All language subtitles for Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown S09E02 San Sebastian (1080p x265 10bit Joy)

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♪ I took a walk through this ♪

♪ Beautiful world

♪ Felt the cool rain
on my shoulder ♪

♪ Found something good in this ♪

♪ Beautiful world

♪ I felt the rain
getting colder ♪

♪ La, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la, la

♪

The Basque country
is an autonomous region,

a place, a culture,

where the Basque language
is spoken.

Strictly speaking, it's an area
straddling Spain and France

at the western end
of the Pyrenees.

They've been
speaking Basque here

long before the first
Roman arrived in 65 B.C.

It is a very old language.

How old, like the question of

how far back their history goes
and where it begins,

is not known.

The best answer
anyone can give you

is "long, long ago."

What did this area...
What did this coastline

look like
back in, uh, 17th century?

So different, right?

So different.

There's more landscape now.

The sea went farther
into the land.

Maybe some houses
like three or four there,

but the other one wasn't there.

The church there wasn't there.

There was a small church, maybe.

If that mountain houses
watching to the sea,

was impossible.

All the traditional houses
were pointed inland.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Before
the industrial revolution,

with no heating systems,

Right, the wind
would come in and...

You couldn't afford
watching into the sea

because the wind
and the humidity

make it impossible to maintain
that kind of living.

So every house
has windows to the sea,

it means it's not so old.

♪

Edorta Jimenez
and his daughter Arathi

are both acclaimed authors
and proud Basque.

And they know as much about
their history as can be known.

Sea barnacles, or percebes,
are much loved here.

Steamed briefly
with a little salt,

simple,
like much of Basque cooking.

That's delicious.

It's very, very good.

I love these.

And thank you for coming.

How long do you think
the Basque people

lived in this community?

Or does anybody know?

- 25,000 years.
- 25,000 years.

Yeah, we are living here.

So you're talking, like,
Cro-Magnon.

Yes.

- All the way back.
- All the way back.

And the language?

From here?

We really don't know.

It is the only language
in Europe that we know of

that doesn't have anything to do
with the rest of the languages,

that doesn't come from
the same place.

And the Basque genetic signature

is also seemingly unique.

I mean, nobody's finding
any relatives in anywhere.

They did this research with
people's DNA from this area...

Yeah.

And the conclusion was,

it's the same people that was
living here, uh...

25,000 years ago.

♪

So do you believe that:

the Basque
have always been here,

that the language has been
influenced by nobody else?

And the mystery, Anthony,
is that we are in the way.

Yep.

On the Iberian Peninsula,

you have two natural ways,
two natural pass.

One is
in the Mediterranean side,

and the other one
is on the Atlantic side.

And we are in the way
from the north to the south.

Well, good negotiators.

Good fighters, good negotiators.

Yeah, who knows?

♪

♪

You could make the argument

that there is no better place
to eat in Europe

than the city of San Sebastián.

There are more Michelin starred
restaurants per capita here

than anywhere on Earth.

But even the everyday joints
are superb.

The love of food,

the insistence on
the very best ingredients,

is fundamental to the culture
and to life here.

And it's beautiful.

Did I say that?

It's a beautiful city.

You know exactly
where to go, no?

If I'm lost, I'm only lost
for two minutes.

I always find my way.
You'll find it.

- Oh, here he is.
- Eh?

¿Qué tal?

Juan Mari Arzak has been,
since I first met him

and his amazing,
accomplished daughter Elena,

my mentor and friend,

steadfast and loyal
in every way a person can be.

Father and daughter

are two of the greatest chefs
in the world.

Bueno.

¿Qué tal?
Bien.

You are happy.

Very.
Très content.

I love it here.

♪

These are what you call
pinchos around here,

not tapas.

These incredible batteries

of delicious, delicious things

generally located
near one another

so you can easily
and very pleasurably go out

for what's called a poteo,
a bar crawl,

grazing through the specialties
of each place.

I would like to start
with a little bit of beer.

What do you think?
Yeah.

Not too much, because we are
going to other place, huh?

Welcome.
Chin chin.

- Thank you. Chin chin.
- Eh? Gabriella?

Gabriella Ranelli
has worked closely

with both Arzaks for years

and is considered
a leading authority

on the Basque culinary scene.

Have to move
from place to place.

'Cause the important thing is,

you have different atmospheres;

you have different
flavor profiles.

People here
really like the classics.

You know, people go after

exactly what
they're looking for.

Fried quail egg,
blood sausage, and peppers.

This is like a whole breakfast
on a piece of bread.

Wait a minute.
What's that?

