pedro

I was visiting Donostia three weeks ago, and although the main goal of our visit was to expose to some relatives the wonders of top level cuisine, in the form of meals in Arzak and Berasategui, there're some (a lot, I'd say) other restaurants where you can fid extremely good food. After Robert's excellent article on Donostia, it really doesn't make sense to ellaborate more about Arzak, where I fully share his thoughts, and Berasategui, where I had already expressed a different position. Instead, I'll concentrate on other restaurants worth the visit: - Casa Nicolás (Tolosa, Avda. Zumalacárregui 6 - 943 65 47 59): Run by Peio Ruiz, son of the founder Nicolás Ruíz, you'll find the traditional offering of Basque Asadores. Do not expect sophisticated environment or food. A series of three small dining rooms, one of them presided by the barbecue. We were lucky enough to get a table in this latter room, where we had the opportunity to see Peio's work with the steaks and the barbecue. A simple thick piece of cod fish, perfectly fried, over a layer of confited green pepper and onion, was our starter. After that, followed one of the most perfect piquillos I've ever had, extremely thin, which melted down in your mouth. We caugth a glimpse of a big pan when we entered where the piquillos were being confited. Mouth-watering began instantly, also helped by the late hour we arrived there (around 3:15pm). As soon as we ordered, two serious steaks were put on the barbecue. This one consisted of a base with the embers, and an inclined grill to allow different heat exposures. Peio was able just looking to the steaks to know when they have reached the exact point of cooking. Almost crusty on the outside, with red and warm meat on the inside. These were salted after they were done with table salt. A simple salad of lettuce, tomato and onion, along with the wonderful piquillos, was all we need to garnish the steaks. Being particular fond of red meat, I must say that this was one of the best I've had lately. We concluded our simple, but wonderful meal, with a traditional dessert, flan. They have a quite impressive collection of wine, mostly traditional Riojas, and a cellar with more than 40.000 bottles. Lacking a wine list, you have to rely on Peio's abilities to pick your wine. This is an interactive process, where you give him some hints, he answers you back, you give him feedback, and this continues until the right wine comes to your table. As you have probably guessed, they have other traditional offering, like kokotxas, the famous alubias de Tolosa... - Ramón Roteta (Fuenterrabía/Hondarribia, Calle Irún Villa Ainara - 943 64 16 93): Well, I made two mistakes here. First of all, going to Fuenterrabía a.k.a Hondarribia the day of El Alarde, a local celebration where they conmemorate one of the most important battles against France back to 1638. The whole town was crowded, as well as the restaurants, and was difficult to secure a table. Every restaurant we found in town, offered only a pre-arranged menu. After findind this, I made my second mistake of the day, insisting of having lunch there instead of finding another place. So, we went to Roteta, where they followed the same scheme, and found a wedding like menu. Good, but nothing to write home about. It was a pity, because I really enjoyed my previous visit to Roteta, a few years ago, and I still remember one of the finest version I've ever had of the classical theme foie/truffle/egg/potato. I will return, and make sure there are no surprises!. - Rekondo (Donostia, Paseo de Igueldo 57, 943 21 29 07,Rekondo's web): After being turned down at Urepel because of lack of reservation, we were headed to Rekondo, which I haven't visited before, and was one of the great discoveries of the trip. Not only because of a classical cuisine executed flawlessly, but also because one of the best wine lists in Spain if not the best. Gerry Dawes has already qualified it as one of the best in Europe. Since we were at the end of our trip, we weren't precisely hungry. This, along with the windy and rainy night on Donostia, made us order a reconforting beef broth, some of the first boletus edulis simply grilled, kokotxas and hake in green sauce. Everything delicious. --------- To have a casual meal, you can rely on the pintxos offered in the old side of Donostia. Astelena, Portalete, near by the Plaza de la Constitución, are two of our favourite places. The only downside of the trip, was confirming that Panier Fleuri has closed his door.

