Etxebarri is tucked in the rolling hills of Axpe, Spain inside a two-story stone building on a village square. The restaurant has been mythologized in blog posts and magazine articles – a man, exemplary seafood, his home-made grills and charcoal, and a grill technique from the next realm. It’s a romantic story, a Basque Howard Roark, cooking his food without regard for international trends. It has become the ultimate experience in foodie currency. Everyone has been to Roses by now but how many have trekked their way from Bilbao, or San Sebastian, to the bucolic village of Axpe?

This is the sort of place that piques my interest in all of the right areas. It has a vision, un-adultered by any concern for markets, and it has an identity tightly coupled with its region. I expected a statement as powerful and transcendental as Urasawa, the closest ideal I could find in the culinary pantheon. These expectations, as we’ll see, played a significant role in decoding this meal.

Chef Victor Arguinzoniz begins with the freshest ingredients possible for the day. The Etxebarri web site lists different seasons for what have become luxurious and highly sought after ingredients. The nearby mountain, the site says, provides a stomping ground for the chickens, plots for the gardens, and even a well for the water. The seafood quality on this trip was uniformly excellent, with a few examples being reference-worthy.

Chef Arguinzoniz then applies his own brand of culinary technique to the offerings. Rumored to be among the world’s greatest grillers, he takes his art very seriously. Where else would you find a restaurant that produces its own charcoal, different varieties depending on the dishes to be served. Where else would you find a chef who has created his own grill? Obsessiveness – it does indeed help create legends.

Notoriously, Michelin has not ranked Etxebarri. It will be interesting to see if that changes with the next edition considering the fanfare the restaurant has been receiving. The food has been universally praised but not much has been said about the facilities. Where I expected a serviceable room, the room had a refined and rustic touch more than becoming to a Michelin one or two star restaurant. It sets the mood nicely for the meal to come.

Home-made Chorizio
Very moist, tasty, and full of subtle flavor. It is said to be made from iberico pig with meat and fat from the same cuts. Very Good.

Smoked Salted Butter
This home-made butter couldn’t reach the heights of the legendary Bordier but it laid the gauntlet down – this charcoal and grill business can reach sublime heights. The butter was quite creamy but the light smokiness, courtesy of the tiny flakes of smoked salt, elevated this dish to a meditative experience. Excellent.

Langostine
This had an excellent subtle iodine flavor but it was marred by an overcooked section of the tail, closest to the body. Many joke that I would gladly eat on the plains with the lions, but even slightly overcooking a langostine is a costly mistake. Ok.

Prawn
Intensely sweet, cooked perfectly, but it lacked the necessary salt to brighten the meat. The lack of salt was a theme with this meal. This dish also made me wonder if the simple prawn, as good as they are, is even better with subtle spices ala Manresa. Good.

Oyster with Seaweed
Quite sweet, plump, lightly grilled, unlike any oyster I’ve had, with a light smokiness throughout. Some reports say the oyster is sprayed with olive oil, others the oyster juices. Regardless, reference material for cooked oysters. The seaweed, slightly smoky itself, provided perfect texture counterpoint. Excellent.

Smoked Caviar
Most reports suggest this is Iranian caviar but I wasn’t paying attention. The slight cooking seemed to rob the caviar of its intensity although the smoking was an interesting effect. Ok.

Sea Cucumber
A perfect, and I don’t use that word lightly, char that was subtle enough to impart a taste but not dominate it. This dish fulfilled every expectation I had for Etxebarri and his prowess with a grill. Easily, the dish of the night. Excellent.

Mussel in Tomato
Unlike any mussel I’ve had, nearly as plump as the oyster, with a fair amount of spiciness from the soup. Again, a reference for future mussels. Very Good.

Mushrooms and Eggplant
Grilled nicely but it terribly lacked salt. Good.

Squid with Ink
The perfect char from the sea cucumber was missing; this seemed nearly lazy in comparison. The dish also suffered from a lack of salt. Good.

Salt Cod
Beautiful piece of fish. The fish was barely cooked, just enough to be warmed throughout. Each section, as you can see in the photo below, was salty and slightly gelatinous. Very Good.

