Foodle

Just when I thought this food trip to Spain couldn’t possibly get any better...... Asador Etxebarri. Another lunch here that I will remember for ever. So lucky with the weather again, it was just a perfect way to end this leg of the trip before heading to Madrid. Steve Plotnicki you know how to throw a party and I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to celebrate your birthday here, you are a true gent.
Etxebarri is currently number 3 on Worlds 50 Best restaurant list and also 3rd on OAD’s best European restaurant list and for good reason. Has anyone noticed how a lot of chefs and restaurants these days are cooking over open fire? Well it is arguably true that this originates with one man...Victor Arguinzoniz in this small village in the Basque country. This quiet, humble cook is actually one of the most influential chefs on the planet. I really struggle to think of a meal that I have enjoyed more than any of the three I have had at Etxebarri. This is the answer to the question ‘if I could only visit one restaurant again in my life, which would it be?’
Thanks again Steve and thanks for the wonderful company Beth Lang, Margaret Lam, Michael Price, Linda Plotnicki, Alejandro Alki, Stella Alikov, John Bruno Scherrer and everyone else who shared this fabulous meal. Less

Lunch a few weeks ago at ⭐️ The Square in London where chef Clement Leroy is clearly hitting his stride. Since Clement took over the reins from Yu Sugimoto prior to the restaurant’s reopening after refurbishment in 2017 I have only been once and that was to a meal in the private diningroom for 12 people with a full restaurant next door. Although it was a great meal, I don’t think it was a true representation of what Clement is doing at The Square, so to go for lunch by myself and experience the chef cooking his menu under different circumstances was the perfect way to see what they are all about.
I had been a couple of times when the kitchen was in the hands of Philip Howard, who by gaining and holding two Michelin stars for 20 years turned the restaurant in to a London institution. I would say that Clement is on track to repeat Howard’s success. Less

Catia and Mauro Uliassi opened their restaurant in 1990 in the town they were born and raised. Even though their restaurant is right next to the ocean, it is not a seafood restaurant. Mauro explains this by pointing out the proximity of the sea, but also the river and the hills West of the city where he went hunting with his father as a boy. 29 years after their opening, they achieved the ultimate to receive their third star in the Guide Michelin.

That is why you have game driven menu as one of the three choices, the others being the Lab and Classics.

The setting is simply stunning, especially when you are lucky enough to be able to sit on the terrace for lunch.

The cuisine reflects the influences Mauro collected during his wondering years, but is deeply rooted in the home town of Senigalli. All dishes are completely original, flavourful and perfectly executed. Two of them were contenders for a dish of the year:

Pasta with octopus lard and rosemary. Simply amazing. The dry and fry the octopus first, and the repeat the procedure. Then is gets ground down and made to a powder which is sprinkled onto the dish. The inner flesh of the tentacles get cut in super thin slices and put on top of the past. All of this forms a perfect harmony. This is as good as it gets.

The Lamb's head: One needs to have big balls to serve in a Guide Michelin three star restaurant the eyes, the tongue and the brain of a lamb. Add to this local spices like thyme, marjoram and mint and a lamb fond made from the shoulder of the same lamb. Who would have thought that this dish becomes unbelievable good.

The front office is managed by the ever present Catia, a wonderful woman with great charisma and charm. A consummate host she does not miss a beat while ably assisted by her son and daughter-in-law.

Together they create an unforgettable experience! I am sure I will go back soon, there are two more menus and the a la carte to eat. Less

A day with Super Chef Vladimir Mukhin.

It started at the Danilovsky Market where we sampled a lot of different cheeses and pickled vegetables. We then move on to his White Rabbit restaurant, where Vlad started to improvise with the produce he purchased at the market.

An unbelievable meal which showcased the creativity of Vlad while at the same proofing his technical ability to execute.

Thank you, Vladimir Mukhin Less