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I had one of the best meals in recent memory at Mercat this past weekend. Everything was spot on.

OLIVES ARBEQUINA, VERDIAL , CUQUILLO & GORDAL

I hate olives and yet, I was popping these over and over.

PAN CON TOMATE


CHARCUTERIE PLATE


At this point, Dana ordered an
ALCOHOL FREE MOJITO


I ordered their SPANISH FLY BELVEDERE VODKA, STRAWBERRIES, TORRES ORANGE BRANDY, BASIL, LEMON JUICE
consisting of chunks of strawberry, this tasted tangy and juicy. I loved it. At 13 dollars a pop, I only ordered the 1 but I could have easily ordered 2 more.

DÁTILES CON ALMENDRAS BACON-WRAPPED DATES STUFFED WITH ALMONDS


COSTILLAS DE TERNERA BEEF SHORTRIBS, HORSERADISH, PARMESAN & BACON


PELOTAS DE CALABAZA Y CORDERO BUTTERNUT SQUASH DUMPLINGS, LAMB RAGOUT, BEECH MUSHROOM ESCABECHE, BLACK TRUFFLE


GAMBAS AL AJILLO GARLIC SHRIMP


PATATAS BRAVAS SPICY POTATOES WITH SPICY PAPRIKA AIOLI

Good but not enough of a spice kick.

GAMBAS JUMBO PRAWNS


EMPANADA CON ESPINACAS SPINACH AND MANCHEGO EMPANADA WITH PIQUILLO PEPPER AND ARTICHOKE ESCABECHE

I did not find this appetizing in the least. I'm not sure if it was because this was just not good or if it was served warm or...what. This just did not appeal to me.

BLACK ANGUS RIB EYE MEYER NATURAL ANGUS BEEF, USA

I was food drunk at this point - starting to see (food) double. I had a single bite of this and could not help myself. Though I blacked out, Fiancee told me I ate the whole thing.

For dessert, I had a glass of their
SEASONAL SANGRÍA STRAWBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, AND BLUEBERRIES

To my surprise this was actually quite bland.

CROQUETAS DE XOCOLATA MILK CHOCOLATE CROQUETTTES, BANANA MARSHMALLOW, ROSEMARY CARAMEL, ARBEQUINA OLIVE OIL
Nothing to add here. Same dessert we've all had in the past and it's always been delicious.

Mercat a la Planxa - absolutely perfect.

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Similar experience to report this week - small-plate food is rarely more colorful and appealing (even geometric) than at Mercat, and the flavors generally rise to the visual promise. Highlights for us were the pa amb tomaquet, fried peppers, pork belly with truffled apple slaw, and a special of citrusy goat cheese ravioli on a bed of roasted vegetables and nuts. I will echo that the seasonal fruit sangria was a weak link, something they've done better in the past. The paella offerings have stabilized, and the grill section of the menu offers significant portions of simple and savory meats if you'd like to offset the consistently rich desserts. They did forget a fig and prosciutto salad we ordered, but took it off the bill smoothly when we were sated anyway. I think we did better with portion balance and price than the $65ish dinner tasting menu, but am certainly curious what that looks like currently under Garces when he's in-house, as he was for this meal.