Guggenheim Bilbao

This post references the gastronomic restaurant inside the tremendous and breath taking Guggenheim Bilbao...its run by the famed and Michelin starred Martin Berasategui who has installed a terrific young chef named Josean Alija.

This place overlooks the river and was pretty well booked out the night we were there in Mid February.  We took the earliest reservation offered at 9 pm and our party of four opted for the tasting menu entitled:

Creation, Freedom and Tendencies

Cucumber impregnated with vegetable drops, melon sauteed with mint, all seasoned with kafir, cardamon and grapefruit

Roasted Red Endives soaked in a shellfish and cardamon stock, with a smooth orange blossom flavored grapefruit cream

Roasted aubergine flavored with makil goxo, based on  a yogurt emulsion, Farga olive(reputed to be from 1000 year old trees)

Roasted Fish on a wild garlic juice with Ballobar capers and lemon herb

Iberian Pork piece, honey, marinated potato

Baker esperiega apple gnocchi on whipped cheese with green cardamon and cinnamon ice cream

An unusual finale  entitled "Use your Hands"  which had a coffee textured toasted beer ice cream, orange skin confit with orange blossom

Service was absolutely terrific.   Some molecular gastronomic touches with the added bonus of a magical expanding napkin and a little bit of theater with a solitary leather gloved bread service that made me think of Michael Jackson.

Not a single missed note....expect great press and Michelin recognition soon for Josean.

Arzak

This 3 starred Michelin restaurant is as unassuming as can be on the outside...almost looks like it could be an apartment building way on the upper west side of New York...the kind without the doorman. It was actually the childhood home of Juan Mari Arzak the patron half of the father-daughter chef team and the man considered the father (or grandfather now!) of modern Spanish cuisine.

Elena is the daughter with whom most English speaking diners will get a tableside visit from. Reports are that they work well together but don't always see eye to eye. Everything about the tasting menu we experienced was spot on, with nary a miss. A bit of gastronomic modernity showing off some of the creative side is fused with perfect flavor profiles. The most unique technique was the "bronzed onion" and sauce that accompanied it...literally a metallic application ala the gold leaf that we occasionally see elsewhere on chocolate desserts.

Great wine list with some of those typical 20 euro Spanish bargains seen elsewhere, but other highly touted Parker wines such as Numanthia at a bit less than US retail. Service was unobtrusive and efficient. Amazingly, lots of locals and several families with children enjoying lunch the Saturday afternoon we were there. For me, this was the best meal of the trip and one of our best experiences ever.

Mugaritz

This 2 starred Michelin restaurant is a bit difficult to find...the Gps on our iPhone led us into a cow pasture. Its outside Errenteria, not far from San Sebastian. In an idyllic country setting, with a perfect Monet-esque haystack sitting outside the window, the tables are widely spaced and it is perfect for unwinding and conducive to a long leisurely lunch.

You are presented with a choice of 2 tasting menus and 2 small envelopes labelled "submit" and "rebel" ...up to you which you choose! I demure from revealing too much about the menu because there are a few shocking surprises that I would not want to spoil. The service is easy going Spanish and the host/manager is a character you will never forget....you want to take him home with you. A really multinational staff....a Venezualen served as our sommelier and selected wines by the glass to pair with our food and one of the servers was a chef from Texas who had been in the kitchen and was learning the ropes of the service staff.

Not everything was a knockout (red mullet was a bit too fishy , for example) but it is quite a memorable and enjoyable experience. It certainly is one of the most comfortable dining rooms we've ever experienced. A little like Noma in Copenhagen, but without the animal skins.

Daniel Lindley, James Beard Award Nominee

Daniel Lindley, of St John's restaurant in Chattanooga, was nominated for a James Beard award for the Southeast region.

What a great honor and well deserved. We've tried several of the restaurants of the other nominees and Daniel and St. John stand above those nominees. Daniel joins a great roster of chefs nominated before him and Chattanooga gets some national recognition, too.

Extebarri

This small tavern/restaurant in Axpe, Spain, halfway between San Sebastian and Bibao, was almost an after thought. It was a place that I was wary of...you know, a restaurant that "grills" everything doesn't strike one as fine dining. Sure its been featured on several television programs recently, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee greatness.

After much debate, we e mailed 2 days before our arrival and decided to make this our first meal of our San Sebastian trip. We were amazed by the product and the subtlety of the presentation...it was certainly one of the 10 best meals of our lives.

Axpe is a gorgeous tiny town literally at the end of a country road, hemmed in by mountains. Victor doesn't speak much English, so Lenox the Australian served as our host. The menu is deceptively simple...much like Craft, a list of ingredients with a price, no other discourse is offered. You enter the restaurant through a bar with locals having a drink and climb a flight of stairs to a very comfortable almost rustic dining area.

We asked if a tasting menu could be devised and it was.

Chorizo
Smoked butter
Palamos shrimp
Grilled Mussels
Baby Octupus
Garden Vegetables, Perigord Truffle
Grilled Turbot
Grilled Beef Chop
Canutillos, smoked milk ice cream
Wild Fruit Infusion, Fresh cheese ice cream

Everything was terrific. We have never had better chorizo...Victor hand makes it and it just melts in your mouth. Unfortunately, only 2 other tables were occupied on a Friday for lunch. Great well priced wine list...lots of nice Spanish wines for 16 to 18 euros...Of course, everything including the ice cream had a delightful smoked flavor. But product was top notch often with a simple sauce that let the product shine.

Donastia-San Sebastian

Donastia is the Basque word for San Sebastian.

Unpretentious is the best English word to describe the food culture there.

Because of restaurants like Arzak, Mugaritz and Extebarri it is to my mind the best place to eat in the world. We also experienced Jatetxea at the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Barcelona comes close with places like Sauc and Commerc 24, but San Sebastian can't be topped especially when you throw in the tapas experience. After all, this is a town of 150,000 (same size as Chattanooga) and to be able to go into a tiny bar, have a glass of wine and have 5 different small dishes prepared by an alumnus of El Bulli is amazing.

Specific notes to follow.

Gramercy Tavern, The Modern and Eleven Madison Park

Gramercy seems as solid as ever, but a bit stuck.  Everything was stellar, but nothing stood out as Excellent.  For instance,  several of the dishes are done better by a Gramercy alumnus, Daniel Lindley, chef at St. Johns in Chattanooga.

The Modern was a big big disappointment with nothing at all to recommend about it.  Not a place to return to.

Eleven Madison Park is the jewel of the Danny Meyer franchise, with stellar cooking by Daniel Humm and one of America's best sommeliers in John Ragan.  Lunch is the time to go, as dinner is prix fixe at about 85 dollars.  However, the suckling pig has only been available at dinner when we've gone.  Sine Qua Non has always been available on the wine list for those of you aching to try Manfred and Elaine's highly regarded wines.

Jean Georges

The best meal of 2008 was lunch at Jean Georges, December 30, 2008.  Sublime, with multiple courses of Asian inflected French cooking.  Terrific, laid back service by Josh, and a relative bargain to boot.  The dining room is a bit formal, but never seemed too stuffy.  Would go back time and time again.