Uh, sea urchin.
You want to try some?

Sea urchin with onion and cava.

You are good
at eating pinchos, eh?

It's so difficult to stop, no?
Yeah.

♪

Walking anywhere
in San Sebastián

with Juan Mari Arzak

is like walking through Chicago
with Michael Jordan

or Washington, D.C.
with George Washington.

He's the godfather,

universally beloved
and respected.

You're like Elvis.

He's like Elvis Presley, huh?
Si.

♪

Why do the Basque,
unique among their neighbors,

obsessively insist on

such high-quality ingredients
for everything?

People have a passion for food.

- Why here?
- Por qué?

I don't know.

Always been this way.

Until about 80 years ago,

there wasn't a lot of this stuff
written down.

♪

Right in here.
Oh, okay.

Yeah, I figured how...
We're not walking by here.

Ganbara: my favorite place.

I come here every time
like a heat-seeking missile.

This is where you'll find
Juan Mari every Sunday.

This is the first place

anyone ever brought me
in San Sebastián.

- Really?
- Yes.

Ibérico ham with mushrooms
are amazing.

Crab tartlets: extraordinary.

Mmm!

Oh, man.

But this, the house specialty,

what they're most famous for,

is the be-all
and end-all for me.

Seared wild mushrooms
and foie gras

with a raw egg yolk
gently draped over the top

to sizzle and commingle
with the hot fungi.

This plate, what can you do
to make it better?

- No, it's impossible.
- Leave like that.

It's perfect.
There's no improving this dish.

No.

Now nobody talks.
Only we eat.

Right.
It's a code of silence.

♪

♪

♪

♪

We are in the Basque country.

In a place called Pasaia

near San Sebastián.

This was the main Basque port
in the Middle Age.

Come on!

The Basque ships,
in different times,

they were the top
of the maritime technology.

And because of that,

they could face
the big challenge of the ocean.

This is a very old tradition.

See, we have a real language,
we have a very old culture.

And that culture has been always
looking at the sea.

♪

According to my Basque friends,

the Basque discovered America...

and didn't tell anyone.
That's right.

And who would they tell anyway?

Well,
they didn't want to attract

the attention
of other fishermen.

That's the reason.

So you see, the maritime
official history

has been written by kings
that wanted to claim something,

you know, like, "This is mine."

This is mine.
I want everybody to know that."

Fishermen,
they did the opposite thing.

So that's why now
these archaeologists

are finding evidences
of our past,

and that's very important
for us.

Xavier Ogote is a shipwright
and founder

of the Basque
Maritime Heritage Museum,

where he works
to preserve and promote

the proud history of
Basque exploration of the sea.

When I was a kid, I used to
go to San Sebastián port

and start fishing there.

I remember
the fishing boats come in,

in and out every day,
wooden boats, fantastic.

When I grew older,
I witnessed how

all the traditional wooden boats
that I loved so much

were being replaced
by fiberglass boats.

So when I was 18, I decided
to become a boat builder.

So for me,
it was one of the most

enriching experiences
of my life.

♪

We created Albaola,
like, 20 years ago

because nobody knew
about the Basque

and their relationship
with the sea.

And at the moment,
we are building

a dream of my life coming true,

which is a 16th-century
Basque whaling galleon.

My hope is that
through this project,

the Basque people will know more

about our maritime history,

they will be proud
of their ancestors.

We decided to build this ship.

I mean, it's... nobody ask us.

♪

This used to be the center of
the world for boat building.

Bad times for the Spanish navy
was good times for the Basque

because if a lot of ships
are sinking,

that means more work here.

The Basque were
the first whalers...

Industrial whalers...

In a time in which
the Basque were

the only people hunting whales
industrially.

How many guys?

In a classic rowing boat,
there's seven people.

Okay, seven people.

Guy out on front, the strongest
guy with a harpoon.

That's right.

Whole lot of rope.

200 meters rope.

How big is the boat?

8 meters.

8 meters.

If the ropes get too wet,
you sink.

If you fall overboard, you die.

You die.

- If the boat capsizes...
- Everybody dies.

You die.
Right.

You have to pull that whale
to the land,

rowing.

A 60-ton whale.

- 60 tons.
- 60 tons.

Metric.
You know, that's, like, big.

So what happens
if everything goes well?

Well, you become very rich.

♪

This place is the famous Elkano

in the seaside village
of Getaria,

a place known and loved
by chefs all over the world

for what they call
their Paleolithic cooking,

the straight-up
application of fire

and a very few ingredients
to make, well, magic of a kind.

