Spain’s Costa Brava is a place where the idyllic fishing village is alive and well. But recently, places like Tossa de Mar have seen an increase in tourism. People are drawn to the rocky and rugged coastline of Tossa de Mar that dramatically drops off into pebbly beaches with see-20-feet-down clear waters. During the day, hundreds of bronze bodies flock to the beaches and once the sun goes down a vibrant but relaxed nightlife takes off.
Just outside the fortified old town we found Restaurant Can Simon, housed inside a rustic stone building built in 1741 – Like walking into the home of the Spanish grandmother I never had, this family establishment took us in and delivered modern twists on all the best of Tossa de Mar’s classic seafood dishes. The proximity to the bounty of the sea was obvious: a tasting menu of fresh, well-planned, marine-inspired dishes made for a wonderful evening by combining the slow pace of the fishing life with the contemporary buzz of culinary art.
Our napkins barely unfolded, a cocktail and “something to nibble” were delivered to the table. The nibbles were surprisingly modern looking against the almost bucolic setting of the dining room – A black rice crisp, cheese crisp and sobrasada sticks. Matt knew sobrasada was a familiar word, but could not quite place the ingredient – to avoid a potential translation meltdown the older woman serving us brought out the whole sausage (cured pork, paprika and salt).
Veering even more into the 21st century, the olive oil came out in small chemistry lab looking droppers that made the floral, porcelain plates anachronistic. The bread was exactly what I had hoped for – I seem to prefer the super crusty breads of Spain.
Seeing that we were so near Penedes, it seemed very appropriate to order Cava. They brought us a bottle off the list, which I promptly failed to record the name of, and have since forgotten. But, it was crisp, with good acidity, citrusy fruit and a tiny bit of yeast. For 20 euros, it cannot be beat, and went well with the light fishy meal.
Mushroom cream with oysters and lemon. The cream and the foam were both a little bit watery, not as full of a flavor as I had expected. The oyster completely made up for it with full, meaty texture and fresh citrusy flavor.
It was always interesting to see what nationality we were perceived as (even without opening our mouth). When in Spain, people tended to think Matt was French, as was the case here, so the meal alternated between them speaking French to us and Matt responding with his small arsenal of Spanish (to his credit, he did quite well here). I suppose it is a relief not to pop out as the bumbling American tourist we all fear becoming – so just to throw them off, we tossed out a few “merci’s” every now and then. Sorry for the deception, Can Simon, you were very good to us.
Small sandwich of tuna, dehydrated olive, red pepper water and herb water. Once again, even in tuna salad form, the fish was great – take that Chicken of the Sea.
First course: Baked Mackeral served with asparagus, baked peppers and seasonal salad. The charred oil under the fish made for delicious mouthfuls that coated the palate, the salad was nothing exceptional but the tomato most definitely was – a huge burst of flavor from the tiny nightshade.
Cuttlefish and peas. The Costa Brava is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and this is the official centenary dish. Nice presentation with a dramatic black ink stripe across the plate. The cuttlefish had the texture of a root vegetable in some parts, and good chewy squid in others. This crunch went well with the soft, flavor soaked peas and pits of tentacle mixed in. I think cuttlefish are beautiful mollusks – although my experience with them is only through aquarium glass. In the wild, they are like chameleons, constantly changing their color to blend in. But on this dish, the white meat did no such thing and the flavor popped out as quite memorable.
“Cimitomba” A fisherman’s dish made with thornback ray. These little rolls of ray were served over a garlicky mashed potato with onions. The small, darker piece on the left hand side is “ray foie” a potent and delicious bite of the fish’s liver. The dish could have used a little more acid, but the sweet onions compensated and balanced things out. I would be interested to see the traditional preparation of this dish, but this seems like a good representation of the ingredients.
For the next course, Matt got the listed chicken while I substituted for the rabbit so we could taste both dishes. Loin of rabbit with snails, and lightly seasoned rabbit stock. The presentation was not breathtaking, but the flavors were, which is what really counts here. A bounty of snails covered the rabbit and there was a sundried tomato and breadcrumb salsa that was very tasty. This was an earthy change of pace from all the sea fare, but good nonetheless.
Roast free range chicken with prawns from Blanes. The chicken was roulade-ish with top notch mushrooms and perfectly crispy fried potatoes around it. Perhaps Blanes is running short on prawns these days, because we only got one, but Matt tells me it was quite good.
Cold hot chocolate- chocolate water, chocolate gelato and icy flakes in the gelato. The foam was a bit watery (haven’t quite mastered the foam technique here) but the chocolate concoction was great.
Frozen sangria – marinated fruit and frozen wine. We mixed a little of our Cava in (turning it back into more liquid sangria) for some refreshing fruity spoonfuls.
“memories of your childhood” traditional biscuits – if our server is the Spanish grandmother I never had, these must have been the memories I missed out on too. Hopefully my next life will land me with a childhood full of these morsels – an ice cream sandwich, a sugar cookie with strawberry ice cream and a chocolate chip cookie. Sure, all of these things can be found in the Midwestern USA, and if forced too, I could summon a memory of a hot summer day with an ice cream sandwich. But, the flavors are not even comparable to this. An impressive plate of chocolate petit fours followed.
Can Simon had a lot going for it: fresh ingredients and thoughtful presentation combined with unpretentious service and a relaxed dining room. The walls were covered with awards and certificates, a reminder that we were far from the first people to discover this little nine-table gem of a restaurant. The service staff was very gracious, the older woman running the show with her younger, male helper close beside. On the way out they gave us a wine bottle top aerator as a gift. I cannot quite express how comfortable and wonderful this night was. The food, except for a few (VERY minor) inadequacies, was incredible. We were able to totally relax into the meal, which was very reasonably priced for the caliber of ingredients. As seems to be a common final thought – I would definitely go back. In fact, when walking past the next night, we caught a friendly wave from the young man, and were almost tempted to do so. But paella was calling our name, so we trekked on. I think next time we will go for the full gastronomic menu which has prawns, red tuna, snails, sardines, razor clams, foie gras, langoustines, AND oxtail stew – if you can put together a better line up than that, by all means, invite me over to eat it.
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