I don't think this is a romantic illusion of yours, Bux. Only insiders can really have an exact view on how much responsibility Elena has and the degree of involvement from Juan Mari, but from every source available, it looks like the transition has already started (in fact, it started some years ago). Being that the case, I would judge the results as excellent.

Please note that Juan Mari has not retired, at least officially. I don't think his retirement will provoke a major blow in the kitchen, since Elena's involvement in the direction appears to have grown during the last years, and now she seems to have taken charge. What I'm not sure about is that his official retirement won't have an impact on the Michelin ranking.

I don't believe Santi Santamaria is from El Bulli. I'm not sure which restaurant had three stars first, but if I had to place a bet, I'd probably bet on Can Fabes. Certainly not. Santi Santamaria is not coming from El Bulli. In fact, he questions very much the type of cooking done by Adrià. He was the first restaurant in Catalonia to achieve the three stars. Since you're going to La Broche, where you'll experience an Adrianesque cuisinie, I'll recommend you to stick to your visit to Can Fabes. It's one of the best restaurants I know in the country. I haven't been (yet) to any of them, but Alkimia, Hisop and Comerç 24 are getting quite a lot of attention from spanish foodies. Keep them in mind if you change your plans and discard Can Fabes.

This is too subtle for me. At which point does a report about good experiences transform into a defense instead of a simple report?. I wouldn't qualify your report as an attack to Martin, and except some parts of my previous messages, I wouldn't say I was defending Martin, I simply was stating that I had difference experiences than you have had. Regards, Pedro

Geez, one is offline for a few hours, and misses such a hot debate. Well, let me recap my experience and what's being said about Martin here in Spain by some colleagues: a) I've been to Arzak and Martin once a year for the last 5 years. Last time, Sept. 4 at Arzak's, and Sept. the 7th at M.B. (1 time to Akelare, 3 to Zuberoa, for precision's sake. Will easily return to Zuberoa, I'll let pass some time to give a second chance to Akelare). On every of these visits, I had the tasting menu. b) Would I run a particular competition between Arzak and M.B., the score would be M.B. 4, Arzak 1 (2002). And I must emphasize that my meals in Arzak rank among the best I had in Spain, El Bulli, Can Fabes, La Broche, Can Roca, Hispania, Gaig, Racò d'en Feixa, Zalacaín, Cenador de Salvador and many others included (Peter Luger too ). c) On these five times, I've just experience two "issues" at Martin's. The minor and latest one, to find a sumiller less communicative, and perhaps less knowledgeable (lots of guessing here) than I was used to in Martin. The other one, last year, when I requested to move to a table near to the crystal wall with the view of the countryside, and was turned down because the table in question was reserved. No one finally showed up, and no explanation was given. Would had this some kind of influence on ranking that year higher Arzak than M.B.?. Could be. d) I can easily understand how people could be affected by other aspects beyond the pure food being served. I must admit that I can certainly have a higher tolerance regarding decoration, silverware, etc. But I wouldn't include service in that category. Besides food, I'm much pickier with wine glasses, temperature, wine list, wine prices, ... Smoke and perfume can also make me lose my temper. And now, the "rumours": e) Martin spends little time in his flagship. Could be, although I've seen him each and every time I've been there. Certainly, I'd agree with anyone who claims that 5 points is far from being representative. Perhaps girlcook and ginger chef can add something to this. Related to this point, comes the collorary that he's spending a lot of time and effort creating an empire. Would that be the case, he's not the first, and won't be the last. And at least, his tentacles are quite well confined to a small geographic area. b) Martin "exploits" his staff. Delicate topic, to say the least. Working in the IT industry, I feel sympathetic to those experiencing long working timetables, close to slavery (amazing to see how more than a century of union fight can be lost in no time). I've said in a previous message that the degree of attrition Martin experiences in his staff, surely deprives him from having the kind of atmosphere you enjoy in Arzak or other places. But if this has had any influence on the food going out the kitchen, it has escaped to me. I'm sure that I've stated the following thoughts elsewhere, but here they go again. Why am I so fond of Martin´s cooking?. Well, beyond the quality I believe his dishes have, I perceive that in Spanish contemporary gastronomic scene, and this is a more than subjective statement, there's somewhat of a polarization between two opposite trends. Once is represented, as you have correctly guessed, by Ferran Adria, which I believe trascends Spain/Europe's culinary traditions and puts product in the same level as technique, textures and temperatures, and the other trend is championed by Santamaria (Can Fabes), where tradition and having a central ingredient are key elements.The scale of this particular battle is well inclined to the side of Ferran. Nevertheless, there are components that are very valuable on both currents, and I think Martin has captured them. Tradition and product are vital to him, but he doesn't give up to apply vanguardist techniques. I believe this way can produce much more positive results than just trying to be the next Adria, pushing the envelope further (after air, I'm sure will come vacuum ), or becoming a tradition taliban. EMHO, some of the hottest places in Spain, are following this trend. Namely, El Bohío in a town between Toledo and Madrid, or Tragabuches in Ronda (Málaga). If any of you have read so far, please let me know. Perhaps I should consider to buy you a dinner (you choose the place ). PS: No, Peter Luger hasn't opened a joint in Spain.