♪

Rock prawn, the head and body
are cooked separately.

The body is served nearly raw,
what they call semi-ceviche,

while the heads are grilled.

Oh!

That's nice.
This is gonna be good.

That was very nice.

Squid served the Pelayo way,

grilled with an onion
green pepper sauce.

Wow, look at this.

Excellent.
Ah.

Look at that.
He puts the tentacles...

- Oh, yeah.
- Inside. Nice.

♪

And kokotxas...

About as bone-deep, old-school,

fundamentally Basque
an ingredient

or a passion as there is...

The jowls or chins of hake,

cooked pil pil style
in olive oil

and swirled constantly
to emulsify the oil

with the fish's natural gelatin.

What we like is
the quality of the product.

We like to have everything
alive in our mouth.

Oh, these are the...

Yeah.

- Beautiful.
- But this is good food.

- Look at that.
- Yeah.

So this is a good time
to talk about cod.

Because the Basque are not
getting to America

or Newfoundland
without salt fish, right?

If you didn't have
protein that lasted,

you could not project,
you could not explore,

and you could not
project military power.

Absolutely.

In the early times,
something we know

is that the Basque were
the only ones drying the cod.

Sea salt, we lack of it.

And so we were forced to dry it.

And dry... dry cod, you could
preserve it for years.

♪

But it's this dish that brings
passionate eaters to Elkano

from all across the world:

the turbot, grilled...

Look at that.

That is beautiful.
Yeah.

Perfectly over coals,

and then portioned out expertly
by owner Aitor Arregui

so as to highlight
each and every unique bit

and its special characteristics.

- All the white points?
- Yeah.

This is the protein of the fish.

And it is good to eat.

We can make it like emulsion.

The light gelatinous skin...

Beautiful.

Its soft and slightly
caramelized flesh.

Mmm.

Wow.

The fat, unctuous belly.

He's finding every single
secret of the fish.

Mm-hmm.

The bones, tiny scraps
of the sweetest meat

clinging to them.

Thank you.

Mmm.

One dish, a mosaic

of many distinct flavors
and textures,

all them epically delicious.

♪

It was like an anatomy lesson.

Yeah, absolutely.

♪

♪

♪

♪

How old is the restaurant?

It is 1897.

1897.

Starting with great-grand...
Great-grandparents?

I feel at home at this table.

It is not my first time here
by a long shot.

I am among friends,

friends who feel now
like family.

So how many years
in the restaurant business?

In 1976, 12 Basque chefs

under the influence
of the recently emerged

nouvelle cuisine movement
in France,

formed what later became known
as the gang of 12,

committing themselves
to both modernizing

and protecting
the culinary traditions

of their culture.

Juan Mari Arzak was at
the forefront of that effort.

His daughter Elena
continues to honor

both that commitment
and that responsibility.

♪

The food is innovative,
wildly creative,

forward thinking,
but always, always Basque.

Marinated prawns
on lemongrass and mint

with beetroot and crunchy krill.

For us,
it's the essence of the sea.

Mmm!
Oh, man.

Roast pigeon with mastic
and potato.

And this pigeon
is really very tender.

You will see.
I love it.

Grilled hake jowls with
teff seeds and fresh almonds

served in a bamboo leaf.

Grilled monkfish
with a pecan paste

and hieroglyphics
of pumpkin and sweet pea.

Was it always like this?

I mean, his mother,
his grandmother.

Was it always a menu
that changed every day?

What did you have to have
on the menu?

White tuna with green melon
and a jackfruit sauce.

♪

♪

Squid with walnut ginger paste,

psyllium sauce,
and black tomato.

Is he ever gonna take off
the chef jacket?

What is his plan?

Ah!

I knew he was gonna say this.

I would like to die
at this table.

I like.

Not tonight.

Not tonight.

- Pronto, no.
- No.

Bueno.

♪

I first came here in,
I think, 2001.

15 years ago.

You know, my father
died very young.

But, look,
I'd like him to know that

since the first time
I came here, he's...

I feel like he's looked after me
like a father.

He's been a loyal
and good friend and supporter,

and I want him to know
I appreciate it.

I mean, he's only 14 years
older than me, but

Not too much, eh?

No.

Could be my older brother.

Yes, yes, yes.

It better.

I am the big brother.

Yes, big brother.

No, I'm the father, basically.

But thank you...

Thank you.

For everything.

♪

♪

It seems sometimes,
maybe even all the time,

like you can wander into
just anywhere in San Sebastián

and find
fantastic things to eat.

