the year in pig cheeks · 2008-12-31 20:19
I’m often asked what was my favourite meal, or most remarkable dish. I’m terrible at deciding, especially when put on the spot, but luckily I photograph to remember. 2008’s memories are dominated by trips to Japan and San Sebastian, both with lashings of crispy pork bits.
Japan = tonkatsu. And tempura. And okonomiyaki. And sushi.
I ate my weight in pork, notably at Butagumi tonkatsu restaurant. Fantastic tempura and my first earthquake at the original Tsunahachi. Pork cheek shio ramen at santouka in Kyoto (who also have some odd mall food court outlets in the US). Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, including flattened mochi, at Michan.
San Sebastian: 8 Michelin stars in 3 days. Plus great pintxos, washed down with Txacoli. And sun, sea and surfers. I loved the place.
My meal at Mugaritz was the best, and 3 dishes stood out – ‘flowers, flowers, flowers’, vegetable carpaccio, and crispy pig tails with langoustine. Actually, the cheese plate was great too, as was a sublime honeyed fish stew and cloud-like cheese gnocchi.
Elsewhere, the superb pigeon with goji, and chocolate grapes in strawberry soup at Arzak, and the peach at Akelarre. And the genius chorizo sausage roll from a bakery in Bilbao.
It’s been a cartography of pork: crispy pig’s head at arbutus and magdalen, cheeks cooked at home. Odds and sods: the shack, of course. Steak of awesomeness and dessert of triple awesomeness at Les Trois Petits Bouchons.
Happy new year.