Interesting point, I believe. Do you think that there's been a so dramatic change in cooking that what was on top of the hill 25 years ago, now doesn't deserve the maximum qualification?. I mean, sure there's been an evolution, but I wouldn't say this has to imply to demote previous achievements. Has a cook to evolve to maintain his reputation, or once they have achieved "perfection" in their style is enough to maintain that?. Regards, Pedro PS: FYI, Michel Guérard and Ferrán Adrià were in Madrid last Friday giving a lecture. Adrià considers Guérard one of his "maestros", and declared that the night Guérard went to El Bulli was one of the most uptight days in his life.

Ok, now I'm seriously considering to let Martin know about this point. I'm almost sure he would agree. Perhaps we had different menus. Having been to Arzak and Martin in 2002, and just two weeks ago, is just plain simple that Martin outnumbered Elena in terms of new dishes introduced in the menu. I would agree with you that this wouldn't matter, wouldn't it be because I found Elena's new dishes less complete than Martin's ones. Take for example the "Eliptic egg" or the "Sopa de cerebro de carabinero". I wasn't trying to make a comparison between Arzak and Martin, although my limited english skills are not good enough to produce sophisticated arguments. I believe there are cycles in restaurants, and maybe last year we experienced Arzak in one of its peaks and Martin going to a valley (all of this remembering that we're speaking of top level restaurants, and a valley in here could take another chef life to get there), and this year the other way around. Nevertheless, I recognize that the staff stability achieved by Arzak is a major plus, and makes you feel more at ease during your visit. And last but not least, let me finish this post the way the previous one should have started. Congratulations for your excellent article!. PS: I'll try to post my recent experiences in the area, giving more weight to the places where you haven't been, namely Casa Nicolás in Tolosa, Ramón Roteta in Fuenterrabía (a.k.a. Hondarribia) and Rekondo in Donostia. We also tried to go to Kaia in Guetaria, and found it closed, but not being americans, we weren't able to secure a reservation to ElKano . Going to Casa Nicolás was a more than excellent substitute.

