Next thing we know they'll have a blog too

Remember that superlative Asador called Etxebarri I wrote about last year? That amazing restaurant where the chef makes his own charcoal and grills everything, even oysters like the ones in the picture above - and they were grilled out of the shell! That little place has been enjoying very good press lately, the chef, Bittor Arguinzoniz, was voted best chef of Spain in 2006, the restaurant was featured in Men's Vogue, Bon Appetit, Food&Wine, and many other publications.

Well, I just found out - thanks to Chez Pim's commenter Karin - that they now have their own website. That's very cool. You should go check them out.

I took a great trip down memory lane going back to my original post on this restaurant, looking at the amazing parade of dishes coming out of that marvelous kitchen. I suddenly realized it's been far too long. I am overdue for another meal. Soon. I hope.

Comments

[Laurent]

Hey Pim,

It's funny you come up with that post now. A few days ago, I was searching your blog to find the name of this restaurant in order to pass it to one of my friends who is planning a trip to Basque country. Their food looks so good while so pure and simple.

Talking about keeping it simple, I encourage you, if you haven't already done so, to check out this interview of Fredy Girardet in Le Monde:

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3238,36-951504,0.html

I'm not sure I agree 100% with him (especially after having such a gorgeous meal at Alinea) but this is an original point of view in a fast changing culinary landscape.

Keep up the good work.

Laurent

[Tori]

Hi Pim,

Long time reader, first time poster... Thank you for the tip- My fiance ( aka the Hungry One) and I are planning to make a grand leap over to europe from Sydney for a food filled tour from Paris down to Barcelona (and everywhere that smells good in between) for our honeymoon next March. This definitely is on the agenda... any other suggestions of must go places would be very gratefully received!

In return very happy to provide insiders tips on Sydney and Melbourne... promise there's a lot of great stuff going on down under..

[B]

Ah, the food of basque country. I have mixed feelings when remembering living there - the food outside my house was wonderful, but the family I lived with ate vegetables boiled to death and the most boring fare ever.

B
http://handtomouthkitchen.wordpress.com

[Jack]

Oh Pim you are such a tease...
I was in San Sebastian a couple of months ago, just after you, and had a reservation at Etxebarri that I had made because of your review and other recommendations. Unfortunately, I was there during the running of the bulls, not far away and just could not hire a car/get a driver to get me there on the day of my booking, so I had to cancel.
I wish I had been able to go, your post is really rubbing it in and the latest Australian Gourmet Traveller with its whole issue on Spain and recommending Etxebarri as well!
Next time definately, Mugaritz was inspiring though... but I knew it would be Extebarri offered the 'in-the-know' dining experience, until now that is!
Cheers
Jack
A Melbourne -Australia, based food blogger
www.eatingwithjack.blogspot.com

[Zen Chef]

Hi Pim,
I grew up in south west of France, in Biarritz more exactly, so i'm very familiar with the Region. I think on the picture above are Bull's testicules and not grilled oysters...Did you happen to go there right after a corrida?
Oh well, it's a delicacy nevertheless!

[Pim]

Laurent, that's an interesting article. Have you heard about Santi Santamaria's rant at last year's Madrid Fusion? He was basically complaining about the same phenomenon. Interesting.

B, that sounds like a lovely honeymoon you've got planned. Will you rent a car and drive? Or take a train, or fly? What transport you choose will certainly dictate where you can or cannot go. The last time we had a similar trajectory, Paris-Barcelona, we took TGV to Montpellier then drove to Michel Bras in the Aubrac, then from there over the border to Barcelona, Girona, and around that area. We dropped the car in Barcelona and took the overnight train to Paris. We had a tiny sleeping compartment -even in 1st class- but it was a fun ride.

Zen Chef, hmm, those may not have looked like oysters but we can assure you they were. We kind of would have known otherwise, don't you think? Or if not me then at least David would have. ;-)

thx
Pim

[Zen Chef]

Hey Pim,
You know what they say down there, if the Toreador looses, they serve his.....instead Ya know what i mean!!
Painful just to think about it!
But i'm teasing you anyway, i bet those... euhh... oysters were delicious!
http://eprivatechef.blogspot.com

[jim]

first off, only the earth's metamorphic forces can create charcoal

second, are you sure those are oysters in the picture shown???? I eat oysters alot and they usually are are extremely hard to swallow because they are attached to a hard shell like material...usually i put the whole thing in my mouth and i can't chew or swallow it because it is hard as a rock...is this a sign of it not being fresh?

[Stephen]

Wow, that place looks amazing. Talk about dedicated. Making their own charcoal!

[Laurent]

Hey Pim,

I didn't know that Girardet and Santamaria were on the same page. To be frank, I'm not that surprised because I had a very traditional (and sublime I must say) meal a few years ago at Santamaria's Santceloni restaurant at the Hesperia hotel in Madrid. In particular, I still keep a vivid memory of a confit lamb shank. I've never had a chance to eat at El Raco de Can Fabes, though (have you?)

That being said, I'm not sure one can throw the baby out with the bathwater as far when it comes to molecular gastronomy. I'm pretty sure there is as much good as bad out there (but isn't it true for traditional cuisine too?). Achatz, whom I can talk about because I ate at Alinea, is definitely gifted (and his food tastes great, which is what matters ultimately) and there is a consensus as to Adria's talent too. I understand you also had beautiful meals at WD50 or the Fat Duck.

And, to be clear, we all know that gastronomy's most radical evolutions, such as nouvelle cuisine in the 70's, were welcome rather coldly when introduced while their legacy is no longer (or hardly) questioned today. Therefore, I suspect that Adria or Blumenthal may look quite old-fashioned 30 years from now.

In the meantime, I'm lucky enough to spend the week end in Paris (and most of next week in Southern France) and I had wonderful meals at L'Epi Dupin yesterday night (that has joined Entred'Geu in my personal bistrots' pantheon) and Fogon tonight (inventive tapas). I strongly recommend both of them.

[Sam]

I tried to go there! or at least wanted to. Sadly, I am young and was at the tail end of travels through Spain and Italy and as such, was too low on money (damn exchange rate!) to rent the moped I would have needed to get there from San Sebastian. Plus, as the restaurant's website didn't exist at that point in time, I was ridiculously unsure of how to actually get there. BUT, I will make it back to Spain within the next few years and, due in no small part to how delicious you made everything sound when you wrote about it here, I will make it to this restaurant. Thank you for the inspiration.

[Dr. Biggles]

Hmmm, making your own charcoal, eh? Now there's an idea. Bittor rules.

Biggles

[sabina]

happy birthday pim!

love from sabina, benjamin and sasha

[Asha]

Hi Pim,
I love your blog! It's wonderful. This post of yours about oysters appeals to my love of all things savoury, but one day I hope to break the mold and try my hand at baking, too. You are one of the people who ispired me to create my own food blog Befoodled.
Cheers from Asha

[Nico]

Check out what they have to say about butter on their web page (under dishes):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ... (and so on)

:-D