A celebratory trip!

Yes, it happened! At lonnnnnnnng last. After months years of searching, I have found the perfect little spot to open my restaurant (Wow! I can't believe I can use those 2 words - my and restaurant - together. I'm still in shock).

While this is not news to the close friends and local bloggers I've already told (I've known for a couple of months), the reasons I haven't shared my news on my blog sooner are numerous. I am hoping my motivations to keep mum will become apparent when I get a chance to share the entire saga in future Wild Ride postings. Even now, I feel it is best to not reveal my restaurant's exact location, as the current tenants won't be moving until the end of the month. What I will tell you is my as yet to be named restaurant will be located in a lovely San Francisco neighborhood, and the restaurant most likely won't be ready to open until the end of the year at the earliest. Believe me, you'll hear all about it soon enough, so please be patient.

The exciting news in the Sardine Tin doesn't stop with me. N has just as much to celebrate. She finished up her graduate coursework a couple of weeks ago. On top of that, she has now begun her new job as the Lower School Head of the school where she had been the Second Grade teacher for many years. Go N!

To celebrate our good fortune, we went on what may be our last vacation for quite a while (to Spain, natch). Contrary to the impression I've given to you IPOS readers, my life is not usually filled with so much jet-setting. This past year has certainly been the exception. In fact, up until our first trip to Spain 2 summers ago, N and I hadn't taken a vacation together in nearly a decade.

So, knowing the next few months years are going to be, to put it mildly, insanely busy for both of us (have I mentioned that we're moving as well?), we decided to make the most of this opportunity to thoroughly enjoy each other's company undisturbed and relatively unfettered by responsibility.

Our week and a half started with a bang: a dinner at the justly famous El Bulli. We bookended our visit to Ferran Adrià's dining fun-house with not one, but two meals at the tiny restaurant that, to our tastes at least, stood as the gastronomic highlight of this year's trip: Rafa's. We then continued to toast glasses of Cava at the Michelin 2-star restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Girona and, further down the coast of Catalonia, at Joan Gatell, a mecca for pristine seafood in Cambrils. We switched to toasting Txakoli when we took an impromptu day trip to the Basque region (domestic flights are ridiculously cheap in Europe). There, we ate grilled turbot (rodaballo) at Elkano (see Pim's description of this seafood restaurant on the Bay of Bizcay in Getaria, a town you may recall I also visited last year).

The real highlight of this year's Spanish trip, though, was not the food. It was the company. I could gush on and on ad infinitum until you're gagging on your morning toast or afternoon chili dog, but I'll spare y'all and leave it at this: Thank you, N, for joining me on a fabulous journey and for continually reminding me that the best is yet to come!

Speaking of which, in the next few weeks, in between meetings with architects and contractors, I will attempt to squeeze in time to post more details about our trip (as well as progress on the restaurant front). To whet your appetite, I've added links in the right hand column to new FlickR photo albums of our meals at Rafa's, El Bulli, and El Celler de Can Roca. Buen provecho!

Food|and Drink|Restaurant|Opening Restaurant|San Francisco|Spain|Catalonia

Comments

[Joy]

Brett, you are KILLING me. I won't have time to go to all those places!

Congrats on the restaurant -- I will be 1st in line.

If possible, you have made me even MORE excited about our trip.

[Dr. Biggles]

Holy dang! Congrats an junk.

Now I suppose the hard work begins. Are you going to put in your own smoker and smoke fish?

Biggles

[Jennifer]

Brett, Congratulations on the restaurant--woo hoo! I'm very excited for you. When I come out to the Bay Area next year I'll be sure to stop by. I can't wait to hear more. Cheers!

[Edward Vicedo]

Brett,

It sounds like a great trip. Let's get together and have some cava with N and A.

[NS]

Brett -- congratulations on the great news about the restaurant! I look forward with great anticipation to opening night!

[Amy]

Yay! Congratulations let the real wild ride begin.

[chubby]

That is great news all around.
Congrats N!
We also can't wait to hop over to the Sardinery (we'll be in line right after Joy...or maybe she'll let us tag along at her table)

[Ben D.]

The food business is something that I have been interested in for as long as I can remember, but have never pursued. Hats off to you from my air conditioned computer stuffed office in the South Bay.

I tingle with excitement each time I read an update on your wild ride, and I look forward to experiencing the fruit it bears.

[haddock]

Congrats- now you'll never go anywhere again. N give us a call and we'll give you all the tools you need. Can't wait.

[nopisto]

Wellcomeback Brett,

Looking forward for your reviews as your meals seem so different from mine at least at Can Roca.

Did you hit Etxebarri in the end?

[Tea]

Congratulations! What great news. I can't wait to be able to pop in for a meal. I'm just wondering which "lovely San Francisco neighborhood" is going to be lucky enough to get you:-)

[Paul]

Need a first rate plongeur? :)

[Mae]

Wow! Great news indeed! Congratulations!!! I can't wait to hear about your restaurant. All the best, Brett, in your new venture!

[Diane]

Congratulations! I know how difficult your industry can be, but we will all come out to support you. I am sure it will be fabulous! Looking forward to the opening.

Probably less posting though, na?
:)

[yoony]

congratulations to you and N! can't wait until your restaurant opens and you reveal it on your blog. bet the food will be awesome like the ones on your blog.

[Kudzu]

Wow! So much has happened since I was N's dinner partner in the spring. Congratulations all around for the good fortune you have received -- I'm sure you both earned every bit of it. I look forward to reeading more and more while I wait for the restaurant to open. What a fabulous summer!

[johng]

Wow, Brett, congrats, that's great news for you and even better news for your readers, as I'm absolutely certain that el Casa de Sardinas will be our new favorite restaurant in SF.

BTW - here's an idea:(yeah I'm sure you need lots of suggestions from the comments section right about now) How about doing a soft opening by inviting all your blog friends and readers in for the first week b4 opening your doors to the hoi paloy?

[blister]

Nice, I am happy for you and will be among your first guests..
how about fish machetes for the place setting?
xoxo
blister

[lobstersquad]

I´m so pleased for you, congrats!
I wish you wild success, and lots more holidays in Spain.

[Melissa]

Oh my goodness, this is such great news!! Many congratulations (to you both, of course), and in case I didn't have enough already tempting me back to the Bay Area, you've quadrupled the desire! Looking forward to more stories about your trip...

[elle]

looking forward to your grand opening...will bring friends with healthy appetites!!!

[Duane]

Congratulations!!! Great Spain pic. It makes me want to go there. A friend of mine just got back from there and he had an awesome time.

[Carter]

Congrats on the new restaurant. Looking forward to many a memorable meal there.

BTW, johng has a good idea about the soft opening.

[Sarah]

Hooray for sardines! As an unrepentant fan of sardines and anchovies and other little fishies, I was so happy to stumble upon your blog on Food Blog Scool. Also, I've been itching to go to Spain for awhile--after seeing your site, I'm even more eager to go.

Looking forward to hearing about your restaurant. Though I live in New York, I'm in San Francisco at least once a year to visit my sister, Lauren, who's the sous chef at Delfina.

Best wishes, Sarah

[shauna]

Congratulations! I'm going to be in the Bay Area next summer, to be certain, for a little trip with the Chef. You know, one of those celebratory trips that two people take together after a special ceremony. We would LOVE to come into your restaurant.