Our Top-Ten favourite restaurants (2)

2- Casa Toni, San Vicente de la Sonsierra


You may want to go to San Vicente de la Sonsierra for:
a- its breathtaking views over Ebro valley
b -its wineries (mythical "Contador" wine is produced here).
c- Casa Toni.
d- all of the above.

Casa Toni is in fact two restaurants, one traditional and one modern -both excellent. As chef Jesús Saez says, "you may experiment but you should never forget the roots of regional cuisine".

www.casatoni.es

Our Top-Ten favourite restaurants (1)

1- Cachetero, Logroño


Cachetero is not simply a restaurant: it is an institution in Logroño. It opened 100 years ago as a basic "casa de comidas" and it is now, four generations after, one of our favourite restaurants in the region. Great location, nice atmosphere and excellent traditional food cooked by chef Diego Arechinolaza and his team.
What else can you ask for?
Wine, of course....but, hey, you are in Rioja...you can take that for granted here!

www.cachetero.com

"8-20" opens in Logroño

You know you cannot go wrong with brothers Ignacio and Carlos Echapresto, owners of the already multi-awarded, multi-praised restaurant Venta de Moncalvillo -which is, by the way, three miles away from us.

Well, we have great news: they just opened "8-20", an exclusive (really) restaurant downtown Logroño, right in the old section. The restaurant opens only by appointment for private groups from 8 to 20 people -hence the name. They'll cook exclusively for you and your selected party and lead you through a gastronomic experience that will be hard to match!

It's harvest time!

Please excuse us for not updating the blog in the last weeks.....It is harvest time and we are carefully monitoring each and every grape in the region to see how they turn into vino.

The cycle starts again, the wineries are at their busiest....and we simply cannot wait to taste 2008!!


A toast to all our dear clients of Casa Josephine.

From the orchard to our table

Because we dream of the possibility of starting an orchard for Casa Josephine, we have been learning from the experts. José -neighbour and friend- has patiently taught us how things are done: what grows when, where to plant what, when to pick what...

And here's what we learnt above anything else: growing a vegetable garden is easy when the soil is so fertile....in fact, fertile to a crazy extent!


From June to September, this is the harvest in Sorzano:
Plums, cherries, kumquats, strawberries, beans, peaches, cabagge, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, pears, lettuce, apples, tomatoes, peppers...


And now that summer draws to its end...get your baskets ready for figs and grapes!

Santiago Calatrava

New Yorker's current issue features a FANTASTIC article on architect Santiago Calatrava by Rebecca Mead.

Here's the link to the article, "Winged Victories":
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/01/080901fa_fact_mead

Because there is very little to be added, we will not say more.