76 replies to this topic

[Pablo Carrion]

thats too bad...why vegetables are too often limited to a garnish or as second place to the usual lineups of animal protein obsessed dishes, unsurprisingly resulting in heavy menus, is beyond me...if it were up to me, i would bias towards a delicately selected and cooked menu protagonised by the seasonal vegetable department, while maintaining the richness of few animal cuts. the same could be said for cereals, in particular wholegrains.
but that is only my personal perspective and choice...

[augustine]

I specifically asked for a vegetable dish when I was there last weekend and aside from peppers and a a green salad served with the steak there were none available. The tasting menu was also lacking a vegetable course.

In someway agreeing partly with Matthew I have to say that without having had lunch there I would'nt have the same strength of feeling towards Extebarri.The three dishes which struck me as being unforgettable were the vegetable dish and seabass for lunch and the wonderful smoked Caviar in the evening. However as it stands over two meals it was a magnificent display of technique, sourcing and vocation.

[robert40]

Bourdain's visit will be airing this upcoming Monday.

[Pablo Carrion]

http://es.youtube.co...h?v=vfBvbXyLfLA

[FDE]

For some reason, whenever I thought of grill, I could only think of dry and overcooked meat from a barbecue and grilling seafood was totally a waste. But my visit in October re-defined what grill is all about to me.


We were amazed by the smokiness and the freshness of the ingredient! That's what this restaurant is all about. For this type of cooking, there is no sauce or anything to hide an imperfect ingredient.


It was hard to believe someone could grill such a delicate ingredient - a light smokiness was beautifully carried throughout.


Nice charcoalness to this smoked butter!


Grilled egg yolk is out of this world! It had smokiness even inside the egg yolk.


Smoked ice cream! Shockingly delicious and again, it had a nice charcoal aroma!

We had a long chat with Chef Lennox from Australia and we are going back there this weekend for the caviar and baby eel.

See More Here

Edited by FDE, 04 February 2009 - 03:55 PM.

[Lenski]

I had never seen (let alone eaten) the grilled egg yolk. I hope it is still on the menu a couple of months from now...

[FDE]

I had never seen (let alone eaten) the grilled egg yolk.  I hope it is still on the menu a couple of months from now...

Yes, I am pretty sure it is always on their menu. Only seasonal ingredients, e.g. baby eel, are not available everyday.

[Lenski]

That will teach me to read the menu more often and not ask for whatever the chef wants....not that I have ever been disappointed at Etxebarri.

[faine]

How difficult is it to get a reservation? We're considering an early July visit.

[Rogelio]

Very easy, just call ahead a couple days in advance.

[faine]

Marvelous. We will be making our reservation via the website...seems very convenient. Will report back...

[kathryn]

I made my reservation through the web site and they got back to me the next day. Very responsive.

[olicollett]

I notice there's not been any posts for a long time on here - but the good news is, it's still an amazing experience.

I get the impression that not a lot has changed here over the years - but then why would it? It was a very memorable experience and one I would gladly do again and again.

The restaurant itself is in a wonderful setting - it's not the easiest place to find as others have mentioned and my satnav didn't seem to have a clue about the roads around there, but once you're in the vicinity it's easy enough.

After sitting down we opted for the tasting menu - the menu itself is pretty big, and I expect if you dare you could add some extras.

First to arrive was the hand churned butter on toast with some mushrooms. The butter was very salty, but with the slight bitterness of the grilled toast it was wonderfully balanced


Next up were sea barnacles - something i've never eaten before but wow. I ended up making quite a mess but it was certainly worth it!

The grilled palamos prawns made me wonder what people had been doing with prawns elsewhere. They must have been some of the juiciest, flavoursome prawns i've ever had. Again, the seasoning was generous, but spot on


Grilled egg yolk followed with St George's mushroom, followed by some incredibly tender grilled peas


Grilled anchovies had a wonderful smoky note, again seasoned perfectly


Bacalao with grilled pepper is still on the menu, cooked perfectly like everything else


The final savoury dish - Grilled beef on the bone. Some of the best beef I've ever had. As always the seasoning is brave but just right, complimenting the crust of the beef


Wild fruit infusion with cheese ice cream was a refreshing dessert:


Lastly, pane perdu with smoked milk ice cream. This reminded me of Heston Blumenthal's famous bacon and egg ice cream dish - unusual but good



It should certainly be on anyones list of places to visit, and I can't wait to get back!

[heidih]

Lovely meal. The bacalao looks like fresh cod- is it dried and reconstituted as I think of the term or?

[maggiethecat]

My daughter and son in law had lunch there three weeks ago. The said it was the greatest, and most expensive meal of their lives and they'd do it all over, like, tomorrow.

[olicollett]

Lovely meal. The bacalao looks like fresh cod- is it dried and reconstituted as I think of the term or?

Yep I think you're right with reconstituted, I think it's basically left in water so that it reabsorbs the moisture and reduces the saltiness. The texture seemed firmer than with fresh cod and it did taste salted, but it was the first time I had tried it like that.

[deadstroke]

My meal on the 2nd of July. It was stupendous.

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Edited by deadstroke, 24 October 2011 - 04:25 AM.