Chuleta
Not much upfront taste but a much stronger aftertaste when compared to American beef, with a light smokiness carrying it. You could say the flavor was gamey. Made of retired Galician cows more than 8 years old (whereas the typical American cow is generally less than 2 years old.) Very Good.

Milk Ice Cream
Perfect ice cream. Unsure of which sort of milk, sheep’s being my guess, the texture and richness was unparalleled. Others have reported that the ice creams are smoked, but I don’t recall any smokiness in the flavor. Excellent.

In the end, it was a meal of mixed emotions. You could see the purported brilliance, nearly taste it in every dish, but it just fell short. From a grilling perspective, only the sea cucumber and oyster fulfilled the promise of their mastery. The smoked salt butter was also exemplary for its smokiness. But, unfairly or not, I expected more dishes to be a revelation.

But why does this meal stick in my mind? In a normal restaurant, even of three-star levels, one is usually ecstatic to get one or two memorable dishes. And yet, Etxebarri, this modest farmhouse, produced four or five reference dishes – dishes I’ll use as a yardstick to measure others. When I discount the misses, and focus on the hits, the meal advances in the memory.

Would I recommend it on a trip to Spain? Yes, for the truly obsessed. It is too expensive for someone with just a casual interest. Would I include it in a list of the world’s best restaurants? Not yet. Will I re-visit on my next trip to Spain (or Southwest France)? Yes. Do I expect it to make it into my top 10? Yes.

This meal was better. The last meal was marred by a few conceptual and cooking mistakes, whereas this meal flowed perfectly from beginning to end. The summer bounty of the Basque county-side was in full display, most dishes flooding with greens or flowers. The infusions and broths, a divisive line with the restaurant’s critics, were exquisite. The avant-garde techniques used are a means to an end – tasting the last weeks of the summer. A great restaurant operating near its grand potential.

Roasted Piquillo Pepper wrapped in ham

It looked like a piece of toro nigiri – a work of art. The pepper had a strong roasted flavor that was upfront and bounced in the mouth for awhile. The ham, provenance unknown, was quite fatty with a hint of sweetness. Its flavor added a small dimension to the pepper but I suspect its slight miry texture was its raison d’etre. Very Good.

Chilled Vegetable Soup, shrimp, herbs, & fern shoots

It was clear greens and flowers might play a starring role in the meal. The shrimp broth was quite refined, an essence, whose saltiness brightened the vegetables. Very Good.

Vegetables, Oven Roasted & Raw

And here it was – the infamous Mugaritz salad that Gastroville ranked higher than the Michel Bras Gargouillo. The emmanthal cheese broth provided a backbone, or “unifying factor”, to the dish but the vegetables, while very good, were not in the same league as Bras. At Bras, the perfume of the vegetables permeated the entire dining room; here, they barely lifted off of the plate. Very Good.

Blue Mackerel with Sesame

A tender, silky piece of fish that could have been cooked in the kitchens of Pierre Gagnaire. The very mild nuttiness of the sesame seeds and their broth provided additional structure but I wonder if a third element was necessary to bind it all together? Regardless, the strength of this dish lies in the fish quality and its preparation. Very Good.

Carrots Cooked in Clay with squid & Arbequina olive broth

A variation of two dishes from the last meal: the purple space potatoes and the no-sweet honey. The carrots, earth creatures, cooked in their surroundings with a reduced squid and olive broth that provided a caramelized sweetness. The carrot itself was not of L’Arpege quality but it had a subtle earthiness to it. The diced squid offered an interesting textural component. Very Good.

Buttery Idiazabal Cheese Gnocci with salted Iberian pork bouillon

Each gnocci is adorned with a different flower or herb and it helped brighten the salty pork body. The gnocci are light and ephemeral but hint at a gelatinous and creamy textures . Very Good.

Stew of Tender Roasted Spring Onions with bone marrow

A heavier dish of textures. The crisp, sweet onions dominated the flavor. The bone marrow added a gelatinous texture that Aduriz seems to love so much; it also provided a (obvious) richness. Raw ceps lent an earthiness and a more compliant crunch. Very Good.

Hake Fillet with baby garlic and hazelnut praline

The nicely cooked hake and praline complement each other well. The garlic cream, oft criticized by others, is too pungent and lasted far too long in the mouth. It’s recommended to bypass the cream on the side. Good.

