Following Saturday's lunch at Asador Etxebarri, we drove to Bilbao to take advantage of the free tickets David had scored for the Guggenheim Museum. Sweet, right? Well, it would have been had Car #2 been able to find THE MOST OBVIOUS BUILDING in the city instead of showing up at some other second rate museum to meet us instead. So we were too late to get inside, but I got to appreciate the exterior only for a second time now.



By the time we got back to San Sebastian, everyone was too full and tired to eat anymore. NOT. Of course we went out for more pintxos. My favorite stop was Borda Berri where we sampled some Idiazabal risotto, tortilla with veggies and sausage, red wine stewed beef, and goats cheese with fruit compote. Definitely a winner.

The next day we got up to head to Mugaritz in the small town of Errenteria, about 20 mins from San Sebastian. This restaurant was recently ranked #4 in the world. The chef, Andoni Aduriz was an apprentice at El Bulli (#1 and hopefully our next stop!). Again, it's a beautiful old restored farmhouse nestled in the hilly countryside. Our table wasn't ready when we arrived, so we were escorted to a small outbuilding with a wood-burning stove for aperitivos. They brought us small bowls of what seemed like rocks but were actually roasted potatoes covered in edible clay. Dipped in alioli, they were tasty. The best part was that the bathrooms were stocked with disposable toothbrushes, so there was no concern about garlic breath! After finishing our drinks, we headed inside to begin.



At the tables, everyone's place had two cards that read "Submit" or "Rebel." I guess the idea is to get you thinking about the experience, and I supposed they're hoping you choose to submit to their menu. Sure why not.


I won't take you through the whole meal, but you can see the menu here. After two consumes, they served us a "Carpaccio" and told us that they would tell us what it was when we finished. What it was was delicious, so long as you don't have any strange allergies, which our friend Keith does. He decided it was probably best to ask before finishing his. The conversation went something like this:

Keith: "Sorry, do you mind telling me what this is?"
Clueless Waitress (playing coy): "Well, you tell me. What do you think it is?"
Keith: "No really. I have allergies. Can you tell me what this is?"
Clueless Waitress (still trying to be cute): "Well, it's a type of fruit. Which one do you think it is?"
Keith (starting to hyperventilate): "Is it melon? Because I'm allergic to melon."
Clueless Waitress (relieved) : "Nope it's not melon. What are you allergic too?"
Keith (freaking out): "Please just tell me what it is. I'm allergic to watermelon."
Clueless Waitress: "Oh, well it is watermelon. (starting to panic only slightly) What do you normally do?"
Keith (turning red and chugging water): "Uh, avoid watermelon, generally."

Pretty hilarious after the fact, but it wasn't so funny thinking Keith might get sick, or worse, I'd have to miss the meal to drive him to the hospital!


The sommelier, Linda, did a great job pairing wines with our courses (and not at wallet busting prices). She used to work at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, actually. So we finished the meal and headed outside for coffees and some cigars. It felt pretty glorious to lounge in the sun completely full and enjoying life. Despite a few misses food-wise (salsify? no gracias) the whole experience was incredible. It's definitely left me wanting to tour the other 98 restaurants on the top 100 list. We're trying to decide what's next. El Bulli? Fat Duck? Noma? I'll keep you posted.