--- title: "GOOD LUCK DELUXE" url: https://goodluckdeluxe.com/category/food/global-eats/ --- # GOOD LUCK DELUXE - [home |](http://www.goodluckdeluxe.com) - [Search |](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/search) - [Amazon.com |](http://www.amazon.com/?%5Fencoding=UTF8&tag=goolucdel-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380557) - [Shop |](http://astore.amazon.com/goolucdel-20) - [Donate |](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/give/) - [About |](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/?page_id=60) - [Advertise](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/?page_id=172) Luxury, food and fun…from the rising to the setting of the sun! ### Global Eats Archived Posts from this Category Thu 28 Jun 2007 ## [El Bulli or The Fat Duck: How About Neither!](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/2007/06/28/el-bulli-or-the-fat-duck-neither/) Posted by GoodLuckDeluxe under [Food and Beverages](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/category/food/) , [Dining in L.A.](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/category/food/la-dining/) , [Global Eats](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/category/food/global-eats/) [No Comments](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/2007/06/28/el-bulli-or-the-fat-duck-neither/#respond) I recently took a look at the web sites and have read numerous reviews of the über-swank dining meccas, [The Fat Duck](http://www.thefatduck.co.uk) in the U.K. by proprietor Heston Blumenthal, and [El Bulli](http://www.elbulli.com) on the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain, by proprietor Ferran Adrià. Both are notorious for their [gastronomic appeal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_gastronomy), of combining the art of food with science. Although El Bulli has been named “World’s Best Restaurant” by Restaurant Magazine three times over (including this year), The Fat Duck is a close second on the list, including in terms of public hype. Everyone’s been puffing up both El Bulli and The Fat Duck, and I thought I may as well throw my hat into the ring. **But there’s one problem:** I don’t do trends. Ever. When magazines tell me a restaurant is all the rage, my brain’s [amygdala](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala) shuts all systems down and I just freeze. I. Can’t. Move. I. Can’t. Go. I can’t even *consider* going. This, of course, isn’t always the case. But usually it is. I worked on babystepping it by at least allowing myself to peek at each of their web sites. No full-on commitment, nothing too intense, just a peek… The Fat Duck’s tasting menu seems, oh I don’t know…kinda annoyingly la-di-da. With culinary experiments such as Pommery grain mustard ice cream, snail porridge, salmon poached with licorice, Nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice cream, and blackcurrant and green peppercorn jelly, you better put that contrived mess in a Petri dish, **NOT ON MY PLATE.** El Bulli boasts its “Kellogg’s paella,” a concoction of Rice Krispies puffed rice cereal with a sprinkling of seafood added for good measure. Or how about vanilla-flavored mashed potatoes? Frozen whiskey sour candy, anyone? Cocoa butter with crispy rabbit ears? Call me unsophisticated, a Neanderthal, or unrefined if you want, but kitschy foodie stuff just doesn’t sell me. Neither do foodie awards, celebrity spottings, or hefty food bills. Look, I fully understand the dining public’s insatiable craving for the nouveau, unusual, and exquisite, but I think I may be the only one who isn’t fascinated by either establishment. I know I’m *supposed* to want to dine at both because of the big fanfare, but I’m not budging. I have my nerve commenting on restaurants that I haven’t even frequented, but whatever. Their menus and the foodie press made me do it! Oh go ahead and say it - “Your palate just isn’t that refined yet…that’s all, dear.” Oh, I’m so hurt. I know my palate well enough to determine immediately if something is going to work for me taste-wise or not. I’ve dined at enough trendy-Wendy restaurants to know better. “Best” can be found in any city, in any neighborhood, cuisine, or price range. **In Anaheim:** In terms of the “WOW” factor, my vote is still for the [Anaheim White House Restaurant](https://goodluckdeluxe.com/2007/06/22/outstanding-anaheim-white-house-restaurant/)…and they just so happen to serve white chocolate-laced mashed potatoes. So NAH! **In Los Angeles:** If you’re looking for a truly sophisticated Northern Italian Gastrobar experience (creative pairing of food with wines), I highly recommend my favorite in the area - [Il Moro Ristorante.](http://www.ilmoro.com) The owner, Elio De Santo, runs an excellent operation. Every Tuesday from 6-8pm, Il Moro hosts [a lovely wine tasting.](http://www.ilmoro.com/events.html) You can also enjoy live jazz (not the cheesy-sounding stuff!) at Il Moro every Thursday and Friday beginning at 8pm. Definitely worth checking out. Il Moro serves awesome salads, [and even better desserts!](http://www.ilmoro.com/dessert.html) Il Moro’s attentive, personalized service (but don’t be a Diva about it!) is the best I’ve had thus far dining in L.A. Enjoy! Design Downloaded from [www.vanillamist.com](http://www.vanillamist.com)