The “Proportion-Balance” text, which appears as the central part of the pamphlet that includes the tasting menu at Mugaritz, today, perhaps more than ever, seems to be acquiring the role of a motto or maxim within the cuisine of this restaurant. Taking steps in that direction, accentuating flavors, something primordial in the rings to provide greater carnal pleasure, we are convinced that they can recuperate that glorious culinary status (they reached a 9.5 in this guide) that they lost by demonstrating a reiterative, prolonged and obsessive usage of certain vegetal ingredients (herbs, sprouts, flowers, etc.) but without the talent from before, to the point where they made the ideology an absolute, an ideology which in the absurd dogmatized the insipidity. In this sense, years before we recommended self-restraint and moderation, focussing on the message. Today, fortunately enough, those ingredients and postulants are no longer the main plot in the culinary proposals of Andoni Luis Aduriz, who has opened his work to new, more diverse horizons.
It also seems plausible that he is in search of another personality, that he has recently taken on the quest of essentiality in his cuisine, without over-simplifying too much. The articulations are more concrete, following an easier to understand line for the public. That is the goal, to humanize cuisine from an uninhibited and unique perspective.
Many of the dishes from 2009 have returned to shine with their subtleties and brushstrokes of brilliance, finding their whole expression in the proposals, like the grilled tomato salad with frozen tiger nut milk, or the silky cod cheeks blanched in their jelly and infused with acacia flower honey, or the singular, complex fossilized salsify dressed with roe and marine extracts. The carrots were magnificent, cooked in a concentrate of perfumed grains, with their astonishing flavorful identity dressed by a baby squid concentrate and arbequina olive pulp. Stellar product, erudition and demonstration of culinary technique in the wild turbot, a fish that becomes exultant beneath a seasoning of borage and a concentrate of its bones. Imagination, fantasy, sense of humor and, above all, the textural and flavorful contrasts are found in the brilliant trompe l’oeil presented at the table under the disguise of a carpaccio, accompanied by a sweet and sour sauce, shavings of Idiazabal cheese and vegetable strands. In the more indulgent dessert courses, which have always been stunning at this house, they continue to produce astonishing creations: berries soaked in a cold confit of orange leaves; spoonfuls of “sharp contrasts” with custard, leaves and sweets; powdered hazelnuts with fern roots, fern leaves, cream and vanilla ice cream… and the immortal torrija
 

The “Proportion-Balance” text, which appears as the central part of the pamphlet that includes the tasting menu at Mugaritz, today, perhaps more than ever, seems to be acquiring the role of a motto or maxim within the cuisine of this restaurant. Taking steps in that direction, accentuating flavors, something primordial in the rings to provide greater carnal pleasure, we are convinced that they can recuperate that glorious culinary status (they reached a 9.5 in this guide) that they lost by demonstrating a reiterative, prolonged and obsessive usage of certain vegetal ingredients (herbs, sprouts, flowers, etc.) but without the talent from before, to the point where they made the ideology an absolute, an ideology which in the absurd dogmatized the insipidity. In this sense, years before we recommended self-restraint and moderation, focussing on the message. Today, fortunately enough, those ingredients and postulants are no longer the main plot in the culinary proposals of Andoni Luis Aduriz, who has opened his work to new, more diverse horizons.
It also seems plausible that he is in search of another personality, that he has recently taken on the quest of essentiality in his cuisine, without over-simplifying too much. The articulations are more concrete, following an easier to understand line for the public. That is the goal, to humanize cuisine from an uninhibited and unique perspective.
Many of the dishes from 2009 have returned to shine with their subtleties and brushstrokes of brilliance, finding their whole expression in the proposals, like the grilled tomato salad with frozen tiger nut milk, or the silky cod cheeks blanched in their jelly and infused with acacia flower honey, or the singular, complex fossilized salsify dressed with roe and marine extracts. The carrots were magnificent, cooked in a concentrate of perfumed grains, with their astonishing flavorful identity dressed by a baby squid concentrate and arbequina olive pulp. Stellar product, erudition and demonstration of culinary technique in the wild turbot, a fish that becomes exultant beneath a seasoning of borage and a concentrate of its bones. Imagination, fantasy, sense of humor and, above all, the textural and flavorful contrasts are found in the brilliant trompe l’oeil presented at the table under the disguise of a carpaccio, accompanied by a sweet and sour sauce, shavings of Idiazabal cheese and vegetable strands. In the more indulgent dessert courses, which have always been stunning at this house, they continue to produce astonishing creations: berries soaked in a cold confit of orange leaves; spoonfuls of “sharp contrasts” with custard, leaves and sweets; powdered hazelnuts with fern roots, fern leaves, cream and vanilla ice cream… and the immortal torrija
 

The most luxurious and best-located hotel complex in Langue, with magnificent views over the vineyards and the monumental castle of the town. In keeping with the surroundings, the restaurant boasts a stellar team of professionals that have shared high responsibilities at establishments like Antica Hosteria Reale de Renzo, Dal Pescatore and Cracco. Behind the rings stands Chinese chef Chen Shiquin, who was second in command for 10 years at Antica–a fact that does not go unnoticed: love of the product, progressive conventionalism, pure and refined flavors, as well as an enormous effort and a rigorous approach. Solidity is the word. This is a cuisine full of classic inspiration contemporized to meet the palates of the third millennia. Noble, essential, effective and remarkably pleasant dishes created to satisfy all. Culinary artisanship in a solemn frame with a great deal of design.
A testimony to all that has been said is found in this honorable, concrete and pure composition: warm Norway lobster covered with caviar over Noto almond cream with a touch of truly old traditional vinegar. Equally impeccable, technical and delicious: tender beef snout, so tender that it falls apart in the mouth, with San Remo red prawn, swimming in a bisque made from the juices of both elements and Chinese chard leaves. Gargantua and Pantagruel, face to face, gorging themselves on lactic creaminess: succulent fondue made from the famous Bettelmatt cheese from the Formazza Valley, with contrasting crispy pieces of cardoon stalks and a sediment of white truffle shavings. In the same philosophy, an unforgettable ravioli dish, al dente, with all the flavor that excellent pasta should display, bursting, exploding with an egg yolk that is hidden in its interior, further enriched by another fondue, this time with Castelmagno cheese. In a show of strength they move from prevailing creaminess to sublime pasta and a dish that reminded us of arroz con leche: risotto carnaroli with pumpkin cream, ewe milk junket, powdered amaretti and balsamic brushstrokes… I’ll have a bowl, please. More intense still, palatal sodomy, to scream and squeal until you’ve had enough: classic Swiss civet de lièvre, which needs to work on the juiciness of the hunt (the only faux-pas of the evening) with superb chestnut gnocchi, pomegranate and thyme. This was a carnal night, definitely. We finished the orgy with a dish from another time: a majestic capon of red meat, dark and full–satiating–spit-roasted and served with conventional ornaments that one cannot deny: potato tatin, chestnut puree and white truffle sauce. Long live Alba! Long live the newlyweds!
Although you may eat with a more artful approach, it isn’t easy to leave a restaurant more satisfied than here. And the maître d’, Davide Ostorero, throwing rice over us as such a celebration would dictate.