Paella in the Sky

  WHEN I ARRIVED at Socarrat, the new Catalan paella bar on West 19th Street in Chelsea, I ran into a friend who I’d last seen leaping out of a black sedan in Barcelona, sun-kissed from a week at his parents’ house on the Costa Brava.

After we exchanged greetings, he asked if I’d been to Socarrat before.When I said no, he smiled and then said, “I think you’re in for a treat.”This, I thought, was a good sign. “Socarrat,” as the cover of the menu notes, is a Catalan word that describes the carmelization of the bottom layer of paella when the liquid is absorbed and the rice is done.The fact that there’s a word to describe not just a type of dish, but an aspect of its execution—and only when that execution is done well—suggests how important paella is to Catalan cuisine. And achieving the perfect “socarrat” in each of the menu’s half-dozen paellas is what this unassuming restaurant just east of Eighth Avenue is all about.

After a few minutes, my friend Sara arrived, and there was an awkward moment as Socarrat’s all-in-one owner and maitre d’ decided which party to seat next.The restaurant is small, seating no more than 25-30 on either side of a long bar that extends into the

Seafood paella at Chelsea’s new home for the Spanish specialty, Socarrat.