We woke up in our cool hotel this morning in San Sebastian to a bright and sunny day... we keep lucking out with this weather. The forecast always says rain, but it holds off long enough for us to enjoy the day.
Here's a picture of the lobby of our hotel, the Astoria 7 in San Sebastian. It used to be an old movie theater, and they've kept the cinema theme and decked the place out with glamorous posters of famous movie stars...
Here's a picture of the lobby of our hotel, the Astoria 7 in San Sebastian. It used to be an old movie theater, and they've kept the cinema theme and decked the place out with glamorous posters of famous movie stars...
We caught a city bus up to old town and roamed through the mercado, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the city's chefs picking up ingredients for the day, but alas, I think we were too late. We did see these unusual specimens, though...
After roaming through the Parte Vieja for a bit, we headed out to the Concha de la Playa and the beautiful beachfront promenade, with it's boardwalk atmosphere. This stretch of sand is considered to be one of the nicest beaches in all of Europe.
And then, finally, it was time for lunch. Before we embarked on this trip, we had read that this particular area of Basque country had more Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere else in the world. Food bloggers site their favorites, but there are so many to choose from! We settled on Arzak, a restaurant with 3 stars to it's name and over a hundred years of tradition within the same family. The restaurant had been made world famous by the previous chef, and now the kitchen is run by his daughter, who is fairly young- the same age as Jack!
I'd been looking forward to this meal for weeks, having made the reservation a month in advance, reading the reviews, and even seeing it featured on various travel shows like "No Reservations" and "Spain, On the Road Again." And then... something really sad happened. I woke up in the morning with an upset stomach and a complete loss of appetite. Just the thought of food made me feel nauseous. It was as if I'd woken up on marathon day with a bum knee. I must have overdone it at Extebarri the day before (which is still totally worth it, by the way), but was sorely disappointed that I wouldn't be able to give Arzak the full and complete attention that I was sure it deserved. We went anyways, mostly so that I could take pictures of Jack eating. And boy did he eat. I gave it my best. I really did. But when the first course came out, the plate pristinely set with two, glistening, perfect oysters stuffed with some sort of a magical concoction full of color and flavor, I ate the first one, and for the life of me, could not stomach the second. I was so sad. Our server waited to see if I would touch it, and when she realized that I wouldn't, came over to make sure the dish was acceptable. She seemed shocked. I mean, whoever sends anything back to the kitchen at this place? Perhaps I was the first?
We quickly explained that I wasn't feeling well, and they suggested amending the menu to suit my appetite, assuring me that it would be no problem at all to halt the meal at any point. There was some whispering among the hostess, the server and the water girl, and then, the chef herself came out of the kitchen, walked over to our table and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. Her eyes expressed genuine concern, and I explained to her that I had been looking forward to this meal for so long, that it was to be a high point in our trip, and unfortunately, I was feeling ill today. I seriously almost burst into tears. She was very compassionate, assured again that the meal could be amended however I wished, and even came back at the end of our lunch to check up on me and make sure that I was ok.
Well, Jack's lunch looked incredible, and I did try a bite here and there and was able to stomach another dish after the oyster, and all I can say is, I understand the hype. As good as the food was, I would give the restaurant it's 3 stars and it's ranking within the top ten of San Pellegrino's World's 50 best restaurants, just for the care and attention I received on this day. Even though I wasn't able to eat the food, at least the dining experience was a pleasant one.
For some reason, my unruly stomach was assuaged by dessert, and I was thrilled to see this beautiful plate of petit fours come out at the end of our meal.
We quickly explained that I wasn't feeling well, and they suggested amending the menu to suit my appetite, assuring me that it would be no problem at all to halt the meal at any point. There was some whispering among the hostess, the server and the water girl, and then, the chef herself came out of the kitchen, walked over to our table and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. Her eyes expressed genuine concern, and I explained to her that I had been looking forward to this meal for so long, that it was to be a high point in our trip, and unfortunately, I was feeling ill today. I seriously almost burst into tears. She was very compassionate, assured again that the meal could be amended however I wished, and even came back at the end of our lunch to check up on me and make sure that I was ok.
Well, Jack's lunch looked incredible, and I did try a bite here and there and was able to stomach another dish after the oyster, and all I can say is, I understand the hype. As good as the food was, I would give the restaurant it's 3 stars and it's ranking within the top ten of San Pellegrino's World's 50 best restaurants, just for the care and attention I received on this day. Even though I wasn't able to eat the food, at least the dining experience was a pleasant one.
For some reason, my unruly stomach was assuaged by dessert, and I was thrilled to see this beautiful plate of petit fours come out at the end of our meal.
With lunch digesting comfortably, we caught a 5:30 pm bus back to Bilbao where we would spend the night before flying back to Barcelona for the last stop of our trip. It's hard to believe that our time in Spain is drawing to a close... but I'm so looking forward to two whole days in Barcelona!!
2 comments:
wow, your post almost made me cry too...because i know how much you love dining and how nice the chef was!
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