I used to write regular restaurant reviews for a regional paper and thought that those days were over. Then I visited Restaurante Zinc in Mutxamel and couldn’t resist another review. The building has new Dutch owners and has been given a welcome revival. I knew it as La Venteta about 15 years ago and it was well run by a Belgian man. After he left, standards declined and it was then closed. Now I have high hopes, because the place has an exciting vibrancy, the owners are convivial and the quality of meals served is exceptional. The old building and grounds are full of character and situated on a quiet road between Mutxamel and Tangel. There is a covered terrace with tables overlooking a pleasant garden and this combines to make a perfect rural setting for a restaurateur wanting to build a reputation. Welcome to Marcel, a chef with flair. He ran a successful restaurant in Rotterdam, also called Zinc, with his wife, Linda, and they have now sold up and moved to Spain. They are joined in this venture by Petar and, together, they exude energy, enthusiasm and personality. The menu is small and changed every two weeks. Although they only opened in June, my wife and I have already dined there three times and enjoyed each occasion. With a limited menu, it's necessary to trust the chef and be adventurous. For instance, on my last visit I started with veal tartare, something I haven’t tried before. With the addition of cauliflower florets, pancetta and truffle vinaigrette, the effect was very pleasing. My main course was seared tuna steak, tomato, black olives, almonds and bagna cauda (a garlic and anchovy paste), and dessert was lemon tart with raspberries and artisan lemon ice cream. As we often do, my wife contrasted my choice and ordered marinated salmon, fillet steak with foie and the chef’s interpretation of Eton mess. We like to try each other’s meals and I would have been equally happy with hers. We both feel that the chef knows how to bring the best out of his dishes. He has a distinctive style of cooking, elaborating on natural flavours to provide a meal full of satisfying tastes. The ingredients are of a high standard and the flavours fantastic. The three courses cost 29.50€, without drink, and this represents fair value for the meal and surroundings. The restaurant is open Thursday to Sunday, for lunch and dinner and you can check the current menu and details on their website restaurantezinc.com For those not living locally, you may wish to stay in one of their comfortable, well-furnished bedrooms …….. and then walk downstairs for a lovely meal. Well worth a visit. |
0 Comments
As you raised your glass to the start of 2022, was that glass half full or half empty? Some of us are now hopeful that this year will be one of optimism and happiness, while others believe the gloom of Covid, climate change and world peace will persist and their effects will linger for a long time to come. Opinions about Covid have been swayed by the news media and personal circumstances. We’ve certainly been fed enough scare stories over the last 21 months to frighten the bravest, even though many of those stories have played out to be moderate and ones that we could cope with. On the other hand, at the beginning of 2021, the vaccination programme was going to rid the ‘deadly virus' quickly and effectively, but really it’s just made it manageable. However, we’re still treating it as the killer that it is no longer. Climate change protagonists are also heralding gloom and small groups as well as some governments are countering the threat of Armageddon as they see it. COP26 was soon wiped from the headlines because to admit the actions agreed would need to be global, and weren’t, would show them up like perforations in a teabag. Whilst a minority still shouts loudest, the silent majority are at home keeping quiet and worrying about paying their energy bills that are rising each month. Countries are no nearer harmony than a year ago. Currently, the biggest threat is Russia's shadow over the Ukraine borders, but there are disagreements worldwide that could ignite at any time. Even the European Union, that artificial model of harmony, is continually fighting between itself for national advantages. But let’s put the above into perspective. It may at first appear worrying, but let’s recognise that there are things to be hopeful about. Those things may appear small, but bring joy to individuals and families around the world. Our good health, the birth of a child, the bravery of an individual and nature succeeding to thrill are all instances of what make us smile. Let’s celebrate them as we enter 2022. As one person of nearly 8 billion living on Earth, I cannot expect my actions to be noticed or my voice to be heard, so will choose to quietly live my life respectful of others around me, and in a way that makes me content. Personally, I’ve experienced heartache and unhappiness in 2021, but optimistically look forward to a better year ahead. I don’t want to be upset or depressed by news that I cannot do anything about and, instead, will seek those special moments that take my breath away. My glass is half full. In fact, I may even fill it. Cheers! There are so many woke stories these days that I think the world has gone mad. The word ‘woke’ suggests enlightenment, but, in reality, encompasses the blinkered thoughts of small-minded people. As one of the older generation, I was taught good manners by my parents and school, and my actions throughout life have been influenced by that upbringing. I grew up believing in respect for everyone and refuse to succumb to what I consider bad manners. The latest instance in the news involves a photographer at Wolfson College in Cambridge. By coincidence, I worked there for a few weeks many years ago, when it was the only girls' college in the city. Now, it’s open to postgraduates and mature undergraduates and I’m surprised that mature intellectuals appear so intolerant. For the matriculation ceremony this year, a photographer was employed to take a group photo on a raised platform. As he finished, he announced that gentlemen were able to help ladies off the platform. That was the start of another sexism row and certain females considered they were 'made to feel unsafe' by the comment. I would have thought the opposite. However, a letter of complaint has now been sent asking