One of Bilbao's most elegant and respected restaurants, also the possessor of a Michelin star, Zorziko strikes a balance between grandeur and formality on the one hand and cordial intimacy on the other. In other words, their dinner jackets did not prevent the staff from being pleasantly helpful. The armchairs in the dining room were no less comfortable because the light came from crystal chandeliers. And the illustrated menu was ebulliently designed on a personal computer. Uniquely, it made some effort to be descriptive.
The cooking style of the chef, Daniel Garcia, is conservatively creative, with local roots. Conservative describes the ensalada de txangurro appetizer, a mold of delicious shredded crabmeat on a bed of very thin spaghetti with a tasty pink dressing from the coral. Franco's magnificent starter was more creative -- flakes of fresh hake interspersed with pieces of tomato, avocado, peppers and chives, all molded into the same pillbox shape.
But that was the last hake we wanted to see on this trip. In any case, we could hardly refuse the pigeon, billed on the menu as the ''star'' of the kitchen, nor could we pass up a ''blue duck.'' Both birds, elegantly presented, had a sweet sauce based on red wine. The duck was sliced thicker and cooked longer than in the current underdone style. The star pigeon was a more elaborate production, with its thin-sliced breast fashionably rare and its liver and giblets served in a little patty.
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Publicado en el New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E3DE143CF93AA35756C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2
By MAUREEN B. FANT
Published: May 9, 1999
Zorziko
One of Bilbao's most elegant and respected restaurants, also the possessor of a Michelin star, Zorziko strikes a balance between grandeur and formality on the one hand and cordial intimacy on the other. In other words, their dinner jackets did not prevent the staff from being pleasantly helpful. The armchairs in the dining room were no less comfortable because the light came from crystal chandeliers. And the illustrated menu was ebulliently designed on a personal computer. Uniquely, it made some effort to be descriptive.
The cooking style of the chef, Daniel Garcia, is conservatively creative, with local roots. Conservative describes the ensalada de txangurro appetizer, a mold of delicious shredded crabmeat on a bed of very thin spaghetti with a tasty pink dressing from the coral. Franco's magnificent starter was more creative -- flakes of fresh hake interspersed with pieces of tomato, avocado, peppers and chives, all molded into the same pillbox shape.
But that was the last hake we wanted to see on this trip. In any case, we could hardly refuse the pigeon, billed on the menu as the ''star'' of the kitchen, nor could we pass up a ''blue duck.'' Both birds, elegantly presented, had a sweet sauce based on red wine. The duck was sliced thicker and cooked longer than in the current underdone style. The star pigeon was a more elaborate production, with its thin-sliced breast fashionably rare and its liver and giblets served in a little patty.
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