on and people suspiciously scuttling here and there, with their heads bent downwards. I usually avoid this area and will only venture there at night, if armed to the teeth. Hah, you believed me, right? Am kidding. But tis true that after dark, I never venture there alone. So you can imagine how much convincing a dear friend had to do to get me to go there recently. He only had to use two sentences, 'Fabulous Food' and 'You're invited', and my resistance fell, just like Trump's credibility the second he opened his mouth.

So, with my eyes closed and a shiver tingling my back from time to time, I was escorted safely to this haven of golden light and welcoming odours - 'Lo de Flor.' The name can be roughly translated as 'Flor's', after it's Argentinian owner. A very appetising aroma of caramelised onions wafted into my nose as we walked in. 

Now, there is nothing nicer and more inspiring than meeting someone who is passionate about what they do. This woman definitely loves what she does and it shows! Her ingredients are seasonal and mostly sourced locally apart from a few Italian and french speciality items like rillette, for example. The menu has a good variety of meats, fish, vegetables...

Stuffed artichoke

I had a stuffed artichoke starter - the garlic cream was fluffy and married oh, so well with the firmness of the artichoke hearts. Poached and buttered baby carrots and celery sticks were beautifully laid on a light squash cream. Mmmmmmm. Unfortunately, I had agreed to share this starter so it felt like I had barely tasted my artichoke and it was gone- never to be repeated. Ohhhhh! 

Steak tartar

For the main, I ordered a delicious, hand chopped tartar. It was divine! I am not one of those raving carnivores who can't eat a meal without a lump of oozy meat but this was one of those occasions when I was so happy with my choice! It was accompanied by a lovely potato dauphinoise which I chewed in a slow lady like manner - coz I can do that from time to time. 

My friend had the most succulent 'poussin' stewed in a rich raisin and pine nut gravy. He returned my favour with a piece of this month old bird. We were silent as we gnarled on bones and flesh, transported to a cave, long, long ago....

Broiler chicken stewed with pine nuts and raisins

Must say, I am not a dessert fan so be blown away when once in a while, I put up a dessert photograph. This was a very tart lemon curd, sitting on a bed of slowly sautéed apples. It was set off with a delicious, crunchy stick made of Filo pastry, lightly basted with butter and sprinkled lovingly with some cinammon. Ooo la la!