This is another awesome Tasting Collective dining club event we attended. (You can read about the previous posts about Tasting Collective events here: Fish Cheeks, Win Son, FOB, Xixa, Huertas, Bessou, Maharlika, Traif, Lalito, Noreetuh, Traif #2, Txikito, Oka, Xixa2, TabeTomo, Houseman, and Nowon). Tasting Collective is a dining club for food lovers, and they offer brunch and dinner at great NYC restaurants. They close off the restaurants for the club, so we get to have the entire restaurant and Chef(s) all to ourselves. So, this is more than just eating food at a restaurant, but you get to have the background story and its passion from the Chef(s), eating 5- to 12- or more course brunch/dinner created specifically for Tasting Collectives. There is a discount code at the end of this blog for those of you who are interested in joining.

This event was held at GAUDIr, 5-course Modern Spanish Dinner Event. If you are wondering about the name of the restaurant, in Catalan, Gaudir means to “enjoy” which reminds the chef of his family vacation from when he was a child. It also refers to the architect Gaudi who largely influenced the landscape of Barcelona in the region of Catalonia. They had a small, covered outdoor seating, but it was a freezing cold day! We were happy to have the event in the inside for sure…

The inside was not that big, but homey. I always like an interior with lots of exposed woods, which makes it feel cozier in my opinion. And they did have lots of wood everywhere, bringing out the warm atmosphere. The rustic red color against the wood and black ceiling made me think of old-time Spanish home or cellar. Intimate and romantic.

The chef of GAUDIr, Cedric Durand is French, who spent a lot of time and Spain and fell in love with Spanish cuisine. With his Michelin Star background, he creates traditional Spanish food with a twist, sharing his passion for food with others.

Excited for all the great Spanish dishes, we decided to get some cocktails to go with them. They have a few kinds of Gin & Tonic cocktails. I hear Gin is one of their most popular drinks in Spain.

My hubby got Charred Lemon, Rosemary & Coriander Cocktail ($12), made with Gin, Tonic, Rosemary, Coriander, and Lemon. It had a nice aroma and flavor of the herbs. Very clean pallet, you can really taste each ingredients. High quality drink! I went with Grapefruit & Basil Cocktail ($12), made with Gin, Tonic, grapefruit, and Basil. I didn’t taste any kind of artificial sweetness, it was great! Loved the aroma of the basil. Again, clean flavor, but a bit sweeter than the lemon one.

Now, let’s get into the food! The first course was Tuna Tartare, made with Bellota Ham, ponzu, and Truffle. The tuna was so plump! Love the flavor of ponzu it went perfectly with the tuna. It had more of a hint of truffle that really takes this dish to the next level. Addition of Spanish ham was ingenious and awesome. It added almost chewy texture, and a subtle salty flavor making it savory and extra satisfying. What an amazing marriage of tuna and ham, creative and tasty idea that totally works!

The second course was Chicken Confit Cannelloni with Sauce Royal. Chef Cedric explained that this is a Catalan style, but instead of making this with béchamel sauce, he uses Sauce Royal, which is a classic French sauce.

It came out nice and hot. Nice amount of flavor with lots of seasoning, a bit too salty for me. Nice amount of filling with tender chicken pieces. The wrap is a bit thicker than I expected, making it a bit difficult to cut through, but had a nice doughy and chewy texture in a good way.

I was excited for the third course, since I love seafood. It was Chilean Sea Bass, made with Caviar Beurre Blanc and Spinach.

The Sea bass was so soft like cloud, and perfectly flaky! Loved the crispy exterior on the top, contrasting to the rest of the fish. Spinach was cooked just right, fresh with just the right amount of seasoning. Caviar was a nice touch, added extra flavor and texture, while elevating this dish to the next level. Then sauce was light, yet it had substantial flavor. The sauce went great with everything on this plate, like glue that brings all the ingredients together into one happy family.

The fourth course, and the last savory dish, was the Braised Veal Cheeks, made with Carrots, Chanterelle Mushrooms, and Orange Sauce.

The veal had no bone, but if it did, the meat will be falling off the bone! So tender and juicy, packed with flavor. The flavor of orange was not overpowering, but gave a slight acidic flavor that balanced out the sweetness of the meat. Carrot was great too, another item that complimented the sweetness.

The last course was a dessert. It was Apple Confit, made with Almond Milk, Streusel, and Sour Cream.

The really made with sour cream and mascarpone cheese (I believe), which was very interesting. Created a flavor that was mix of light and rich. Clever way to create a light sauce with rich flavor. Apple was so good, soft and warm. Kind of deconstructed Apple strudel.

They have one gender-neutral bathroom in the back to the left. The door is slightly hidden by the curtain. The inside was clean, nice size, and with beautiful nature framed on the wall.

We had another amazing Tasting Collective Event, this time at GAUDIr. I am blessed and super happy that the team at Tasting Collective has figured out the way to offer these delicious events safely during these difficult times.

For those of you who are interested in joining this great dining club, Tasting Collective, you can use this link to get a discounted annual rate of $125 (over 25% off the normal $165/year) for the first year: https://tastingcollective.com/?invite_code=JUN4346

GAUDIr – 251 E 110th St Suite #4, New York, NY 10029