ANDALUSIA
BAR FM
This is one of my favorite seafood restaurants in the world. They get daily shipments from Motril on the Mediterranean coast which is close to Granada. Usually I spend three days in Granada and I visit Bar FM every day. Francesco Martin and his family are masters of frying and a la plancha techniques, but they also offer a crudo selection of squiky fresh almejas, scallops, quisquillas, etc. I never miss the sweet and succulent shrimps, called quisquillas (camarones in the Atlantic sea), baby squid called puntillitas, and baby cuttlefish called chopitas, either a la plancha or fried, while retaining their ethereal texture. Other favorites include anchoa San Filippo, small fish, and also gambas rojas.
When available, spiny lobster and cigalas should not be missed. I found the cigalas here to be sweeter than the ones from the Atlantic sea. I am not crazy about their rendition of sun-dried intense octopus, but I also like the ventrasca de tuna, as well as their fried veggies, such as artichokes. The wine list has been improving too. Order a nice and mineral-driven Galician white and enjoy the ride!
EVALUATION: 18/20
THE BASQUE COUNTRY
ZUBEROA
Hilario Arbelaitz, the chef of Zuberoa and his brother Eusobio will be missed. As this restaurant announced its closing on the last day of this year, we rushed there for a farewell meal.
What a meal! Zuberoa has always been the favorite fine dining establishment of the local discerning palates and rightly so. It has always been considerably better than the four Michelin three-star restaurants in the Basque region of Spain. Hilario is an amazing master of roasted game dishes ,and he concocts the best potato puree since Robuchon astonished us with his version. Hilario’s Basque style cheese cake has also always been spectacular.
Thanks to the Arbelaitz family for the amazing langoustine ravioli, followed by roasted chevreuil, and then rable de lapereau, and finally a splendid becasse with its liver on toast. These dishes also proved one more time that Hilario was one of the last great sauciers that still followed the rigors of classic French cuisine without shortcuts.
Now that both Ibai and Zuberoa are gone, the Basque region of Spain may not be considered as the leading food destination in Spain.
EVALUATION: Thanks for all these great meals over a quarter of a century!
ASADOR ETXEBARRI
What can one say? Many many things have changed in this once modest restaurant since it has become a darling of the “fifty best” international foodies. Consequently, Victor, still erect and fit in late middle age, has become a celebrity chef. The Outs are: a la carte generous portions; local Spanish people having a great time and lingering over coffee and cognac; the relaxed country like atmosphere. The Ins are: a la mode small portion degustation menus; self-conscious and well-heeled international clientele bragging about their visits to trendy hard to reserve restaurants; serious price hikes and prestigious wines overseen by talented sommelier Mohamed.
But. There is a but. The restaurant is still very good. Actually it is great. Victor still chooses the best products, and he is, inarguably, one of the greatest masters of the “a la brasa” grilling technique. For people who look for some of Spain’s greatest seafood products, a meal here is both a must and unforgettable.
Examples? From his chorizo and mozzarella (ask for his amazing goat milk butter) to gambas Palamos, espardenyes, chipiron, to callos de Bacalao, guisantes, and ventresca de bonito, and mero, the quality and the precision of cooking is amazing. Desserts are very good too. But am I the only person who thinks that, given standards in Spain, his chuleta from a 9-10 years old vaca, is good, but not great? I do miss his unbelievable roasted kid of his old days…
EVALUATION: 18.5/20
ELKANO
I have eaten at Elkano about twice a year since 1998 and concluded that this may be one of the most consistent restaurants on earth. My only lament is that they used to offer a variety of fish, and depending on the season, one could opt for lenguado, besugo, rodaballo, etc. Now that Michelin gave a star and the 50 best crowd discovered it, I have not seen any other big fish on offer, other than the rodaballo or Atlantic turbot.
I am not complaining though. There is no place on earth to experience better turbot in its entirety (especially for groups of four people). Shellfish and kokotxas of meru pil pil are also amazing. Once they offered me raw baby peas (guisantes) collected from a nearby garden in a spoon. The sweet and saline peas were amazing. Don’t also miss salmonetes with its liver if they have it. I also love the desserts here. I recommend helado de gueso with red berry coulis.
EVALUATION: 19/20
LANDA
I once thought that this little and product-oriented restaurant may partially compensate for Ibai’s loss. I was mistaken. They are good to very good, but dishes, such as lobster salpicon, kokotxas pil pil, lenguado, etc., do score high, but fall short of true greatness. I find the menu to be a bit too large to achieve perfection.
EVALUATION: 15/20
