San Sebastian

I have been a longtime fan of Anthony Bourdain. I've always admired his writing, his callous coarseness and of course his passion for food and travel. Before I came to Spain, I saw his episode of "No Reservations" that was filmed here and it was then that the realization came to me, "Spain is now the gastronomer's paradise." I followed everything that he did here and made sure I was able to do many of the same things. I have now become a champion Calcot maker, I have tasted canned fish like Sardines and Anchovies that I have always, like many Americans turned my nose up at, that were so well done, so refined, one could not enjoy them. And now, I have gone to Spain's mecca, as Anthony Bourdain did on his show, for food lovers, Donostia-San Sebastian. San Sebastian is home to countless Michelin restaurants, the freshest locally grown ingredients and of course the odd, ancient Basque language and its people. Something I didn't realize about San Sebastian, is that while it is a city unto itself, what surrounds it is quite the opposite. The Basque have really seemed to maintain (at least in the hills above the city) a traditional, simple lifestyle that harkens back to what one would think of as eighteenth century-esque. The roads are hilly, narrow, difficult to maneuver and yet there is so much there.
We stayed in a rural house about twenty minutes outside of the city. It was silent and unspeakably green. There were countless animals that were seemingly unafraid of people. I mean, I had a sheep run right up to me. Additionally, San Sebastian is home to wild apple trees that seem to grow like weeds in their climate and as a result, a huge part of Basque food and culture is based around the cider houses that dot the land. It is here that you can drink homemade hard cider and eat local delicacies at a good price. Honestly, however, the cider was the only thing I tasted in San Sebastian that I did not like.
We walked along La Concha beach the first night that we were there and had dinner at the La Concha cafe. It was good but nothing to write home about. The second day there, we had the lunch tasting menu at Bodegon Alejandro. It was unbelievably good. The food was the perfect blend of gourmet, wow factor and heart. I truly enjoyed it along with too much wine for a midday meal but I laid in the sun until all was digested and I was fine. The following day, we headed to the Chilida-Leku outdoor sculpture museum where a famous Basque architect turned famous Basque artist works are displayed. It was a loverly property to walk around although I must be authentic in admitting that I didn't really "get it" aside from the fact that it was large scale metal working which I knew, required skill. This I did appreciate. That evening, was our big dinner. We had made reservations about a month in advance and drove out deeper into the country to Zuberoa. It was a beautiful restaurant in an old stone home but was a bit stuffy for me. There were only four or five tables in the entirety of the patio and yet four servers stood behind us monitoring every sip of water, look on my face, ect. for anything they could do. I don't enjoy things like that. Other than that, however, the food showed great technique and was seasonally appropriate and well done. I, personally preferred the lunch tasting we'd done at Bodegon Alejandro. I liked the flavors more and it was a quarter of the price.
Back to Bourdain, so, in this episode of "No Reservations" Bourdain visits a bar called "Haizea" and eats with the Father and daughter of Arzak, the most notorious and well respected of the Michelin collection in San Sebastian. There were some tapas (or Pintxos as they call them in Basque) in that scene that I wanted to try so badly. Plus, if the Arzaks say that it's their favorite we'd better try it before we leave. So, before we hit the road the next morning, we checked of Katxkarre (the house) and headed to Bar Haizea. Sure enough, the tapas that I saw on the show were on the bar and waiting to be picked up and eaten. My personal favorite was the pickled peppers, olive and anchovy on a toothpick, heavenly, acidic mouthful on a stick. Anyway, the part of the bar that was played down on the show (I think on purpose) was that it's literally all fat old women who eat there. They were all sitting there in their moo-moo dresses, smoking, reading the paper and kissing little fat kids that came running in to say hello. We stood out there. However, fat old woman usually know how to eat and I consoled myself with this thought as I gulped down impressive quantities of Pintxos that are not nearly as good as the ones traditionally eaten in Catalunya.
And it was with that, that our gastronomical adventures and misadventures came to close there in beautiful San Sebastian. I admired it's old bridge lined with beautiful white and green topped columns as we strode across it. The bridge is very important by the way in San Sebastian as it connects the old city with the new (the old city cannot be parked in only walked into via the bridge). The old city was the beautiful part of the city, the part people really come to see. I looked this way and that at all the beautiful architecture that lined the water way flowing into the sea, much of which reminded me of Paris more than anything else.The French influence here is evident in much of what they do and how they are. The food is handled more precisely, the architecture is undeniably French but the Spanish-ness makes it noteworthy and unique unto itself. Here's to San Sebastian! Salud!