Casa Urola in the Old Town
does not outwardly look

like a place
where you go to find this:

seared mushrooms with egg yolk
and pine nuts.

Potato sauce?

Uh, yes, and that sauce.

Beautiful.
Wow.

Look at that.

Grilled tuna
with "marmitako" sauce,

a reference to a classic
fisherman's stew.

Peas in a consommé
of ibérico ham.

Oh, it's so pretty.

The food is so good
in this town.

I mean, it's really outrageous.
Yes.

I mean, you walk by this
place, you don't expect this.

Olatz González Abrisketa

is a professor
of social anthropology

and documentary filmmaker.

Whoa, look at that.

It's a squid
with a white bean cream.

Wow.

I know that this is
the end of squid season.

Yeah.

Everybody says...
I mean, everybody knows.

The Basque obsession
or insistence

on really,
really good ingredients.

The fish has to be in season.

It has to be incredibly fresh.

The... it always has to be
the best of everything.

I'm... The Basque are very
obsessive with qualities.

For example, as you know,

I did a thesis
in the Basque pelota.

♪

Pelota, if you didn't know,

is the most popular sport
in Basque culture.

Its origins go back
to the Middle Ages.

The Basque are as obsessive
about this pastime

as they are about food.

♪

Most of male conversation
in Basque country

are about things and about
qualities of things.

And they pass days and days

in bouncing the balls
for the match,

and they need to know
which one is the best

for the match and how it behave.

♪

So the obsession and I think
a male obsession with quality

is also something
which happen in sports

just like with the food.

♪

♪

Basque language and culture

exists on both sides
of a border...

Unsurprising,
as they predate both countries.

This may be France,
but it's still pays Basque.

Here we're in
the French Basque country.

The Basque country
is divided by a frontier,

but we're talking about
the same culture

in the French Basque country
and the Spanish Basque country.

Is there a difference between
the French and the Spanish side?

Well, on the Spanish side,
it was the dictator, Franco.

And there, it wasn't...

It was forbidden
to speak in Basque.

On the French side,
it's true that there was

a little less pressure
about talking Basque,

but because a lot of people
were coming from Paris,

from the big towns
for retirement,

we were losing
the Basque language.

Do we drink Spanish wine?
Do we drink French wine?

We drink French wine.
French wine.

Oh, okay.

♪

We're in the town of Ahetze,

at La Ferme Ostalapia.

Miray Girt was born
in Spanish Basque country

but raised in France.

We've got a very good
quality of life here.

The sea, the mountains.

The Sun.

- And the food.
- And the food.

Things are different here.

The relationship between
Basque and French cultures

has always been more graceful
and less contentious,

and you can see it and feel it
and taste it at the table.

Ventrèche de thon,

or tuna belly
with tomato carpaccio.

Pigeon,
roasted and then flambéed,

served with a terrine
or pâté of the same bird.

On this side of the border,

are the chefs as creative
or more traditional?

They're more influenced
by the French...

The French cuisine,
which is more complex.

On the other side, we simplify.

Here, we... it's a little bit
more complex.

♪

Why is the food so good

Because we like eating.

That's the main point.

Why are we going to use things
which are in the freezer?

You're going to try to do it
always fresh,

very simple
but with very good things.

I would say that would describe
the Basque cook.

It's really simple but fresh.

♪

♪

♪

There is no better city
for food than this one.

You know, look,
it's gonna be a problem,

because you're gonna have,
like, millions and millions

of tourists coming here to eat.

- Yeah.
- You know? Every year, more.

I think now
we are being discovered,

not only by foreigners;
by Spanish people.

- Yeah.
- This is what I heard.

The only people from Spain
that came here

all the time
were people from Barcelona,

- Catalonians, of course.
- Catalonian.

Absolutely.

And some people from Madrid.
Some people.

♪

So-called "bro food"
in fact predates

the advent of the Kobe slider
or donkey sauce

and probably even the high five.

Txokos are private

and historically all male
gastronomical societies,

though that gender rule
has changed with the times.

It is still strictly Basque
and strictly members only.

So was everybody born here?

Are you from...
From San Sebastián?

- San Sebastián.
- Most everybody.

You're very lucky that
we are just here surrounded

by the sea, the mountains,
the green mountains.

So in just one hour distance,

you have any kind
of fresh product.

We consider food
as a part of our culture.

I mean, the importance it has
in our daily life.

I mean...
Yeah.

This is the best example
right here.

There's one thing
that my dad always said.

We may not have money
to go on holidays

or to buy a new car
or even to buy new shoes,

but food?

So important.
So important.

♪

Who cooks rotates
between members.