Beef Roasted & Perfumed with Vine Cutting Embers

A nice hunk of rare gamey beef. Spanish beef has a different taste from corn- or grass-fed beef but I can’t identify the difference. The beef was so black that one wonders if Aduriz imparted some of his black coal tricks on the beef to darken it. Very Good.

Braised Iberian Pork Tails and Pan Fried Languostines

Braised and gelatinous, generally not my favorites, but this dish had enough crunch to keep me interested. The pork and langoustine, despite being a flawed specimen (mushy), complemented each other well. A Very Good if the langoustine was of higher quality. Good.

Violet Ice Cream

Dessert time at Mugaritz is unlike any other restaurant – the desserts can be as memorable, if not more so, than the main courses. This year’s violet ice cream was astounding. An intense violet flavor, creamy as can be. Excellent.

Ripe Figs Grilled over Vine Twigs

Interpretation of Vanity – Moist Chocolate Cake

My Michelin 3 star dining experience is still developing but a few different lineages poke out in the cooking: a Japanese aesthetic for meditative qualities; an El Bulli approach to risk and concept; and a Michel Bras enthusiasm for nature. This meal felt more confident and mature; less abrupt and more harmonious. It actually reminded me quite a bit of a Manresa meal – at this point in time, they could be trans-atlantic cousins. My only gripe, denying this meal a place in the A1 Best Meals category, is the continued use of infusions throughout the meal. While I enjoyed all of them, it does get slightly monotonous.

- chuck

Reservation Tip – Mugaritz will prepare a tasting menu of any dish they’ve ever created if you give them fair warning. Obviously, seasons will play a role in the availability and quality of dishes, but if you see a dish you must have, ask for it when you make a reservation.

The restaurant is billed as traditional Basque cuisine done right. Considering our Spanish itinerary, we thought it would be a welcome respite from the experimental cuisine of the other restaurants sandwiched around the Zuberoa visit.

Unfortunately, the meal was not very inspiring which, apparently, leads to a deterioration in note-taking (drown yourself in your sorrows?) I’ve forgotten many of the details.

1. Foie Gras & Truffle in Wine Sauce
The foie was very sweet but balanced by the acidity of the sauce. Good.

2. Mushrooms of Season w/ Slow Cooked Egg & Fava Beans
Impeccable egg, mushrooms of good (but not as good as Ganbara in old town) quality, fava beans & peas good. Good.

3. Lobster Ravioli w/ Truffles
Norway lobster that was slightly overcooked but it had potential. Good.

4. Foie Gras Risotto w/ Truffles
The risotto was cooked correctly with a decent amount of liquid left; similar to my recent Olivetto ‘perfect’ risotto and L’Arpege’s risotto. You could taste each grain of rice. Obviously, it was rich. Very Good.

5. Hake w/ Green Pea Sauce & Clams
Nicely cooked, a good quality fish (probably caught nearby), but the sauce was very bland. In fact, the sauce was so bland, I couldn’t discern it was pea. Good.

6. Roast Pigeon w/ Truffle Cabbage
Slightly overcooked, plain, a slightly gamey taste (that’s a compliment.) Good.

7. Calf’s Jaw
Bland taste, challenging gelatinous, and very stringy. I could easily do without. Not Good.

8. Roast Suckling Pig
The skin was crisp w/ hints of orange. The meat was tasty but there was too much fat and it made the texture a little challenging (especially in conjunction w/ the calf’s jaw.) Good.

9. Yogurt & Cheese Ice Cream w/ Pumpkin Cream
The ice cream was very creamy and followed with a quick tanginess. Very Good.

I got far more enjoyment from the various pinxtos bars in the Old City of San Sebastian. This food was on a similar level but far more expensive. I definitely don’t feel any need to return.

- chuck

I went in expecting a formal Basque meal w/ some unexpected fireworks. The vibe at Arzak might be more casual than Can Roca – there’s nothing regal about the building, interior, nor furniture – it could be any random restaurant in Spain. I was contributing to this downfall of fine dining by wearing jeans but I could’ve been overdressed. No formality in this place.The food though, the food will surely have a spark; a refined sizzle that will set it in apart from places like Zuberoa and the myriad pinxtos (re: tapas) bars in the old city of San Sebastian. That was the expectation sitting there at the table – casual place, refined food – a winning combination in Spain.

