Over indulgence

Europe » France
July 16th 2011

Published: July 18th 2011

San Sebastian

Woke up early today so I could get an early start on my weekend trip to San Sebastian, Spain otherwise known as Donostia. I caught the train to Hendye and switched over to the eukostran train into San Sebastian. I didn't even know what to expect but as the train pulled into the stop I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it already was. The amazing architecture and lush trees and flowers. I walked over to my hotel, Hotel Astoria, and checked in. The hotel is based on the Spanish film festival so it's all about movie directors and stars. I got the Annette Benning room. I have to say I absolutely love my hotel room. The bathroom is encased in glass walls, which I have never seen before in a hotel room, or anywhere. There's a perfect little terrace with table and chairs and the wall behind the bed has a huge picture and bio on Annette Benning. ( even though it's in Spanish ). After staying in the apartment I'm super excited to stay in a hotel for the night and treat myself. I think the theme of this weekend will be overindulgence!
I had a little time to kill before my reservations at Akelare so I walked down towards playa de la concha. It's pretty similar to what you would imagine it to be, and a little more. I had no idea how big the beach stretched and how ornate and beautiful it was. There was a pathway that carved itself around the beach that had French style detailed lamp posts, and basque style buildings surrounding the beach. The ocean itself seems to be for more fishing then surfing. But the beach was packed. I will have to come back and visit in the morning. Time to get ready for my tasting menu at Akelare. I made reservations at this well known restaurant a couple months ago. It's a 3 Michelin star restaurant specializing in gastronomy and I am ready to experience and taste everything the chef has to offer. This whole day will just be a ridiculous feast of eating. I may have to run back to Biarritz.
The restaurants sits high above San Sebastian and has beautiful views of the sea. My table is already waiting for me with a setting for one. I have already researched a bit so I know what to expect and order the degustation menu for $145 euro.

First comes an amuse Bouche of sorts and it looks like a cleansing bar. There is tomato basil hand soap gel with an onion bread " sponge" next onion "bath salts" with a soft cheese moisture cream, then a local Spanish sparkling wine " mouthwash"
Then it's a gazpacho soup that was really good but unfortunately because of my lack of Spanish, and I don't know where that English speaking waitress took off to, i have no idea what's in that soup. Possibly peppers.
The first tasting is prawns from the south of Spain cooked at your table with wine over rocks. They serve it over top crushed shrimp and French grebe beans. Next is a " fisher mans net" with I can't tell you what seafood, I know there was mussels and tiny tiny shrimp.L This tastes exactly what the sea smells like when you walk by it. Not for those who dislike seafood. After came a pasta carpaccio with 2sheets fresh made pasta with parmesan shavings and different assortment of mushrooms. By far one of my favorites.
Then salted cod on a bed of phyllo pasta, that was crisp and melted in the sauce and in your mouth. This was my second favorite. After a " whole grain " red mullet fish that they encrusted with a mix of the bones and head. This sounded a little scary to me but it tasted like a crispy coating that was pure red mullet flavor. The dish came with these fusilli looking things that were clear and injected with different flavors of parsley garlic and soy. The mullet had a more delicate flavor than I thought it would. After the mullet was the lamb with the sediment of wine in crystals, a wine gel reduction and a matcha net of sorts. The second desert was a coconut ice cream foam that was light and tasted of coconut milk with a round almond cake that oozed out when you cut into it. And the last surprise was the petite fours. All in all an amazing experience. And all it cost in total is $210 euro. Oh well I saved the money and calories

