I live in Laguna Beach, California, but at the moment I just returned to my hotel room in San Sebastian, Spain after enjoying a wonderful lunch at Zuberoa - a restaurant outside of town which is rated one star by the Michelin restaurant guide.
Normally, when I travel for vacation I have a detailed itinerary of lunch and dinner reservations planned in advance. My life has been slightly crazy lately, so this trip was completely unplanned. So, the Michelin restaurant guide iPhone app has been my best friend on this trip.
Ane yes, the Michelin guide lists three star (exceptional cuisine) and two star (excellent cooking) restaurants, in additional to one stars (a very good restaurant). For me, the one stars are the best! One stars seems to be awarded either to chefs that are just trying to truly please their patrons and are surprised (and sometimes annoyed) by the rating, or to restaurants that are making every effort to please their patrons because they are reaching to achieve two (or three) star status. Either way you're in for wonderful food without the annoyingly pretentious service or extremely formal atmosphere. So, for me, one stars are the way to go!
So back to the start of this trip...in Madrid. After a few less than inspiring meals I decided that I better start getting smarter about my choices. The second stop on this trip through northern Spain was the Rioja - the Marques de Riscal hotel (see photo above) to be exact. Out came the Michelin guide and the decision to make the one hour drive through the mountains to Vitoria-Gasteiz and the 1 Michelin star "Ikea" restaurante.
And so the driving trip through northern Spanish gastronomy began. I'll let you know about my experience at Ikea and all the one star restaurants that followed in future postings...stay tuned!