I'd like to make some comments on what's been said about Martin's restaurant. We visited Donostia a couple of weeks ago, visiting Arzak on Friday night, and Martin to lunch on Sunday. We always try to pay a visit to the area once a year at least, a nice tradition that began five years ago. In total, we've been to Arzak and Berasategui five times to each of them. Strictly speaking of food, we always have liked better Martin than Arzak, except last year, when we found more enjoyable the menu offered by Arzak. This last visit, I found more interesting and perhaps more challenging, the dishes prepared by Martin. I'd also argue that the number of creations introduced every year in Martin's menu are larger than in Arzak's place. My exposure to this type of restaurants outside Spain is none to zero. So I can't comment about the welcoming uses there, but I haven't noticed anything special in Martin that sets him apart from the rest of restaurants here. Could it be possible that people from the States are used to other service standards?. The setting and view you get in Martin, with a large crystal wall to the country side, is to me the second in the area just after Akelare. The reason you have only the water glass on the table, is because they use the Riedel series to serve wine, and match the grape variety and the type of glass once you order wine. What does offend you about the logo?. Did you find El Bulli decor better than Martin's (leaving aside the kitchen)?. On service, the only area where I could point as a minor issue had to do with wine. Ignacio, their former sommelier, has recently left the place, to embrace a career as wine-maker. Now they only have a sumiller, and the second they need won't join them till next year. We were served the apperitives around ten minutes after we sat down, and the pace of the coming dishes was dictated by our rythm eating them. However, probably due to a higher level of attrition (I'd say there's only a waitress whom we knew from previous visits), Martin's service is not as well oiled as the one you get in Arzak or Zuberoa. Specially in Arzak, everything related to service flows naturally.

Paul, I'm afraid there's been some misunderstanding with the restaurant. I've just phoned them, and they have told me that in fact they only have a table able to accommodate eight people. Single diners are welcome. Just let me know if you think I can help you getting a reservation there.

AFAIK, Pimientos del piquillo come from a particular region in Spain, Navarra, and they've their own "Denominación de Origen" (D.O. Pimientos del Piquillo de Lodosa). Botanically speaking, they are Capsicum annuum L. Regarding to substituting them in some recipes, although it would never be the same, if you take the extra work of roasting some good red peppers by yourself it probably will give a close enough result.

Ginger_chef, thanks for your extensive report on Akelare. My general impression after my one and only visit on summer 2002 to Akelare was that there was some lack of flavor and taste, almost every dish I remember presented a quite flat and low profile. And yes, I agree with you, that some dishes captured some initial interest, with tricks like the sparkling shellfish soup, but when you grade the final result there's nothing much to account for. I look forward to read the rest of your chronicles (BTW, did you finally go to El Bulli?) Bux, I went to Akelare exactly for the same reason you'll go. In previous visits to Donostia either it was closed or we never find the right time to accommodate a visit. Since it was getting so much attention, with very good reports saying that it was going through one of the best moments ever, we finally made up our minds and paid them a visit. As an afterthought, I regret I didn't go to Mugaritz instead. Certainly I wouldn't qualify Martin as a traditional cooker, but IMHO he's leading what we could name a third way which takes the best of Santamaria and Adrià's approaches. Deep roots in regional cuisine with creative and cutting edge techniques, but never giving to the technique the highest priority. I'll be going on a short trip to Donostia beginning on Friday, and I plan to visit Arzak that night and to lunch at Martin on Sunday (so I'll experience some girl_cook and ginger_chef cooking ). I also plan to visit some more traditional restaurants, perhaps having a good "chuletón" (porterhouse) in Tolosa, but I haven't planned those yet. As soon as I get back, I'll post the results (positive, I hope). Regarding to the distance to Mugaritz and Zuberoa, yes, I would say that they're a little farther than Martin from Donostia.

Ginger_chef, could you please give some more details about your meals at Zuberoa, Arzak and Akelare?. I'm quite surprised (should I say shocked? ) by your statement about the Michelin stars they have. The only place where my experience has been less complete in terms of satisfaction is Akelare, but I wouldn't say they should be demoted. If the guide you're referring to is Garcia Santo's "Lo mejor de la gastronomía", I would say that: a) I believe is not the major guide in Spain, at least in terms of books sold. IMHO, I'd say that "Guía Campsa" is the more widespread guide in the country. We also have to consider that there's a "Guía Campsa" web site, which I presume gets a significant traffic. b) Rafael García Santos is the "evangelist" of the Adrià way of cooking, so the closer you follow the canon, the higher rating you get. This leads to some underratings, as Santamaria's Can Fabes, weird missings, as Viridiana, and more questionable, compromises.

