el bulli

• Bratwurst and Buffalo wings: what was on the menu at President Obama's Super Bowl party. — Obama Foodorama
• Nine pink Champagnes that are worth a splurge. — San Francisco Chronicle
• Martha Stewart gets revenge on David Letterman. — Eater
• A meal at El Bulli in photographs. — Flickr
• It's time to reconsider sherry, especially in cocktails. — LA Times Magazine
• Andrew Zimmern meets a dish he can't stomach. — Huffington Post Food
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• Michelle Obama has turned her attention toward restaurant nutrition. — New York Times

Source: Flickr User moneyblognewz

• Don't dump away that pickle juice! — Chow
• El Bulli's Ferran Adrià will post his research lab recipes online. — Serious Eats
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• A 422-foot-long California roll broke records, but had to be thrown away. — Eater
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• The secret to stellar potato salad: herring and potato chips. — New York Times
• One to try: South Africa's Chenin Blancs. — Washington Post
• A little freezer time now means you can enjoy Summer's berry bounty later. — Boston Globe
• El Bulli's Ferran Adria has been lauded by some, denounced by others. — Los Angeles Times

• Why it's important to stock your pantry with pasta. — The Epi-Log
• Watch a preview of Guy Fieri's upcoming NBC game show. — Eater
• Here are 10 ways to photograph food. — Chow
• Frank Bruni reminds us that the famed El Bulli is hardly a restaurant where anyone can dine. — Diner's Journal
• Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert are getting their own radio show. — Grub Street NY
• What is the future of food journalism? — The Faster Times
• Learn how to make clarified butter. — Serious Eats

The world can finally stop trying to get into El Bulli. No amount of patience, luck, or connections will get anyone a reservation. Last week, Catalan chef Ferran Adrià confirmed that he would be closing down his Michelin three-starred restaurant for good.

Last month, Adrià made the most elusive restaurant seat infinitely harder to get when he announced he'd be temporarily shuttering El Bulli in 2012, and reopening it in 2014. But in an interview on Friday, the chef said the closure would be permanent because he and his business partner, Juli Soler, had been losing a half million Euros a year on the venture. Rather than funding the restaurant, they will now use that money to establish a new El Bulli academy that will promote contemporary ideas in food.

News of the eatery, which is considered one of, if not the, most avant-garde in the world, will disappoint the 3,000 people on the restaurant waiting list. I'm certain this news has crushed the hope of thousands of culinary cognoscenti — no doubt it has quashed mine. Was El Bulli on your list of places to visit?

Update: Apparently the New York Times misquoted the Spaniard. Earlier today Adria told a Spanish newspaper that the restaurant will close only for the aforementioned two years.

The most elusive restaurant reservation in the world just got infinitely harder. Celebrity chef Ferran Adrià has announced that his restaurant, El Bulli, will temporarily close in 2012 and 2013. "El Bulli is not closing down. I need time to decide how 2014 is going to be . . . I know that when I return it will not be the same," Adrià said at a press conference. He also spoke to the difficulties of working 15-hour days: "We deserve to lead more normal lives, because for 25 years we have been focusing on the restaurant. Now we need more time with our families." The three Michelin starred-restaurant in Roses, Spain, which was just named one of the Food & Wine's top 10 life-changing restaurants, is considered by many to be the most avant-garde eatery in the world. El Bulli will be open this year through 2011 before closing — although it only seats 50 heads a night for six months out of the year. While my chance of going has gone from slim to none, PartySugar may have better luck: she requested a reservation before the announcement! Have your hopes to visit El Bulli been deflated?