Meigas Tempts the Palate with Imported Spanish Ingredients and Imported Spanish Chef

At Meigas (Spanish for magic), 10 Wall St., native Galician octopus is not the only thing flown over from Spain to pique your American palate.

Owner Carlos Hernandez also flew in Miguel Rebolledo from his native San Sebastian on the northern coast of Spain, to be the restaurant's executive chef.

"There's nobody here who can cook authentic Spanish cuisine like Miguel does," Hernandez boasts.

When savvy Hernandez took over Meigas three years ago, he was determined to carry on the Spanish cuisine that had created a loyal base of aficionados from southern Fairfield County under previous owners.

The only way to do that, he knew, was to hire a talented, native-born Spaniard as chef.

These days, the way to do that is over the Internet.

Hernandez posted his need for such a chef on a website scoured by culinary professionals from abroad.

Before Rebolledo answered the call—lured by free airfare, free board and room, a comfortable salary and the chance to learn about America while doing what he loves to do—three others had tried and failed, Hernandez said.

Hernandez found Rebolledo so copacetic that, after a year, he agreed to sponsor his application for an extended visa. Word has just come down from immigration authorities that Rebolledo's visa is good through 2014.

For patrons of the restaurant, which occupies the most prominent part of the handsome 1864 Trolley Barn, that is good news indeed.

Where else can you go for a 10-pound roasted baby suckling pig, served with potato foam and sauteed spinach with sherry and fig sauce? ($28)

Or a boneless Angus short rib floating in a dark beer and Rioja wine reduction? ($28)   

Mediterranean sea bass and wild salmon similarly undergo uniquely Spanish culinary treatments. ($29 and $28) 

The grilled filet mignon is wrapped in Iberico ham and sauced with truffles, foie gras and Rioja.

As he's explaining that the Spanish cuisine is not heavily spiced because the ingredients are of top quality, supplied by high-end purveyors, Rebolledo is directed to prepare a sampling plate of tapas for this visitor from Patch to photograph.

Shortly, Rebolledo emerges from the kitchen with a serving dish of three of his creations, a still-life suitable for framing.

On one end is a duck foie gras delicately coated with carmelized onion and Rioja wine, decorated with a feather-like plume of crispy Iberian ham.

In the middle, an oxtail risotto impaled with a freshly steamed lobster claw.

Next to that: an architectural construction of avocado salad, seared scallop, blood orange, roasted beet, truffle and parsley vinaigrette.

The gracious hosts invite the visitor to a taste, but spoiling the beauty of the presentation seems too cruel.

Wines are all of Spanish vintage and are priced up to $500. Many are in the $50 to $100 range. (On Thursdays and Sundays, bottles are discounted 25 percent.)

Meigas is especially celebrated for its prix fixe menu offering a choice of tapas and a main dish. The Meigas Tapas Tasting available on Thursdays and Sundays includes a soup of the day, grilled salmon, clams and mussels in saffron sauce, giant white beans, duck lasagna, spinach-stuffed chicken and vegetarian paella, all followed by a chef's dessert tasting. ($29)

Meigas is open for lunch every day except Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner is served Sunday through Thursday from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 10 p.m.. Reservations are accepted at (203) 866-8800. The website is www.MeigasRestaurant.com.