1. Red Bean Soup
Thick, satisfying, but neither here nor there – it lacked a focal point, no driving force to establish ‘this is Arzka’s legendary cuisine, get ready.’ Ok.

2. Mushroom & Foie Taco
Rich, salty, not very refined. The “taco” shell was slightly stale, but still full of grease. Ok.

3. Cheese & Roe Crisp
Tasty, but again, unrefined. Again, it felt like it might have been made much earlier and/or the previous day. Ok.

4. Phyllo-covered Egg
I have this listed in my notes but no tasting notes. I’m assuming this is it.

5. Foie & Zucchini
Foie wrapped in zucchini. The foie had a nice caramelized crust that was sweet; the foie itself was mousse-like – heavenly. A welcome respite from the various soggy & taste-lacking specimens we had been subjected to throughout our trip. This dish was the first to succeed at a conceptual level but its execution was somewhat sloppy. Very Good.

5 Alternate. Asparagus
The foie alternative – I didn’t taste this as it was the alternate for the foie. Reports are the asparagus was of high quality.

6. Crayfish w/ Corn & Citrus Sauce
The crayfish was of excellent quality & it was cooked perfectly – sweet & moist. The corn seemed like it was dehydrated – it had a bad texture and it lacked any corn flavor – pointless. Like El Bulli a few nights before, why bother incorporating fan-favorite ingredients when they are not at the prime of their season? The citrus sauce brightened up the crayfish that extra bit more. Good (Very Good if corn in season.)

7. Egg Flower w/ Truffle Oil, Mushrooms, & Chorizio
Their signature dish – a modern take on the spanish obsession w/ eggs and mushrooms. This is a roasted egg whose exterior is cut to resemble a flower, all while not disturbing the yolk. High quality egg (the Spainards take pride in them) that had a slight sweet taste. Again, it wins conceptual marks but it still felt sloppy – it could be elevated to a higher plane if it was prepared with a touch more refinement. Very Good.

8. Monkfish w/ Spinal Cord & Bone Marrow
The fish was moist and it tasted fine, but it wasn’t anything one couldn’t seemingly cook in their own kitchen. Good.

9. Pigeon
Cooked nicely, on the rarer side, and a good slightly gamey taste. Good.

10. The Exploding Milkshake

This is their signature dessert – you see them all around while you’re eating your meal. When they “explode”, they look like they might consume both the plate *and* the table. They pour dry ice into the glass and it turns into a volcano. Great effects but just good to very good taste. Very Good.

11. The Rest of the Dessert Parade

11. The Fancy Old Wine

Overall, despite 3/5 of the main dishes being Very Good, I wasn’t that impressed w/ this meal. It didn’t add up to me – we had some basic glorified “home-cooking” dishes with some pyrotechnics at odd points in the meal. The meal was missing refinement – it was fancy bistro food for the most part. It just doesn’t add up for me. Considering the wealth of alternatives, this won’t be on repeat.

- chuck

Of all the places I have visited in the last month, Mugaritz the location has the most character. The lounge is perfect – sketches on the wall behind the many bird cages. It has a voice where the other 3-stars prefer modern gloss and cool. The restaurant itself has a minimal design, but like the lounge, it has a personality that falls somewhere between Spain and japan.

We opted for the grand tasting menu.

1. Ceramic Potatoes

In the lounge, they served us an amuse of ceramic potatoes as we perused the menus. The potatoes were coated with a very thin layer of ceramic and served piping hot. The shell was crunchy and slightly chalky, and the potato slightly green. Was it a smashing success? No. Did it set the stage for paradigm-changing cuisine? Yes. Good.

2. Monkfish Cheek w/ Garlic Soup

Satisfying texture of escargot but it lacked any significant taste. The garlic soup was a bit bland. My notes mention something about a “sea sac” but I don’t remember this component. Not Good.

3. Crispy Bundles of White Asparagus

What a fascinating concept and dish. The asparagus was pared length-wise, the outside strips caramelized, and then the asaparagus was re-constructed. The outside strips were very crispy w/ a sweet caramelized taste while the inside strips were perfectly cooked. Excellent.

