Pleasant House

I have touched on Mugaritz restaurant in previous posts, but after watching a movie that Mugaritz recently posted on its Facebook page, I couldn’t help but mentally revisit our experience at this amazing, 2 Michelin-starred restaurant in rural Basque country. It is fitting that Mugaritz made a movie about a day in its life because I still think about that one day that Chelsea and I spent there, from beginning to end.

When you eat at a good restaurant, you can be truly overwhelmed by the experience. The food, drink, service, and surroundings can be breathtaking and delicious. You live for a moment like that. I walked away from Mugaritz satisfied and still thinking about it as I would a great movie. But there was something deeper to this experience, and over time, I would continue to digest and decipher its meaning.

I came away with the impression that Mugaritz has a deep connection to culture, “country,” and nature, and these are the things that inspire the restaurant. That inspiration is translated onto the plate; it is up to you to interpret it. One interpretation could be, “what a great meal, that was really delicious.” Another might be, “I really enjoyed that, in addition to tasting really good, the food was incredibly sophisticated and humble at the same time.” My biggest personal “ah ha” moment came more than a year after my meal at Mugaritz, while thumbing through Chef Andoni Aduriz’s book, entitled Clorofila. This book highlights the flora and fauna, in an almost naturalistic, field-guide fashion, that Aduriz forages for near the restaurant and the dishes in which they become a part.

What makes this film so worthwhile is that it IS dramatic. So, too, was my experience and impression of Mugaritz, and also my experience in Spain and the Basque country overall. If you watch this film you may feel the need to experience the energy of this country and region for yourself in order to understand it.

Life-changing moments can happen for a reason, and if it weren’t for certain people I may not have had the opportunity to experience some of them. For this reason I owe Chef Roland gratitude for recommending Mugaritz as a stop on our Basque tour and for introducing us to Linda Milagros Violago, the sommelier of Mugaritz and our friend. Linda is pictured in the slideshow above.