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Name: neener
School: USC Marshall School of Business
Status: Employed...finally
E-mail: Click here!
Reason for blogging: I'm incredibly self-absorbed. |
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I'm listening to...
::"Stay Beautiful," The Last Goodnight
::"Spaceman," The Killers
::"Green Light," John Legend
::"Superstar," Lupe Fiasco
I'm watching...
::24
::The Office
I'm reading...
::Taiwan, A Political History, by Denny Roy
::The Devil and Miss Prym, by Paulo Coehlo
I've just seen...
::Slumdog Millionaire
::I Love You, Man
::The Reader
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So This Is Love. Being unemployed can suck. There's that pesky "money" thing. But as I've said in previous posts, it gives you a lot of time. And if you have some savings, you can do something you usually can't do when you're employed: travel.
And that is how I ended up driving a little Citroën Picasso smelling of cigarette smoke (unfortunately, the only automatic that the car rental company had) through the Basque countryside with YJ and LT, trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do when I see a road sign with a picture of a headlight and a question mark. (I'm still not sure, so if anyone can enlighten me, please do.)
After a misstep or two, we arrived at our destination: Axpe, described by some as a hamlet and by many as "the middle of nowhere." Surrounded by rolling green hills and with snow-capped mountains as a nice backdrop sat a small town square with a church in the center. Some structures that looked like farmhouses dotted the landscape here and there, but for the most part, all we could see was green. Here, in this humble-looking destination, is where I ended up falling in love...as I ate one of the best meals of my life.
At Extebarri, a Spanish asador, Victor Arguinzoniz has taken grilling to another level. Every morning, he and his sous-chef make their own charcoal from a variety of woods, and they come up with creative ways to cook foods you normally don't associate with a grill. A slab of beef? Sure, they cook beef. And since this is Spain, if you want some grilled baby octopus, you can get that too.
But would you ever expect to order caviar? Smoked butter? And how about some baby eels? Ah, the marvelous baby eels. The baby eels are the one "must have" dish at Extebarri, when they're available. Sous-chef Lennox told us the romantic story about how the eels are born in the Sargasso Sea, way out by the Caribbean, and travel all the way around the world to Europe. They are caught by the light of the moon, and then he started talking about a waterfall (I think they keep them there once they are caught?), but by then my mind was wandering as I imagined ingesting them. All romance aside, they are just plain good. The texture may be like spaghetti, but they're so full of flavor and simply delicious.
Our meal ended up being 4 hours long, and we had a wide variety of dishes, from meats like chorizo and chuleta to seafood like giant palomar shrimp and oysters. As we neared the end of the meal, I was feeling incredibly full and unable to eat anymore. And then they brought out dessert, a smoked milk ice cream with a berry sauce, and just like magic, I found space in my stomach again.
The food at Extebarri is the epitome of my favorite kind of food: unpretentious, cooked perfectly, and prepared and seasoned so that you can savor the taste of the main ingredient. Oh, Extebarri, I love you.Labels: food, places, travel
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When I learn a new word, I'll put it here so you can learn too!
EBITAS (noun):
Abbreviation for "Earnings Before Income Tax, Amortization, and SGARA." Next week, find out what SGARA is.
Click here for previous "new words." |
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