4. Dehydrated Potatoes w/ Streaks of Gelatin & Blue Fishes

The potatoes were hearty and heavy, but the fish (of toro quality) fat helped break up the starchiness in your mouth. The “zizas” were perfectly cooked and rounded out the earthiness of the potatoes. Very Good.

4 Alternate. Mozzerella Gnocci

Light and ephemeral sitting in an oyster-flavored sauce. The waiter described it was mozzerella but that could have been to ease the language barrier; a friend who just dined there reports they used idiazabal cheese. Very Good.

5. Pasta of Stewed Amaranta w/ Sardine Broth garnished w/ Baby Langostine Tails

Deconstructed roe, the amaranta served as a caviar that never burst with the sardine broth instead giving the dish its saltiness. Wonderful texture – each piece of the amarante just rolls around your mouth. The langostine was perfectly cooked. Excellent.

6. Crushed Potatoes, Broken Eggs, and Vegetable “Coal”

And the surprises never end – the potatoes were covered in a most decadent egg yolk (look at that intense color) but the star of the dish was the vegetable “coal.” The outside of the yucca was as black and charred as coal visually (as you can see); it had a smoky flavor that lingered in your mouth. This effect was accomplished by cooking the yucca with a black bean and squid ink. A wild guess, but I presume this was influenced by “vegetal coal”. Excellent.

7. Charcoal-Grilled Roast Foie Gras w/ No-Sweet Honey

This is almost universally acclaimed as Mugaritz’s best dishes but the texture was too spongy and the foie flavor was seriously lacking. The waiter explained later they sous-vided it for X many hours and then grilled it. The “honey” was extremely interesting – somehow, they sucked all of the sweetness out. A very strange experience as your brain expects sweetness. Of course, things are not always what they seem at Mugaritz – the honey is in fact a greatly reduced duck consumme. Not Good.

8. Hake Fillets w/ Garlic & Hazelnut Praline

The fish was cooked perfectly and it had a subtle nuttiness throughout. Upon biting, you’d get a hazelnut burst followed by the subtle nut taste. Very Good.

9. Baked Filet of Monkfish w/ Mungo Beans & Tuna Consumme

The skin was extremely gelatinous, the consumme overly salty, and the fish slightly overcooked (but within reason.) Not Good.

10. Lamb Trotter w/ Salted Toffee

This was too much for the “official” end of the meal – extremely gelatinous w/ nothing to break up the texture and taste. The toffee, like the honey, was savory and went perfectly well w/ the trotters – the dish just needed something to break up the monotony. Not Good.

11. Loin of Pork w/ Curry

This was a make-up dish for the soggy foie gras but they should have kept it – terribly inconsistent. One piece was cooked well, the other dry; the rest of the table had worse luck. This dish, like the trotters, still suffered from a monotonous overkill. Not Good.

12. Violet Ice Cream w/ Spiced Bread Shaving & Hot Almond Polvoron

Billed as a contrast of temperatures, textures, and cultures; this was good, but it was no Bastide. The violet ice cream tasted wonderful but its texture was a touch too icy. Good.

13. Milk & Tapioca Ice Cream

Beautiful, subtle milk flavor. Heavenly. Excellent.

14. Grounds of Espresso Coffee w/ Light Chicory Cream w/ Farmhouse Natural Milk Skin

Earthy, salty, slightly savory; the milk skin was tiramusu like where a cake was soaked in the chicory cream. Awesome.

15. French Toast w/ Sheep’s Milk Ice Cream

This was our make-up dessert for our make-up dish. The ice cream was incredibly rich – they used the eggs from the potatoe dish – Amazing. The french toast was extremely light w/ a crisp caramelized crust – this was creme burlee like. Each bite has the crunch of the crust, teeth sink into the light bread, and you’re rewarded w/ a touch of cream. Awesome.

The desserts were also top-notch. Most desserts in restaurants are afterthoughts and highly disappointing; but Mugaritz’s endless parade of desserts got better and better, culminating w/ the french toast. Only WD-50 (NY) and Can Roca (Spain) have such a strong line-up of desserts.

Is this the future of cuisine? Hard to say, but it is a chef with an utterly unique voice that I must hear again.

- chuck