for an apology for the 'targeted atmosphere of inequality'. The offer of help was seen by them as an 'inappropriate, patronising and unnecessarily gendered comment to make'. How ridiculous! Why can’t men express civility and good manners without being pilloried? I still hold open a door for someone, whether male or female; serve a drink or meal to a woman first; and compliment a woman on their appearance, so I certainly wouldn’t last long at Wolfson College where that would be seen as unacceptable and a danger to others. Cultural changes will occur from one generation to another, but surely we should be tolerant of those before and after us. We shouldn’t have to go through life treading on eggshells in case we offend someone, but open to other people’s opinions and their right to express them. Equality to me means respect, although I do believe that there are differences between men and women that shouldn’t be ignored, and if we can make the life of all more comfortable, then we should do so. Let’s lighten up and learn to live together, without seeing bad in actions that have no bad intent. A year ago, I was paying 10.59 cents/kWh in Spain for my electricity. It rose gradually over the months until June this year when the Government imposed a new system and divided each day's cost into three bands to reflect demand. Since then, prices have escalated and my latest bill was 27.65/kWh cents for the cheapest band and 41.46kWh cents for the most expensive. That’s a huge increase in one year. It’s not only in Spain; prices have risen considerably in many countries as they try and source sustainable energy. The result for individual households is a heavy burden that is difficult to accept and is causing much hardship. Politicians try to justify the increase by explaining that it’s necessary in an effort to control climate change. We should all act responsibly, they say. Meanwhile, these are the same politicians who have travelled to Glasgow, many in private jets with a large entourage, to attend COP26. COP, which stands for Conference of the Parties, will last for thirteen days and was first held in 1995. It's held annually to assess the progress in dealing with climate change. Have we really progressed in 26 years? Or is there just a lot of hot air spread around the conference hall with promises made that will not be kept? Perhaps we are trying to control nature when it can’t be controlled. The climate has changed, as it has in previous centuries, but there is still doubt as to how much of that is because of the effect of humans. And if humans are responsible, is it naive to believe that every country will respond as we would want them to? When you see that the biggest polluters fail to attend the conference, you may have the answer. Further, to expect relatively poor countries to spend large amounts of money in an effort to limit pollution is unrealistic. Their priority is to feed their population and survive. The politicians warn that the world cannot sustain the pressures of pollution that we are imposing on it. Ordinary people see COP as a show for political gain and COP26 is no different than COP1, other than social media has developed massively over the years and, after twenty six years, the politicians are more exposed to charges of hypocrisy than ever. While families are wondering whether they will be able to pay their monthly electricity bills, they are unlikely to be taken in by thirteen days of talks from their leaders and certainly won’t believe the declarations made at the end of it. Meanwhile, the assumption, happily, is that the world will survive, at least for another year, and COP 27 is already being organised at its next location, Egypt. I was out for a walk and noticed a man wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan 'The past was once the future'. Amusing, but profound, I thought, especially after the last year and a half of disruption. If only we could have seen the future at the beginning of 2020. Then I thought, if we had known what was about to happen, and the path it was to take, could we have done anything differently to have avoided the turmoil caused by COVID-19? A discussion on this could go on forever, and probably will. The path to the future is full of unknowns and we must be ready to adapt. This has been particularly true while the world has struggled through the complexities and personal tragedies caused by the pandemic. Different nations, and indeed different individuals, handled it in various ways and it is only in looking back can we assess which actions were more effective. With hindsight, it’s clear where things were done well and where they weren’t. Yes, mistakes were made, but it would be unfair to blame just the decision-makers. It’s easy to point a finger, but far more difficult for politicians to take decisive actions which affect a population. In a democracy, we vote for representatives to take those decisions for us. We may not always agree, but we have given them the right to do so unimpeded. If we don’t like them, we can vote for another party next time and hope they get a majority. As we get back to some sort of normality, it’s interesting to note how some habits have changed, both individually and as a society. Wearing masks is perhaps the most outward change that can be seen. People who, eighteen months ago, would have completely shunned the idea of covering their face, now wear masks even when not close to anyone else. Further, when meeting people, it’s still unusual to shake hands of kiss the cheek, and fist pumping or elbow contact have become strange but acceptable alternatives. In addition, there are still restrictions on where we can go and the number of people who can attend events and this has been reluctantly and somewhat quietly accepted. Fear of the virus is still evident. Whether this continues will, in some ways, depend on whether we are able to safely live with the virus. With effective vaccinations and low death rates, it appears that we may be able to do so. But should we also dismiss the recent past in the futile hope that it will never repeat itself in the future? |
About me Hi, I'm Robin Hardy. I was born and educated in London and followed a career in hotel and catering management. After taking early retirement, my wife, Beatrix, and I moved to Alicante, Spain. Archives
September 2022
Categories
All
|