Miralda: El Internacional (1984–1986): New York’s Archaeological Sandwich

Paperback

“With Miralda simulating a kind of surreal yet sophisticated Spanish tapas bar, you were jolted out of a safe and familiar atmosphere and launched into the movie-star world of madly overdressed, beautiful women and smoky-eyed cigar-wielding Latin men. Importantly, the food was absolutely terrific, and not terribly expensive. It was the restaurant of choice for love affairs, celebrations and domestic arguments. Halfway between Lower Manhattan and The Odeon, the restaurant of record for the serious New York art world, El Internacional seemed wild and fun, and a good place in which to behave badly.”

El Internacional Tapas Bar & Restaurant was conceived as an artistic project carried out between 1984 and 1986 by artist Antoni Miralda (born 1942) and chef Montse Guillén (born 1946) in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City. One of the first restaurants to introduce Spanish tapas in the United States, El Internacional quickly became a cultural icon and a creative hub of New York’s downtown in the 1980s. It combined the social ritual of eating with installation and performance art, blurring the boundaries between food, art, design, architecture and mass media. Miralda’s El Internacional (1984–1986) documents the restaurant’s history through the memories of the people who contributed to it. Richly illustrated and featuring some of El Internacional’s most successful recipes, this volume tells the story of a crucial piece of urban history from a city not always able to protect its landmarks.

Out of print!