Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!
Chicago, IL 60614
Phone: (773) 935-5000
04/27/2008 Posted by bbheli
I went for the Paella. Traditional paella has a crispy, caramelized, toasted bottom (called socarrat in Valencian) that is considered a delicacy. To achieve a socarrat, one either needs to time the evaporation of the water properly with the completion of the rice being cooked or turn up the heat to high and listen to the bottom of the rice toast. Once the aroma of toasted rice comes from the pan, but before the rice burns, the heat is removed once again. The paella is ready to be served after having cooled for several minutes. The paella they served me was not crispy, and it was loaded with grease rather than broth and had way to much salt and not much meat or seafood at all. It was more like and overpriced rice pilaf. I was very dissapointed. I know they are well known for the tapas and the $3 tapas bar but if you are looking for an authentic paella, this is not the place to spend $60.00 for it. It taste like grease and salt.
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