Typically, we use two different kinds of pimentón, one sweet and another hot. You can find more about Pimentón de La Vera here: http://www.pimentonvera-origen.com/i_intro.htm and it seems that you can get some in the States from tienda.com . Another well-known regional dish where pimentón, both sweet and hot, plays a starring role is "pulpo a feira", that is octopuss cooked in Galicia style. Sliced boiled octopuss and cachelos, a special kind of potato, olive oil, pimentón and sea salt. Simple and tricky, at the same time.

Steven, I don't want to enter in an endless discussion about this. Yes, one can write about Adria without dining at El Bulli. The article proves that. What I question is, since is not based on first hand experience, more weight should have been given to this when he talks about his cooking, i.e. "according to the sources consulted, Adria's food ". Sincerely, I was shocked after reading almost the whole article, that in one of the last paragraphs the author states that he has not tasted Adria's creations. Why not to state that in the firs place?. Regards, Pedro

IMHO: "Some people celebrate God. Ferran celebrates flavor." "Though I've never had the fortune to eat there, I can say with an absolute certainty that nothing he does is trickery."

No doubt, dining at El Bulli makes one more qualified to speak about Adria's food, assuming one has an open mind. The alternative is to experience Adria through written recipes, photographs, occasional guest chef appearances, and of course his many disciples and influences -- none of that is direct experience of El Bulli. And certainly, where Tim does briefly make some assumptions about Adria's food, he is taking a calculated risk -- he could be wrong, and only the secondary sources tell him he's right (though it so happens that all the credible sources support the position). But dining at El Bulli is not related in the slightest to one's ability to comment on Adria as a social phenomenon. Perhaps a little late, but here I go. To write an article about a chef or restaurant without having tasted his cooking, whether we label it as restaurant review, chef review, or social criticism, to me just makes little sense. Following your analogies, is like saying in first person that Michael Jordan is the best player ever not having seen a second of his games, or commenting about Picasso without having seen a single paint from him. Possible?, yes. Makes sense?, little, IMHO. Here in Spain, a common argument among soccer players, coaches and the alikes when a journalist criticizes them, is to disqualify them saying "they've never played...". Ok, we all agree that we don't have to play as Zidane to comment about Real Madrid, but it seems a reasonable minimun at least have seen a single game!. By the way, I ate at El Bulli in 2000, when it was possible to get a table without selling your mother. Did I enjoy it?. Every second, man!.

Tony, sorry to hear that. I've read that one of the biggest issues Casa Marcial has, is precisely the service. Being where it is, in that mountain setting, seems that it's not easy for them to maintain a regular staff, specially on winter. Albeit, I haven't experienced there the rushed service you mention. Regarding the translation, I would say that is better not having a translated menu at all than having such a mess, not only because of the translation, but specially for the missing items. And yes, one should expect that restaurants of that level are able to make foreigner customers feel comfortable and be able to order in a world wide spoken language as english. Although I would say that probably I would have similar problems in UK or the US if I ask for a menu in spanish or french instead of english. Besides Casa Gerardo, which other restaurants did you enjoy in your visit?.

In Asturias I only know Casa Marcial, where I was few weeks ago during a one-day excursion from Cantabria. I was very impressed by the quality and creativity of their dishes, showing a good balance of seasonal products, regional cuisine and technique. From what I've heard, there are quite interesting restaurants there, like Casa Gerardo and Casa Marcial. Was this one of the fifteen restaurants you visited, Tony?

Bux, in my case, I never have found an appropiate time to accommodate other Group Berasategui restaurants besides Martin. As I said in other thread regarding second chances, the scene there is so dynamic with lots of consolidated options where I haven't been yet, that is difficult to leave aside let's say Fagollaga or Mugaritz to go to Kursaal. And take it easy. A depth exploration of the area can take a whole life.

