San Sebastian...or is that Donostia?

(Above: My shadow and me after riding the funicular up Monte Igueldo taking pictures of the Cantabrian Sea.)

I took a weekend spin to San Sebastian, that culinary outpost that any self-respecting foodie has on their to-do list. While certainly, the food is a draw (San Sebastian has the highest concentration of Michelin starred restaurants in the world!), this town is also a haven for surfers and know for its huge iron sculptures that dot the town and the surrounding hills of this corner of Basque Country (a.k.a. País Vasco en Español).

It was calming to be out on the ocean watching surfers and walking on the beach in February. It definitely set the tone and we explored this town at a relatively relaxed pace in two days.

(Left to Right: Surfing scenes near and along Zurriola Beach, San Sebastian)

Before continuing, I need to emphasize that Euskara (or Basque) is, indeed spoken here in addition to Spanish. It is reportedly one of the oldest languages in the world (as old as Sanskrit) with no known ties to the Romance languages that dominate this part of Europe. The presence of Euskara in San Sebastian is most obvious in its unpronouncable street signs:

Euskara's fondness for the letters 'X' and 'Z' and sheer length of words intimidated me. I stuck to El Español the whole time.

Most places in the Basque region have a Euskaran name and a Spanish name. Witness the following:

(Spanish) San Sebastian = Donostia (Euskara)
(Spanish) País Vasco = Euskal Herria (Euskara)

(Spanish) Vizcaya = Bizkaia (Euskara) -- this is the province where Bilbao, another hot city in Basque Country, is located

The name for the province that includes San Sebastian is Guipuzcoa, and is one of the few agreements between the Spanish and Euskaran name.

We were in San Sebastian during Carnaval which is taken quite seriously throughout Spain. It was celebrated in San Sebastian by non-stop parades of organized dancers and musicians in sometimes inexplicable costumes, and unorganized hordes of locals in any manner of costume. Parades lasted hours and took place at numerous times during the day.

(Left to Right: a lit parade float; a sumo master and his followers; Roman soldiers riding chicken-back (?))

San Sebastian itself is a naturally beautiful coastal town that spreads out from a picturesque bay and beach called La Concha:

There's a really interesting contrast between the old and the new architecture in San Sebastian:

(From Left to Right: Kursaal Bridge, Kursaal Congress Palace and Auditorium lit up for the night, Detail on Santa Catalina Bridge)

In addition, Guipuzcoa is dotted with these huge iron and stone sculptures. Some are by area sculptor Eduardo Chillida. We visited his scuplture park about a half hour out of downtown San Sebastian. It was really impressive seeing these larger-than-life iron sculptures which are left exposed to the elements to continue changing color and texture over time.

(Clockwise from top Left: close up of sculpture at Chillida-Leku Sculpture Park; vista of main lawn at Chillida-Leku sculpture park; Jorge Oteiza sculpture in Paseo Nuevo; Chillida's Peine del Viento (Wind Combs) on the rough coastline)

And now the moment you've been waiting for (especially you foodies out there): Food in San Sebastian.

Without a doubt, the high-end dining and tapas scene is where it's at in Donostia. We dipped our toe in and had a four course lunch at Restaurante MB Kursaal, the more casual of famed San Sebastian chef Martín Berasategui's restaurants. This restaurant was perfect for me: gourmet food in a casual, unstuffy environment. Our lunch, which started off with a cava cocktail, included a spider crab terrine, sauteed cuttlefish with in its own ink jus, roasted veal with grilled pumpkin and espresso sauce and poached pears and french toast with frozen cream (very similar if not the same as torrijas in Spain -- see below).

Overall, I would say that the service at the tapas bars was very Spanish (smaller portions, huge selection, most of the time served by surly barMEN -- yes, they are mostly men in these positions), but the food itself seemed more French-influenced (braised & cured meats, terrines and tarts). Spanish tapas staples were present, too, including items like Spanish tortilla, ensaladilla rusa (my least favorite of all time) and jamón, of course. The tapas bars carry more or less the same things, with each bar featuring a specialty ingredient (like mushrooms or anchovies, for example). A hallmark of Basque tapas is that they display the offerings all along the bar like so:

(Above: The tapas selection at Bar Martinez)

We visited the following tapas bars:

Bar Martinez

Bar Ganbara

La Cepa

Txepetxa

La Cuchara de San Telmo

I save 'La Cuchara' for last because it was so good we visited it twice. It was hard to find, but we were lured to it by some sort of cosmic beam.

(Above Left: Sign outside of 'La Cuchara'; Right: Mass.-themed stickers in the kitchen)

See the picture in the right? It is a photo of the water heater in the kitchen at 'La Chuchara' that had on it not one, but TWO Massachusetts-related stickers! The one above is the Newbury Comics logo and the one below it is the 01.20.09 Bush's Last Day sticker, that I last saw sold in the Brookline Booksmith in Coolidge Corner, Brookline. One of the chefs had spent some time in Boston and Brookline. Quite the coincidence, right?! That coincidence is not the only reason we visited twice, however. This tapas bar is one of the few that makes everything to order instead of having most dishes displayed on the counter from which to choose. And everything was delicious. Treats at 'La Cuchara' included:

Pato confitada (Duck Confit)
Costillas con vinagre de modena (Ribs with Balsamic vinegar from Modena)
Calçots con romesco (Roasted Spring onions with a nut and roasted red pepper sauce)
Rissoto de orzo con queso de cabra (Orzo rissoto with goat cheese
Foie gras con manzana (Seared duck liver with apple compote)
Cannelloni de morcilla (Cannelloni stuffed with a Spanish-style blood sausage)
Ganache de chocolate (No translation needed, absolutely melt-in-your-mouth perfection)

The predominant Spanish wine D.O.C. available in San Sebastian is La Rioja, so most wines offered by the glass were from La Rioja. There is another D.O.C. for the local wine, Txacoli, a lightly fizzing white wine similar to Portugal's Vinho Verde. The barkeepers pour this wine from a huge distance into a regular ol' tumbler, part for show and part to bring the fizzy nature of the wine to the surface. It's perfect with most tapas.

So, other eats in which we indulged were:

Leche Frita (thickened, reduced and fried milk), Torrijas (a French toast meets bread pudding dessert), cured duck breast, fried artichokes stuffed with ham, cheese croquettes, vegetable quiche, surtido (assortment) of sauteed forest mushrooms, crab tart, Tarta Vasco (with almond and orange), calamares, piquillo peppers stuffed with mushrooms, jamón, Idiazabal, Cabrales and Manchego cheeses.

Next posts coming up: Prague and Andalucía