So after my extensive 2 hour lunch I walked down towards the beach and main part of San Sebastian. This town is beautiful. There are flowers everywhere and random statues and ornate art pieces. In Calgary everything is made to be functional where as here they make it beautiful As well. I checked out Zurriola beach and it is a large stretch of beach as well with a bit more waves that lends itself to surfing. The sun was particularly hot in the afternoon which I wasn't expecting. I took the walk along the sea wall towards the Parte Vieja. Just at the base of the old town a celebration was starting with crowds of people at the port, dancing to music and indulging in the street food ( snails and tiny shrimp ) Banners everywhere proclaimed" you are not in France or Spain you are in Basque country". The banners had crab with the title "karmengo jaiak. I'll have to ask what this is. I had lost my way a bit and was unsure if I was in the old town where the culinary treasures are hidden, until I stumbled across a square with dancers and music, and packed full of people. Just off to the left of the square you could see alleyways with lit signs and crowds of people. This is where all the magic was happening, I was betting on it. I started walking the the alleyways and you could see where the establishments offering pintxos were. There would be a long bar full of different pintxos on top. Mostly crusty breads with meats and cheese, sliced baguettes with shrimp or crab or anchovies and peppers. At some of the bars there would be octopus and deep fried balls of who knows what. One bar I went to had the English names and it was mostly fish of cheese. The people at some of the popular bars would be 2 or 3 deep with a crowd hanging out by the front door, drinks in one hand, tapas in another. This made it very intimidating being alone, not speaking the language, and having no idea what to do. I opted for a bar that wasn't as busy, and with free seats so I could sit down. I caught eye with the bar man and asked him if he spoke any english, to which he replied with a shaking hand that meant " so- so" Ok between my miming we should work this out. I gestured to the tapas in which he handed me a plate. I made the signal with my fingers rubbing together to symbolize cash, and in his broken English he tells me " you get pintxo, then you tell me ". I have heard that this tapa can also go by the honor system where by you grab what you want and eat later. This is foreign to me and feels a bit like stealing so I decide to pay right away. I get 3 pintxos and is about 5 euro. I go for a baguette with Serrano ham and a chunk of goat cheese and peppers. The second is octopus in a light marinade and the last is 2 thick slices of cure Italian style sausage and a piece of cheese in between. They were all delicious , even though i wasn't even technically hungry. But this was for the love of food and the experience, not my hunger. So onto the next bar. I find another bar that doesn't seem as intimidating and start circling the bar like a shark, checking the different options. The bar man is nice and accommodating. I ask for a plate and start checking out their different options. I grab a tart with mayo crab, shrimp on top with egg. The second is a mushroom crostini. And the third is a crostini with cod and thin fried onions. All of these were great. The bar man asks is I want a drink, to which I say no, then realize that drinking is a huge part of the process. They have there own special wine that they like to pour 2 feet above the glass. I had a second thought of getting a glass but missed my chance. I'm sure I'll get another,

Now I am wondering the maze or the old town. Up and down then side to side I wander the streets, peeking into the next crowded bar to see past the throng of people and grab a glance at the food. Apparently there is also hot tapas but they are displayed on the board and are in basque. I am so full at this point I couldn't fathom eating more tapas, and had to throw in the towel. I felt as if I didn't give them a full chance, but maybe d try tomorrow. I walked back to my hotel and called it a night.

Next day I wake up to the sound of a downpour. The beautiful sunny town is now drenched and barely visible. I took myself down to the free buffet breakfast and decided that I wasn't going any where in a hurry if it's raining like this, so I'll take this opportunity to relax. After breakfast I called down and got a later checkout time and wrapped back up in the covers. with the weather being so crappy it cut out a lot I could have done, even though I did over a lot of ground the day before. My new plan was to check out the aquarium and try for pintxo part deux. I walked down towards Parte Vieja again and saw that there they were, pintxos in fine form, sitting on the bar tops waiting to be eaten. The difference was at this time there was less people. This was the perfect time to try them! First stop was a crusty mini baguette with Spanish ham, along with fried shrimp. The shrimp was doughy but the sandwich was awesome! No sauce just plain. This is something I always look forward to. I skip off to the next bar and find they have a bit different selection. So I pick up some octopus in a marinade, a crostini with a sweet block of jelly of some sort with got cheese on top, and a mushroom ham puff pastry. The puff pastry sucked. I had such high hopes but it was flavorless and full of oil. Everything else was delicious. And to end the taps tour I went into another bar and got peppers stuffed with tuna on bread, something picked with anchovies , and artichoke hearts with fresh salsa. I decided to try the local wine, which he poured in style, and it was only 1,50 euro. How cheap no wonder everyone drinks! It was light and bubbly and crisp. Very easy drink to wash down all this delicious food. I made one last stop to this bakery on the corner that had mini versions of their desserts. This is a perfect option to having one big dessert. You can just have a sample of it without over indulging. This of course would work great if you went on vacation and you haunt been dieting for months for this moment, which I have, so I order 3. The chocolate cake was amazing and made me want to go back and get another. They were the perfect ending to a great culinary trip to San Sebastian. Good thing I brought my runners!

The aquarium was a no go due to the fact I couldn't figure out how to get into it, so thus ended my time here. This will definitely not be my last by any means, it has left me wanting more. Next time I'm bringing some hungry friends!

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