Gerry, the problem with second chances is, that going up there to Donostia once a year for a few days, and having Arzak, Martin, Zuberoa, Fagollaga, Mugaritz, Nicolasa and so and so and so, it's difficult (not impossible, but difficult) to make up your mind to give that second chance when you may either go to one of the places that never turned you down, or to one of the rising stars there to experience in first hand what's going on. I don't have problems giving second chances in Madrid, where I live, and I should say that certain cuisines are not a love at first sight, having changed my initial impression after two more visits. Regarding etiquette, if the behaviour at the table was appropiate, I wouldn't had cared what they were wearing. In fact, one of the things that I appreciate in Barcelona and Donostia, is that the etiquette rules are far more relaxed than those applying in Madrid. No jacket and tie required in any place AFAIK.

Bux, take the broader statements about who comes and where they stay and so on as an eye check lacking from any rigour. When I've been there, what I've found is a clientele composed by locals (60-70%?) and foreigners (30-40%?), not noticing any remarkable difference between lunch and dine times. Foreigners mostly from France, with a japanese group in our second visit taking pictures of them with Martin (something that I would do myself if I had a photo camera and less shyness). Also, I now recall that during this second visit, there was a table of a couple of french gentlemen, commenting that the cuisine deserved the third star, achieved some months later that year. They spent quite a few time talking to Martin, and they indicated him that there was some starred french chef they knew also had dinner that night there. This guy was just leaving the place when they were telling this to Martin, who immediately ran after this person and showed him the place. I always stay at Donostia, which is a wonderful city, and every time but the first took a taxi to go to the restaurant. All the cab drivers knew the place, and you don't have to wait very long at Martin to get a cab to drive you back to San Sebastian. Same was true for Akelare. Regarding reservation, when I've reserved about 10pm for dinner, we were almost the last party to get in. On the other hand, if you go to lunch at 2:00pm, chances are that you will be among the early birds. As you said, the place is not easy to find if you drive by yourself, specially I would say if you come from Bilbao direction. However, the first time they gave me some pretty good instructions about how to get there. Hope you enjoyed your visit there as much as I did (and expect to do in a few weeks).

Well, I'll be lunching at Martin (hopefully) Sept. 7 (sunday). I've been there 3 or 4 times before, and I always loved it. Unfortunately, I can't agree whith what's been said here about Akelare. My experience there was quite a dissapointment from a purely food perspective. I don't know a more pleasant place with such wonderful views, but the food lacked both taste and flavor. Albeit, I must say that was my first and only visit, so either me or them could have had a bad night. This time my wife and I go to Donostia with her sister and husband, who don't know the place. So, there's no way to prevent them to go to Arzak and Berasategui. Wouldn't they come, I would rather visit Mugaritz and Fagollaga this time. Regards to you and ginger chef

If it's boneless, it's not ibérico. Period. You don't want to spoil a good jamón ibérico having it pre-cut, IMHO. For people as clumsy as me, it's always a risk for their physical integrity and the ones around to try to have some decent cuts out of a jamón. Nevertheless, the survivors will appreciate it. PS: I should qualify my former affirmation. I mean, you don't want to have a whole piece of jamón pre-cut. If it's for almost immediate eating, it's fine leaving the cutting operation to the people from the store to get you the amount you're about to consume. Otherwise, cut it yourself.

You can find the difference between serrano and ibérico here: Ibérico vs Serrano Basically, all comes down to ibérico being of a particular pig variety (pata negra (black footed)), with special breeding based on acorns in south / southwestern Spain. It looks like the import banning is related to spanish slaughterhouse being non-compliance with USDA slaughter rules, which prevents ibérico exports. The serrano you get in the states comes from pigs slaughtered in some UE country which complies with USDA rules, and cured in Spain.