My Take on Basque Cheesecake: Creamy Chaos, Controlled
(The picture is from La Vasca, for me the best I’ve ever tried, the recipe is a take on AMA’s Cheesecake. Both are inspired by a crossover of La Viña’s style and Hilario Arbelaitz’s legendary recipe.) Check out our cheesecake podcasts episode 1 and episode 2 The first thing you should know about Basque cheesecake is that it’s not some centuries-old recipe […]
The Culinary Revolution of Pedrito Sanchez
The first time Pedrito Sanchez popped up on my radar was through Luis Arrufat. “Your family’s from Malaga, right? Then you gotta make the trip to Jaen,” he insisted. I haven’t made it there yet, but I started digging into this chef. Turns out, he runs the smallest Michelin-starred restaurant in Europe, located in the […]
A Hidden Gem in the Heart of Paris
Before arriving in Paris, it was 2020, smack in the midst of COVID with the city emptied of tourists. I got myself a list of restaurants to hit, a long one at that. But there was this one place that caught my eye: Le Baratin. I’d heard Chef whispers about its badass dishes and shockingly […]
The Rise and Fall of a Food Latin Hood
Before COVID, there was a vibrant latin clique in the center of Donosti, at least in terms of food and restaurants. At that time, the Reyes Católicos street was like a testing ground for new restaurants. One big success story was Amelia, before moving to a better spot in La Concha where Paulo, the Argentinian […]
Raw and Rare: A Steak Tartare Expedition Across Continents
My earliest memories of tartare come from Venezuela, where my parents would take me to this restaurants where a waiter at the table served up this finely seasoned, slightly spicy raw meat mix. If there’s tartare on the menu, I’ll have it. It just makes sense to me. I don’t like the grotesque, ketchup-rich, soccer […]
Copenhagen’s Renaissance: The Birth of New Nordic Cuisine
In 1987, a Danish film that would become one of the great classics of culinary cinema was awarded by the Academy for Best Foreign Language Film: “Babette’s Feast”. In it, a refined French chef arrives in a primitive Danish village where they’re overcooking potatoes and cabbage, to teach them the secrets of haute cuisine. By […]
The Mystery of Gong Fu Tea
My first time in Asia, and I found myself entering a traditional Chinese tea house, “The Chapter” in Singapore. The place felt like it came straight out of a Chinese fairy tale. Stairs led to a corridor with private chambers, each with individual tables for savoring fermented leaf broths and, why not, a bit of […]
Lua: Crafting Mestizo Gastronomy in Donosti
I first met Aaron during those post-work conversations in a restaurant, where we’d gripe about everything that was going wrong. He’d often lament, “These kids in the kitchen don’t communicate with each other. They don’t make eye contact and say, ‘Let’s go to table three.’ And using a basting bottle for brown butter instead of […]
Exploring Amsterdam’s Culinary Scene: Kaagman & Kortekaas
Lost flight. Forced night in Amsterdam. I can’t remember the last time I had a normal flight. The upside: we can eat. The only place that welcomes us on a Wednesday night is Kaagman & Kortekaas. It looks promising from what I read on their website – a place with character and culinary expertise. An […]
Inside the World of Txokos
In the world of Basque dining, there’s a fascinating and somewhat secretive tradition known as “txokos.” They’re like exclusive dining clubs, and while they may sound romantic and mysterious, they’re not exactly what they seem. To get into one of these txokos, you usually need an inside connection, a member to vouch for you. It’s […]