Txispa — Restaurant in Atxondo

Two kinds of xixa mashroom-

Consomme soup and consomme jelly with diced xixa,small flowe picked up from the garden

Amazing aroma of xixa mushroom great starters as something warm + small flower making you smile

nibble balls - 1.small sweet shrimp on kiskillon kobujime (marinated with Konbu seaweed), 2.grilled crispy eel, 3.Shungiku (Japanese crown daisy -edible) ball, 4.truffle on artichoke

Gentle starters to prepare your pallet. Each one brings different hint- kiskillon with starchy sweet shrimp gives bit deeper umami and sweetness then eel gives crispy texture, Shungiku gives refreshing greenish note, artichoke with truffle brings elegant aloma and bit of earthiness.

the authentic Japanese cooking methods and ingredients amazingly goes well with seasonal local ingredients!

Caviar marinated with Konbu seaweed on the innovativeTofu (made by peanut paste and other ingredients)

love the combination! Saltiness of cavier and hint of sweetness of Konbu goes so smooth with Tofu, great marriage with xiacoli wine!

Oyster in butter soup style

Chef wanted to fully utilize the goodness of scallop of oyster which is too hard to eat lot of times, so he squeezed out the scallop umami into the soup with local goat butter, with home grown Seri (Japanese parsley) oil to give a bit of green feeling, first time to see such an approach to the oyster!

Xixa mushroom boiled and shaddered as rare in cheese "dashi" (soup).

Interesting convination of fresh xixa aroma- it smells like watermelon ish! With aroma of cheese was very  plesant, different type of the crunchiness of fresh vs boiled mushroom was great contrast

Slow cooked rare prown

Controlled heat conduction by heating only the head so the heat will go up slowly.

Such an amazing control of the heat! Never had this kind of in-between rare to mid rare texture of the prown!!  The result was, butter like melted shrimp brain with juicy meaty meat! Super!

Dashi of pea skin

It has such a strong aroma! Althogt it was a cold dish, brought strong aroma up on my face, amazing to see such a power of the skin broth!

Tea pea with clam broth chawan-mushi (savory pudding)

Everything was about contrast, the sweetness of seasonal pea and it's crunchiness vs saltiness of clam broth, smoothness of chawan-mushi was amazing convination.

Xixa hori mushroom, home grown / homemade buckwheat polenta, fern (edible) Dashi with Hishio (black source made by farmanted chicken breast), dandelion flower on top to give a feeling of early summer mountain scenery

Sea bream

Fridge dried sea bream to get super crispy skin with minimum oil. Was my first time to see such a method and loved the result! The skin was amazingly crispy yet not heavy! The thick source made with sea bream broth went really well with hint of sourness of rhubarb, swiss chard green with small purple flower.

Aged beef 8years(!)

Staff lead as to the kitchen to see how chef doing the magic in his field, we witnessed his amazing control of fire, then this dish came on to the table like a king! Smelled like hard 2-3years aged mimoza cheese to me,

Texture was quite starchy, the more cheweing diligently, the more flavor coming out from the meat, it also depends on the part of the meat, you'd find different texture with flavor out of one dish of the meat -such an amazing experience! I really amazed by such an experience vs meat dish could be normally rather boaring after few nibbles.

Dessert

\plum :wood baked, homemade right smoked ricotta with plum juice and liqueur as a source \jerusalem artichoke ice cream with home made coffee shirop \home yard grown cherry blossom...

We went hoping for a memorable afternoon and left with much more. It’s always what you make it and we went with an open mind, enthusiasm for an authentic moment and a willingness to jump into the stream. Txispa gave us just that with delicious food, welcoming service and the comforts/smells/ tastes of one of the world’s great dining spaces. The landscape is breathtaking, the furniture is gorgeous and comfortable, the cutlery is inspiring (including the chop sticks hand carved by Chef Tetsuro Maeda’s mother). We were told to expect a +/- 4 hour experience and we finally had to make ourselves leave after 5 1/2 hours. We dined with great company, and met most of the staff. We spent time in the kitchen, the lounge, the dining room and the garden after for tea. For us, this was less of a meal and more of a dream. My only recommendation is to go with an open mind and a willingness to not compare this to a more typical dining experience. It’s different. It’s subtle, slow, authentic and informal. Also, go early, take in the beautiful landscape and architecture that inspired the restaurant. Have a drink, take your time. Side note: the Sommelier Gabriel provided incredible pairings that took our experience to the next level. He was a joy to spend time with.

