to devour...: Asador Etxebarri

Basque Country, Spain

Chef: Victor Arguinzoniz

Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list since 2008, currently the 50th position:

http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners/asador-etxebarri

Asador Etxebarri is known for their use of the wood-burning grill (aka a Temple to Smoke). Situated in a small farming community half way between San Sebastian and Bilbao. It is set in a picturesque Spanish Basque village, surrounded by rolling hills. We made a reservation 6 months in advance for a party of 14.

In Spain, an asador is a restaurant that specializes in wood roasted meats. Etxebarri takes the asador to another level. Chef/owner Victor Arguinzoniz cooks everything over a grill. Each dish is cooked with charcoal made on site each morning on a custom grill system designed by Arguinonziz. You can also taste smoke in their dessert too! Using only the finest ingredients from the local area, it was once said that nowhere else in the world can you experience such sophistication in the form of cooking. Ironically, it only received its first Michelin Star recently (Spain and Portugal 2010).

The dining room upstair is a simple room with an exposed wood-beam ceiling and plain white cloths on the tables.

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Handmade Chorizo

It was delicate and buttery. Amazing.

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Handmade Smoke Butter

Two butters presented: the lighter-colored one in the foreground is goat's milk, lightly smoked and sprinkled with ash; the creamy yellow one in the background of cow's milk, pure and rich.

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Tomato with Grilled White Tuna

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Grilled Palamos Prawn

The prawns from Palamós on the northeast coast of Spain, with their distinctive bright red shells, are among the most prized in Spain. It was simple - prawns, salt, smoke, heat - and yet, the taste was absolutely stunning. The tail was perfectly cooked, and the juices from sucking the heads was enhanced by a smoky flavor.

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Grilled Oyster

The oyster was humongous and was presented with the closed shell. It very clean and fresh.

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Grilled Sea Cucumber

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Grilled Turbot

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Grilled Beef on the Bone

This steak presentation of this magnitude just forced the salivary glands into an overdrive! The steak was grilled on the bone and then sliced and sprinkled with salt. It was incredible! It was grilled perferctly and it brought out its smoky flavor. It was very tender, with a touch of charcoal on the exterior, and a balance between chewiness and tenderness, ended with a touch of char on the exterior with a thin ring of pink. The flavor was dense and rich, by far one of the best steak we've ever had!

Absolutely Phenomenal!

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Wild fruit infusion, fresh cheese ice-cream

This ice cream of fresh cheese was mind-blowing. Nestled on top of a thick sauce of wild berries, the ice cream was smooth and creamy, rich but not too heavy. It played well with the sweet-tart berry sauce beneath.

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Apple tart, smoked milk ice-cream

Possibly more interesting, but slightly less pleasing, was this apple tart with a smoked milk ice cream which closed our meal. The apples had the silky smooth texture of an apple sauce. The smoked milk ice cream was good.

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To finish off: house made milk and honey muffins.

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We started our meal at 12:30pm and it ended at 5:10pm.

Most of the dishes were served simply with just the single ingredient on the plate. The strong flavors of the wood smoke permeated the dishes. It was overall a PHENOMENAL experience.

Glimpses of the mountain slopes through the narrow windows.

At the end of the meal, we visited with Victor’s protégé Lennox Hastie in the kitchen. An Australian, Lennox found his way to Extebarri a few years back. My cousin here, who organized our wondeful meal found Lennox, who gave us a backstage tour.

The kitchen utilizes specialized equipment that allows for easy control over the product with the coals. Hot coals are produced in ovens and kept separate from the grill until cooking time. A new batch of coals is then used for each item prepared with a specific wood chosen to match the item being grilled.