Tonight it's Pablo.

The menu: diced raw tuna,

grilled prawns with green sauce.

You notice that we don't like
herbs or spices at all.

Nothing. Nothing.
We don't.

So the most we use,
parsley and garlic.

Of course garlic, onion,
all the way.

Because, yeah,
people have the idea

if you add many spices and herbs

to something
that you're cooking here,

you might be suspicious
about maybe the...

It's not so fresh.
Not fresh.

- Fresh.
- Not fresh. Yeah.

You want to take this food
and put in another country,

maybe Moscow, maybe New York.

It's impossible to cook
in this way.

And people don't understand.

♪

♪

Now, someone I was talking to
yesterday had a theory.

She said the men talk about
the difference between things.

The difference between this
bicycle and that bicycle.

The difference between this
bicyclist and that bicyclist.

And that this is an innate part
of the Basque culture.

I don't think
it's exclusively from here.

I think this is something
that from Franco years.

Where's Franco buried,
by the way?

Oh, Madrid.

Valle de los Caídos.

Valle de los Caídos.

Big gravestone or they just
sort of roll him into a ditch?

It's a huge place.

If you were... I'm just...
I'm not suggesting you do this.

But if you were to visit
Franco's grave,

unzip, and take a piss on it,

would you be arrested?
Yep.

No, you will be in the news
all over the world.

Would that make you popular
or unpopular?

Uh, popular.

Popular, yeah.

♪

For the main,
fried hake cooked with txakoli

and steamed clams.

♪

So what's the best thing
about this city for you?

I mean, you've lived here
your whole lives.

Having so many things so near.

I mean, I have France near.

I have all the coasts near.

I have the mountains near.

I have very,
very good gastronomy.

It's the way of life.

And it's a way of life.

You are able to
keep the very same

group of friends
till you are old.

You can see it here.
Because-Yes, that table.

And they're in 40s.

And I'm sure
they know each other from

they are 10 or 5 years old.

And they keep on coming here
every week

and have dinner here every week.

♪

Here?

♪

This place,
deep in the Atxondo Valley

about an hour
outside of San Sebastián

is Etxebarri,

one of the greatest,
most iconoclastic,

and most loved by chefs
restaurants in the world.

It is in every way,
extraordinary.

Sometimes with chefs,

we sit around
and we play this game.

If you had to die at one
restaurant, you know,

what would your last meal...
What restaurant

would you like
your last meal at?

And they were coming up
with restaurants,

and I said, "Well,
what about Etxe..."

It's Etxebarri?
Etxebarri.

And they all
changed their answer.

They said, "Oh, no, no,
you're right."

That place."

- Yeah.
- It's... It's so perfect.

My lunch companion is my old
friend Virginia Irizar.

With her father,

she runs the
Escuela de Cocina Luis Irizar,

her father being Luis Irizar,
of the original group of 12

and the man
who first showed me...

Well,
everything in San Sebastián.

Your dad's first job out here
was at the Maria Cristina

Is that true?

He started there?

16 years old.

His first duty was to

keep the white wine ice cold
for the chef.

Well...

Otherwise, they were in trouble.

That's understandable.

So what did they do
that was different?

They did try to modernize
Basque traditional food,

make it less heavy, less greasy,
that sort of thing.

♪

And this man,
Victor Arguinzoniz,

is a legend.

He is a master of
what looks austere and simple

but is in fact
in an almost Japanese way

fetishistically perfectionist

in his treatment
of local ingredients.

Victor cooks everything himself,

from his own charcoal
made from wood he cuts himself.

Chorizo, which he makes
from Iberian pork loin

served over a tiny little grill
still smoking

and infusing it
with scent and flavor.

Mmm!

Oh, so good.

Grilled razor clams.

So good, so simple.

Beluga caviar,

however improbably it sounds,
grilled

and heaped over almond paste.

Excuse me.

I'm gonna have to
take a picture of this.

I'm gonna make
other people feel bad

about what they're eating.

Grilled gambas:

perfectly,
perfectly cooked prawns.

- It's huge!
- Yeah.

- This is...
- Wow.

Line caught squid

grilled and served
in its own ink.

Beautiful.

It's very nice.

And the most delicious:

king hell Galician beef chop,

grilled, perfectly rested,
and ready.

Ooh!
Look at that.

Why are the ingredients so good?

I mean, the basic ingredients
are always super high-quality...

- Mm-hmm.
- Everywhere.

Where does this come from?

I think it's just that we
wouldn't have it any other way.

I mean...
It's as simple as that.

♪

♪

♪