So, yes, we loved it. My new goal is to be as good at what I do as Txispa is with a...

ATXONDO ETXA TXISPAS... La presencia del Amboto ilumina también a Tetsuro, quien ha querido ser de Axpe por decisión propia, porque uno es de donde decide ser y no de donde nace, aunque las distancias sean muy cortas y los caminos se crucen...Él quiere traernos el umami de los paisajes de Atxondo, encontrar el camino más corto y sencillo a costa de cualquier técnica... El comienzo...unos minúsculos guisantes, sin más, sin humo, que acaban de venir de la huerta, crocantes, al dente, sosos y sublimes, que traen la primavera sin intermediarios. ¿Se puede decir más con tan poco? ... Acompañado de un caldo del mejor regalo, las xixas, en un o-choko, el vaso de sake; tremendo, impecable, concentrado y limpio, sopas que solo Japón sabe hacer. Sigue un paisaje increíble octogonal. Una croqueta de conejo de textura casi de leche frita, una anguila kabayaki a la parrilla... Ni la parrilla resalta en exceso ni la técnica de marinado kabayaki domina. Se trata de dejar sola a la anguila con técnicas que la potencien, pues en eso consiste mucha de la cocina japonesa, en un sofisticado y decantado proceso de resalte. La anguila suculenta, sutil y templada, como templada es la langosta kobujime, con ese método de curar el pescado entre capas de kombu para potenciar con neutralidad, sin afectar al sabor...una langosta calentada en parrilla casi imperceptible para levantar la dulzura y como desmembrada a mano, para atacar las papilas de la lengua con mas superficie de contacto...rematado por la reina cantábrica, la antxoa enrollada a un berro de frescor primaveral. Sobre mantelería shibori llega el caviar omnipresente en los menús de postín mundial, y aunque este brillaba solo y delicioso con ese fondo misterioso, quizá despiste de los objetivos del argumento de hoy, que son celebrar la tierra sin acordarse uno de los precios... Y la ostra si, la ostra no duró ni las explicaciones simpáticas y de risa contagiosa de Tetsuro ni la foto de rigor, tan solo quedó un fondo vegetal de sisho quizá picado en jugos también misteriosos. Aparece la vaca con su lengua en su paisaje de helechos, florecillas y espárragos silvestre, el entorno y la temporada recreado en la mesa, todo equilibrio de dentes y temperaturas y donde la parrilla está al servicio de otra cosa...consiguiendo en las brasas de Tetsuro algo inusual de textura y firmeza. Y llega la prueba...Gambas...muchos sabemos lo que hay detrás de ellas...tan profundas como las aguas donde se pescan son las razones para ponerlas y mirar de tu a tu sin tutelas a la parrilla mundial...jamás se ha visto esa profundidad de jugos que disparan la gula de chupar y chuparse los dedos...porque la sabiduría aquí viene de oriente. Sigue un plato guisantes apabullante de técnica, conocimiento y sencillez... a estos guisantes sublimes Tetsuro les ha quita una cosa...la oxidación si se recolectan demasiado pronto, y les añade otra a la que también le quita...un caldo de ibérico sin grasa para que lo rancio no arruine al guisante, tremendo. De Kanazawa, cuidad natal de Tetsuro, es el Nodoguro, pescado con delicadeza de blanco y la profundidad de sabores del azul, y el besugo es el Nodoguro cantábrico que la txispa de Txispa necesitaba para hacerlo perfecto, piel crujiente y carne suculenta, y con dos acentos de alcachofa que envuelven la parrilla besuguera y la redondean con salsa de ¿cardo? La Txuleta es la prueba definitiva, cruce de Frisona y Rubia gallega perfecta de edad, corte, grosor, grasa entreverada, sal y delicadeza...el principio de un camino que ya es propio y que una ensalada fresca de acideces desengrasa, con berro delante y otra cosas misteriosas detrás. Llegan postres con contrapuntos, de fondo negro y blanco...helado casi salado de laurel con leche de oveja, aceite de oliva y lima, mantecoso y punzante, y delicadísimo flan de flor de cerezas sakura. Un café de Tanzania nos recuerda que Txispa es una suerte para Atxondo y para los glotones del mundo, y que veremos crecer y agigantar su cocina entre sus risas, txispas y su profundo amor e...