craving catalonia

One of the "culinary innovations" of the past decade has to be the explosion of what has come to be called molecular gastronomy. I recently had the chance to visit the hotbed of this creativity - (aside: Is it possible for one chef to influence an entire region with his philosophy and style? I think superstar chef Ferran Adrià would fall into this category). While I, like countless others will have to wait till 2013 to try our luck at reservations (not to mention months of saving) when El Bulli reopens, Catalonia teems with culinary gems who are either direct descendants of Ferran (I think it would be fun to have a concept like an Erdős number in the culinary world - like a Ducasse or Adrià number !) or deeply influenced by him. With both EB and the other gem in the region El Celler de Can Roca closed for the season, I had to "settle" for excellent choices from the number of places that have taken molecular gastronomy to new levels - this time - Cinq Sentits and Alkimia, the latter highly recommended. For tapas, the local joint(s) and Comerç 24 (fabulous creativity on the small plate/tapas concept by Ferran protege Carles Abellan).
I will spare the gentle reader any food porn or painful descriptions thereof. Coupled with some eating and recent reading, I was assailed with some philosophical afterthoughts:

An older article by Anya von Bremzen on “Should Fine Dining Die” explores the “contrived amuse-gueles-to-petit-fours rigmarole known as fine dining”
Foodie fatigue - A plea for calm among foodies from the Chicago Tribune. "Food culture is great when it gets people thinking about what's on their plate, not photographing it"
And this rather droll foodie discussion - IMHO if you have any sort of opinion on what you eat, you're a foodie, like it or not. The rest is details. Instead of indulging in petty semantics, it is humbling to realize that there are millions of people who dont have this luxury.

As a scientist and yes, foodie, I find the ideas of ingredient foams, emulsions, powders, creams, suspensions, infusions, freeze dried ingredients (or cooking with liquid nitrogen) and other "non-conventional" preparations of food incredibly neat. In addition to being fascinatingly clever, I also find the melding of conventional and esoteric ingredients (flowers, fungi and foraged natural products - the current global darling NOMA having taken the latter to extreme levels) quite exciting. I also marvel at the creativity of the chefs and the art of presentation, which is more than having something show up on a square plate. But...
1. Primarily, what is the real point – does this “deconstruction” add to taste or is it all just gimicky? (I add that I shameless enjoy the gimicks)
2. While the concept of 10+ elegantly constructed and innovative dishes is certainly fun, how practical is it really? Does it even have to be "practical"?
3. Price is another question here, although as I've observed recently, dining out in RVA is not an inexpensive proposition either. This would be an interesting subject to study - where does price resistance or elasticity break down ?
I just wonder, while enjoying all that this contribution to food has to offer.
(with hunger, need, recessions and unemployment around, spending ridiculous amounts on single meals - that is another philosophical discussion for another day).

Is it too much to ask for an AF-esque mind for RVA ? Would love to see someone sidestep the paradigm (even a dish or two). Go wild !! (the MA in NOMA comes from mad)

Ok, I lied and will violate my principles - I had to photograph one of the best amuse bouches I've had in a while - @ CS - a shot glass of layered maple syrup, chilled cream, a sabayon made with cava and a tiny bit of rock salt at the bottom that trickles down to your tongue once the sweetness of the earlier ingredients have made their way down your throat. This was the very definition of an amuse bouche, delightfully light and talk about titillating a palate !