Dolarea: Beasain, Basque Country

 As part of my travails with the first-ever San Sebastián Restaurant Week, which mostly include eating a lot for both lunch and dinner, I journeyed earlier this week out to the countryside with my loyal partner-in-crime, Conde de La Maza.

Our stop? Dolarea in Beasain. I thought I had no idea where it was, but it turns out I used to enjoy summer post-bike ride coffees there with a friend.

We sat down to some croquetas made with the famed local blood sausage, morcilla de Beasain.  The owner of the hotel and restaurant, Iban Mate, gave us a warm welcome. He was really a pleasure to talk to...passionate both about the food and the wine.

Then we moved on to a toasted Idiazabal salad, which was dressed with a txakoli vinaigrette. Iban likes to say that whites make much more interesting pairs for most cheeses, and if this salad was any testament, he's right.

 Next, a creamy scramble of kokotxas, those mysterious cuts of fish that translate to either cheek, jowl, or that piece of meat right around the throat. These were of bacalao, and this dish was SUPERB.

Then a dish that was instructive and delish...bacalao in a mix of sauces, one emulating the tomato pepper sauce they call vizcaína, the other a silky smooth version of garlicky pil pil.

And the dessert de resistance was a famed local creation, the pantxineta. Puff pastry, almonds, and pastry cream, accompanied by a bitter cream and a smoking shot glass of sweetened wine. 

This place is perfect for a nice lunch or dinner when exploring the countryside around Donosti-don't miss it.

365 tuesdays

Now that spring's here, there's an incredible selection of vegetables at the market. One of the best is the fresh green sweet pea. So young, so little. You can eat them raw, lightly cooked, or in a salad with a lemon vinaigrette and shavings of parmigiano.  

13€ a bag in the Old Part open-air market.

Part of the 365 Cities project.

San Sebastián Restaurant Week

Today marked the beginning of a food first in San Sebastián : the first-ever restaurant week. With about .01% of the population of a city like New York, San Sebastián manages to retain an oversize influence in the culinary world.

And over the next two weeks, 16 restaurants in the city and its surrounding areas are offering prix-fixe menus at 25 euros apiece.  I think it's a pretty fine deal, and personally I'm looking forward to trying them....all :)  My lunches and dinners over the next two week will be totally consumed.

You can keep up with photos on flickr and follow Restaurant Week on Twitter.

The list of restaurants participating in the first round is:

NARRU
LA CEPA
BOKADO SAN TELMO
PATXI AIZPURU
BODEGON ALEJANDRO
ASTELENA 1997
MARINA BERRI (ZUMAIA)
LA FÁBRICA
LA MURALLA
BARKAIZTEGI
PETRITEGI
DOLAREA (BEASAIN)
NI NEU
MARTÍNEZ (ORDIZIA)
GRAN SOL (HONDARRIBIA)
SUGARRI (HONDARRIBIA)

Pasai, Almost Summer

Pasai Donibane. Basque Country. Nearly summer. Rainy and cold. Landscape couldn't be more beautiful.

Interview with Andoni Luis Aduriz

Just a day after one of the best meals I've EVER had, a meal that hit the highest notes and reveals a restaurant that is continuing to evolve and never satisified with stagnant excellence, I came across an interview with the man behind it all.

Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz.

Loved this interview, and loved that upon reading it I saw glimpses of my meal. Loved that his ideology and opinions are so strong that they maintain themselves as they are turned into food, pass through the hands of young chefs, then waiters, all the way to the diner who then makes a connection between tastebuds and thought.

Some key quotes from Aduriz:

As with writing, inspiration can be found anywhere – even in something as simple as a cup of coffee. I’m working now on a dish inspired by melancholy: I live in a valley that is very atmospheric, where you see the change of seasons starkly. In autumn, when the leaves fall to the ground, decomposition is very fast. In the dish I use a camellia leaf, made to appear skeletal – it reminds you of the passing of time.

And on Basque cuisine:

A very light touch can be as effective as something much more forceful. If I could, it would be interesting to serve a grain of salt to a diner.

And finally, revealing what the world's number 3 chef thinks about his food in the hand of peers:

It would be really hard to set up, because some of the inspirational people I’ve worked with in the past would probably mess up my restaurant, and I would end up doing the washing up afterwards.

❤

The interview in its entirety can be read at the Financial Times website.

Andoni's been busy....recent interviews can also be found at:

• The New York Times (For Them, A Great Meal Tops Good Intentions)
• Eater (Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz on Mugaritz And Deliciousness)
• Reuters (Playful Aduriz Masters Culinary Mind Games)