Bilbao and Madrid

After 3 days of non-stop eating in San Sebastian, we drove back west to spend a half-day in Bilbao before catching our early evening flight to Madrid. In Bilbao we went to the Guggenheim. The exhibits were some of the best I've seen on the trip. The Murakami exhibit alone made the trip to Bilbao worth it. While in Madrid we visited the Palacio Real de Madrid, and saw works at both the Prado and Reina Sophia museums. The Prado was the highlight of our short stay in Madrid. Here are some photos:

On our drive to Bilbao, Ter got pulled over for speeding and the backseat passengers got ticketed for not wearing seat belts.

In front of the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Relaxing in Plaza Mayor, Madrid.

Churros con Chocolate.

Ter's "Dirty Sanchez"

A photo of Ter taking a photo.

Ter striking a pose.

Palacio Real de Madrid.

One of Madrid's many street performers.

Baby clams for lunch at El Lando. One of the best meals we had in Spain.

Fried Asparagus.

Fries with scrambled eggs and cheese. So good.

Grilled white fish.

Tripe stew.

Finishing a great meal.

San Sebastian - Day 3

Our first two days in San Sebastian were spent mostly inside of restaurants eating. It was nice to have a free third day to explore the city and try the local tapas bars San Sebastian is famous for. Here are some photos from our day walking the old city:

Our first stop for tapas was Haizea Bar, made famous by Anthony Bourdain.

The pintxos being served at Haizea Bar.

Two different kinds of pintxos. Pickled peppers wrapped with anchovy and a seafood salad on a slice of bread.
The bartender pouring a glass of cider.

Deep fried cod pintxo.

The marina in San Sebastian.

"Los turistas Japoneses"

The main beach in San Sebastian.

The naked cyclist riding through town.

The guy in blue insisted on taking a photo with us after serenading us with his drunken rendition of "New York, New York"

Dinner at Akelare

Akelare was the fourth and final restaurant we tried over the two day 18-hour eating marathon in Basque Country. The Michelin 3-star restaurant sits cliff side, just outside San Sebastian, and overlooking the ocean. Akelare was the one restaurant we were actually thinking of canceling our reservation to. Having just eaten at Mugaritz a few hours earlier, none of use were in the mood to do another 5 hour meal. We were all happy we decided to go as Akelare turned out to be a very good experience. There were two Chef's tasting menus to choose from, each with 7 courses. I chose the "Aranori" which had a crab salad, prawns, wild mushrooms and pasta (which I traded for a vegetable ravioli from the other chef's menu), sole, roasted baby pig, cheese plate, and dessert. Overall the food was very solid. Not quite as good as Etxebarri or Mugaritz, but still very good. The strength of the meal was in its innovation and presentation. All the dishes were beautifully presented to us, using techniques we did not see in the other restaurants. The service was also good, as they kept the restaurant open way past closing to accommodate our late reservation time. We were also able to get a glimpse of the beautiful San Sebastian sunset. Here are the photos:

Various salty snacks made to look like candy. These were served out of a candy box.

Cold and Hot Crab Salad and its Coral.

Prawns and French Beans cooked in "Orujo" Fire. The waiter cooked this right at our table flambe style.

Wild Mushrooms and "Egg Pasta".

Vegetable Ravioli.

Sole in a Sea of Coral.

Roasted Baby Pig with Tomato "Bolao" and Iberian emulsion.

Milk and Grape, Cheese and Wine in parallel evolution. The tastes of this dish were so offensive.

Another Apple Tart. There is an apple tart under the "Akelare Newspaper". The newspaper was edible and was Fruit Roll-Up like in taste and texture. Awesome.

Shot of the apple tart.

Gin and Tonic on a plate. The extra dessert we ordered and had to try.

Our red Benzo in the parking lot.

Safety first when walking in the parking lot.

Lunch at Mugaritz

After the disappointment that was Arzak the night before, I was looking forward to lunch at Mugaritz while also tempering my expectations. Mugaritz is located in a quiet hillside village, a 20 minute drive from our apartment in the middle of San Sebastian. To put it simply, Mugaritz was the single best restaurant experience I have ever had. We were served an 11-course chef's tasting menu that lasted over 5 hours. The courses served were a Cluster of Raw Peas, Carpaccio, Fossilized Salsify, Spider Crab, Banana Roasted on the Grill, Scalope of Foie-Gras, Loin of Sole, Milk Fed Veal, Iberian Pork Tails & Languostines, and two desserts. The overall selection of courses went well together as the lunch progressed. Each dish was never too heavy, simply prepared, and well cooked. There were also many surprises along the way. The overall taste of the food was slightly below what we ate at Etxebarri, but the entire experience made it a better restaurant for me. Mugaritz was modern yet felt like home, the service was very good, and we even got a tour of the kitchen and how it operates. Here are pictures of the entire 11-course meal:

At each setting are two cards. One asking if you want to rebel, and the other asking if you want to submit. This was a little mind game they played with you at the start.

Potatoes that look like stones. There are actually real stones at the bottom of the basket. Rich picked up a real stone, dipped it into the sauce, and was about to eat it. I stopped him from taking a bite out of the stone.

A Cluster of Raw Peas w/ a perfumed consume and arbequina oil. Light and refreshing.

Carpaccio w/ sweet and sour dressing, Idiazabal cheese, and vegitable splinters. Surprise...
This was actually made from watermelon and not meat.

Fossilized Salsify w/ briny roe and sea accents of triglochin maritimum. Salsify is a type of plant.

Spider Crab w/ Jerualem artichokes.

Banana roasted on the grill w/ a sea-urchin cream.

Scalope of Foie-Gras w/ mustard seeds and leaves.

Loin of Sole under a salted seasoning of borage and a reduction of the bones.

Milk fed veal, roasted and perfumed w/ vine cutting embers and fragments of thyme, cinders, salt and crisp radishes. The piece of veal was made to look like a lump of coal.

Braised Iberian pork tails and pan fried languostines w/ juice infused with jamón.

Hazelnuts, Ferns, and Vanilla: hazelnuts and polipodium root powder w/ vanilla ice cream. So Good.

Moist chocolate cake w/ cold almond cream and cocoa bubbles.

Outside Mugaritz. Five very satisified diners.