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James Beard House
December 22, 2009Passed Tapas, Pinxtos, and Montaditos
Sasa Mahr-Batuz and Andy Pforzheimer opened the first Barcelona Wine Bar 15 years ago in South Norwalk, introducing Connecticut to tapas and Spanish wines. Back then, Andy did the cooking, Sasa answered the phones, and there were 28 seats. Today there are 6 Barcelonas, each as quirky and individual as their slightly crazy owners.
Gretchen Thomas joined Barcelona as Wine Director in 2005, and has since become one of the USA’s foremost experts on the wines of Spain, Argentina, and Uruguay. Together, the three of them authored The Barcelona Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Wine and Life, published in June of 2009.
Hamachi Escabeche, Orange, Lemon, and Peppers White Asparagus, Citrus Aioli
Hondaribbi Zuri, Ulacia, Getariako Txakolina 2008
st course chilled
1
Eyhab “Happy” Hatab realized his passion for food and authentic cuisine as a child in his grandmother’s kitchen. After graduat-ing from Johnson and Wales in Rhode Is-land, he decided to study food sciences at the Nabisco Laboratories.
Hatab was one of the opening members of Marcus Samuelsson’s Washington Square. He then took a Sous Chef position at the award-winning Pluckmenin Inn in Bed-minster NJ. Followed by Daniel Sterns “Rae restaurant” as Chef de Cuisine in Phil-adelphia. He moved on to a short stint at George Perrier’s Le bec Fin in Philadelphia and is now a proud member of Barcelona.
eyhab
“
happy
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hatab
Esqeixada: Marinated Baccalao Salad
Montadito of Roast Pepper and Spanish Anchovies Manzanilla "Paparoosa," Emilio Lustau, Jerez NV
nd course salted
2
Adam Greenberg began his cooking career under the guidance of Billy Grant of Bricco restaurant in West Hartford, CT. Greenberg studied at Johnson & Wales University, then worked under Tom Colicchio at Gramercy Tavern, where he refined his skill.
After years of traveling from Florida to NYC, Greenberg returned home to revamp and re-vitalize the Barcelona experience in West Hartford. Greenberg brings with him his professionalism, hospitality, and, most of all, his culinary creativity.
adam greenberg
Oyster Gratinata “Torrejon”
Chickpea and Oyster Mishroom Croquette Albariño Esencia Diviña, Rìas Baixas 2008
rd course oysters
3
Larry Baldwin began his career at Union Pa-cific, a three-star, highly acclaimed restau-rant, working under the notorious Rocco Dispirito. In 2005, Baldwin took a Sous Chef position at Mario Batali’s tiny, but wide-ly popular Spanish Tapas restaurant, Casa Mono, under Chef Andy Nusser.
In 2007, Baldwin assisted Anne Burrell in opening her first restaurant called Centro Vinoteca. Baldwin looks forward to further-ing his knowledge of Spanish cuisine and making delicious and playful dishes that are founded on authentic Spanish cooking.
larry baldwin
Octopus “Albondigas,” Roast Pepper Reduction Polpo Gallego
Tempranillo, “Viña Ardanza,” La Rioja Alta Reserva, Rioja 2000
th course octopus
Christian Petroni knew early on that his dream was to become a chef. During his first job as a DJ at Trotters Tavern, he met owner Anthony Goncalves, who would soon become a close friend and mentor. After high school, Petroni decided to pursue his passion for food and at-tended the New York Restaurant School. After Goncalves re-conceived Trotters as Peniche, he contacted Petroni to work with him.
At Peniche, Petroni oversaw the kitchen and worked with Goncalves to continually explore Spanish and Portuguese-inspired tapas utiliz-ing local and organic utiliz-ingredients.
christian petroni
House-Cured Pork Belly, Sherry Glaze Fresh Brussel Sprouts “A la Plancha” Garnacha/Cariñena, Laurona, Montsant 2004
th course pork
5
Hazen got his start piloting the kitchen at the now-defunct T-Salon beneath the Gug-genheim SoHo before signing on as Sous chef at La Caravelle, one of the city’s most respected French eateries. His work at La Caravelle led to his nomination and induc-tion into the Vatel Club, an internainduc-tional chef’s association.
Hazen moved to Chicago in 1998 to work with acclaimed chef Paul Kahan at Kahan’s award-winning restaurant, Blackbird. Ha-zen joined the Barcelona team in the pur-suit of clean flavors that let the essence of the ingredients shine though.
michae hazen
Grilled Dry-aged Hanger Steak, Black Truffle Vinaigrette Wild Mushrooms with Herbed Goat Cheese
Tempranillo/Syrah, Bodegas Mauro, Tudela del Duero 2006
th course beef
6
Erin Hunt attended the Culinary Institute of America. During his two years at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, Erin worked as as-sistant department head for each kitchen including the Pastry Shop and the Five Star Five Diamond Dining Room.
In 2007, Erin made the decision to leave the Ritz-Carlton, moving to Chicago to join Richard Melman’s Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises as an Executive Sous Chef. In March of 2009, Erin returned to his native state of Connecticut eager to accept the Ex-ecutive Chef position with Barcelona.
erin hunt
Lemon Curd, Candied Walnuts, Fresh Fruit Moscatel Superior, “Emelin,” Emilio Lustau, Jerez NV
ostre
P
Taking a degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta, Halberg paired a push through some of Atlanta’s most respected restau-rants (Justin Ward’s Harvest, La Grotta Ris-torante in Buckhead) with a year working in Florence and Modena, Italy.
He worked at James Beard winner Melissa Kelly’s seaside Italian restaurant Primo. This was followed by seven years in Bos-ton, consulting for popular restaurant/ca-terer Bakers Best and running restaurants for both Laura Brennan and James Beard winner Michael Schlow.