The Loaf: A Sneak Peek

Summer is threatening here in Donosti, with the ever steady influx of Australians and oh-so-slightly higher temperatures.

But this summer will be different...

Because July 1, The Loaf (in a box) opens in Donosti.  The Loaf is a very special project: a three-month pop-up bakery, located in premium real estate on the Urumea in front of the train station. The star of the bread is Dan Lepard, master baker and author. The architect of the containers is Javier Bueno. And the evil geniuses behind it all are my friends and fellow salseras at La Salsera.

The excitement has been brewing for months, with our Alex doggedly pursuing bureaucrats and Andoni complaining of stomach problems. Hard at work.

Just to bring good bread to the citizens of Donosti. Crispy crusts, a beautiful crumb, masterful artisan creations. La Salsera does everything they do for the good of humankind.

Don't miss the opening on July 1, or my baking classes each Wednesday in July. You can buy tickets for these and more here.

365 tuesdays

It's highly likely that there's not a single person that knows more about cider than Egoitz Zapiain. He's always ahead of the game, an avant-garde player in the realm of this traditional drink.   He approaches cider like an affectionate scientist. 

Lovers of this beverage that go to his ciderhouse won't find shouts of  ‘TXOOOOOTXXXX’ - they'll find a subtly guided tasting, going from the softer ciders to the most developed. The season's almost over, so get there ASAP. If you can't, look for Zapiain in nearly any store (check out Lot 14).  

Sagardo Zapiain
Kale Nagusia, 96. Astigarraga

Part of the 365 Cities project.

day two: San Sebastián Gastronomika 2011

Gastronomika today was....Mexico, a pretty disappointing use of 3-D technology, the local STARS of the worldwide food scene (Arbelaitz, Arzak, Berasategui, and Subijana), award to Spain’s best sommelier, gin and tonic in the press room...

But for me, the highlight was a tiny tertulia with chef Alex Atala.

In case you don’t know him, he’s the guy right behind Grant Achatz on the world’s 50 Best Restaurant list. He’s a 43-year-old Brazilian chef and runs the restaurant D.O.M. in Sao Paolo. And today, me and about a dozen other young people were in a room with him for an hour, with free reign to ask him whatever we liked.

I don't know about you, but in my experience its hard enough to get a chef to stop and sit for five minutes, much less have immediate access to him for an hour.

He had all kinds of insight into Brazilian cuisine, as well as chef life in general. "It's half dream, half nightmare," he said. "The higher you get, the hotter they give it to you."  The way he framed it, his rise to fame was rapid and unasked for. To hear him tell the story of the night of the Top 50 Awards was amazing. He was waiting with baited breath to be awarded 20, and had virtually given up when they called him for number SEVEN.

I asked him if he thought he had changed after the awards: yes, for better and for worse.

I also asked him how daily life was in his kitchen. He explained that he also has a bakery (!), and went on to describe a kitchen that sounds just about heavenly. Everybody happy, quiet, etc. But that, he revealed, is about fifteen years after previously shoving people's faces into the trash bin. So, maybe that one's a change for the better.

He's obsessed with Andoni (Mugaritz, what can I say, me too) and quoted him: "Truths are not absolute-they change with time. That's what makes them truth."

To wrap up the tertulia, he confessed to us that he thinks Brazil has a long way to go, but that they have a rich promise that lies in their raw product, as well as their culture.

These invaluable tertulias take place every day at Gastronomika. In fact tomorrow's is Achatz and Blumenthal. No way they'll let me into those.

day one: San Sebastián Gastronomika 2011

San Sebastián Gastronomika is a gathering of the world’s greatest in the culinary world. I also often forget that its a festival of professionals, by professionals, and for professionals. These 30 to 45 minute cooking demonstrations that make up the bulk of the main program are, essentially, a glorified recipe exchange cum friendly coffee chat. Yes, that’s Alex Atala in front of you, picking at a candied pumpkin. But he’s just spouting off a recipe for you, then giving you a chapa (an earful) of what he thinks about the perfect ingredient. Then some pristinely pressed kids in their school chef whites bring you out a little spoonful he made just for you.

I’m sort of struggling to ubicate myself.
 My frugal, American instincts say “What’s the point? These are just glorified cooking shows and a big lounge of people trying to sell you something.”
Then my European side kicks in and says, “Marti. There has to be a place for ideas to live, to be shared. It’s enough of a  purpose to serve as a three-day incubator of ideas, that will then spread out to the world and serve to update shared culinary knowledge.” 
“Yeah, so everyone and their mom will be microwaving aerated cake better by this time next year.” (Ups, that was the American me again).

I think I’m getting it.
I mean, I think I’m really getting it.
Because when the big boys took the stage, Quique Dacosta, Andoni Luis Aduriz (of Mugaritz), and Joan Roca (of world #2, Cellar de Can Roca), well, I cried.

It’s not that simple. There were sheep. Basque sheep. And good, real country people....lovingly caressing baby vegetables, staring out to Cantabrian seas, and chasing geese.  I leave you with my personal highlight of the day, a clip of Andoni’s video about the providers of Mugaritz’s food. I mean, the part with the twin shepherd brothers, where one is talking about the microchip and how the naming of the sheep is a lost tradition now...the look on the brother's face...WAAAAH.

And then they're all like, "We were born here...later we came back here, and now we're here forever... When we decided to come to the caserio to work, at no moment did we consider working with other more industrial races that would produce more milk, so we could be more profitable." I think that's when the tears started. Andoni, take me next time! Click to watch.

donosti news: goiz-argi + el lagar

Breaking Pintxo news here in Donosti-San Sebastián.

The revered Goiz-Argi in the old part of San Sebastián, ran by Juli and her partner, has officially changed hands. Saturday was the couple's last night in the bar, and they're currently retired, laid back with their feet kicked up (we presume). This means the city's most famous shrimp, served grilled atop buttery bread with vinegar-y onions and peppers, could be extinct. I say could be because the bar has changed hands...but let's just say the situation doesn't look promising, based on up-to-the-minute word of mouth.

In other, less recent news, the Gros pintxo bar El Lagar, better known as the bar next to Mil Catas, has closed.  Will enjoy watching tourists continue to try visit it over the next year. Don't feel too sorry for them, though...I always preferred Mil Catas.