Bar Biscay

 

I will come right out and say that Bar Biscay was my favorite restaurant that I dined at this year.  Located in West Town, it is the new little sister restaurant to Spanish Seafood Tapas restaurant, mfk.  Bar Biscay is headed by Johnny Anderes, the former chef at another old favorite of mine that is no more, Telegraph.  Like mfk., Bar Biscay is a Tapas Bar with an emphasis on seafood, though Bar Biscay focuses on Basque cuisine.  The front of the building is painted bright blue and it really reminded me of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).  The sign over the door is small, though done in pastel blue, yellow, and pink, with black lettering, it is very noticeable.  Walking in, the color continues with the dining room lit with magenta and yellow light.  The floor is wood as is much of the furniture with the chairs for the tables and the feet for the booths painted light blue.  The booths, while open, have high backs, and a pillar between individual booths that attaches the the ceiling that gives the illusion of being in a private cubbyhole.  Like mfk., Bar Biscay also has bar and counter seating in addition to standard dining room seating.  I decided to sit at the chef's counter where I could watch the chef's work and talk to them.  Because I was there, the chef also took the opportunity to ask several questions of me.  (Where else I have been, what did I like about Telegraph, what do I like, etc.)  While there is a pretty good wine list, largely featuring Spanish Wines, there is also a pretty good cocktail list, which is what I decided to drink.  While I am generally a gin drinker and there were a couple of gin cocktails on the list, I was first thinking about leaning another way until the chef suggested I try the Basque Martinez.  I am familiar to a Martinez, it is the predecessor to the Martini, but it's sweeter.  I was curious as to what made it a Basque Martinez and saw that it used Basque Vermouth.  It used Mahon Gin, a gin that I actually thought was Irish, but is actually from the Spanish Island of Menorca (It's actually Mahón Gin), Atxa Rojo Vermouth (a sweet red vermouth), Maraschino, and Orange Bitters.  It was very good, and I appreciated the chef's recommendation.  It was sweet with an herbal flavor and a bitter orange finish.

As I was by myself and it was my first time there, in order to maximize the things I could try, I decided to go with the tasting menu.  There are apparently two tasting menus, the on menu and the off menu.  Again, as I had never been here, I decided to go with the on menu tasting menu to see what they do regularly.  It was a six course meal at a pretty good price  with the first two coming out at once as they were both nibbles in any case.  My tasting menu started out with a Manchego Gougère with Garlic Aioli, and a Salted Hake Brandade Crudite with Trout Roe.  A gougère is a savory cream puff.  The crust was very light with the manchego cheese the cream inside.  It sat on a dab of garlic aioli, both the hold it still on the plate and to also provide flavor.  While it was good, I did prefer the other bite on the plate more, the Salted Hake Brandade Crudite.  Hake is a Whitefish similar to Cod and is often used as a replacement for cod.  Brandade is an emulsion of salt cod (or in this case, salt hake), fish that has been cured and dehydrated using a lot of salt, and olive oil.  Crudite simply means appetizer.  In this case the whipped and salted hake was served on toast and topped with trout roe which added another pop of salty flavor and a variety of textures with the crunch of the toast, the creaminess of the brandade, and the light pop of the roe.

The next course was more seafood and also a favorite, Razor Clams with Radishes, Garlic Butter , and Toast.  While I had heard of Razor Clams, I had never before encountered them on the plate.  They were large meaty cylinders.  The radishes served were also cylindrical, though I am not sure whether it's the breed used or the way that they were cut (after looking, I am now thinking that they were French Breakfast Radishes).  While it was served on toast, the cylindrical shape of the clams and radishes made them apt to roll off, do it was easier to eat with knife and fork.  While it didn't work well as a pintxo or bruschetta, the toast came in handy for soaking up the garlic butter.

From seafood, we then went to vegetables with Roasted Delicata Squash served with Sauce au Percil Plat (Parsley Sauce with Garlic, Herbs, Oil, and Vinegar), and Marcona Almonds.  The squash was well cooked and flavorful with the skin being a little more dense, but still easily edible.  The Sauce au Persil provided a nice herbal flavor and the Marcona almonds added a nutty crunch.

After the squash came the first of my entrees, Sausage Piquillo Peppers with a Manchego Mornay Sauce.  This was really good.  The peppers were very tender and added to the really good sausage.  It reminded me of a spicier version of stuffed bell peppers.  Piquillo peppers are non-spicy, so the spice must have been in the sausage.  The Manchego Mornay sauce added a good cheesy flavor to everything and seemed also to have a little spice to it.

Before my last entree arrived, I ordered a second cocktail.  One of the things that the chef asked me about was sherry.  I know that there are a wide variety of sherries with a variety of flavors and while I have had some that I like, I don't know it well enough to order it on my own.  There were a few sherry based cocktails on the menu and the chef recommended I can help, which kind of reminded me of the classic gin cocktail Bee's Knees.  I Can Help started with Sherry, but also had Patxaran (a Basque Sloe-flavored liqueur), Citrus, Angostura Bitters, Honey, and Mint.  It was sweet, very smooth, and had a slightly minty finish.  My final entree was actually the first Basque entree (basically, details were different) that I had ever had, Oxtail, served with Watercress and Orange Gremolata.  Gremolata is a chopped herb condiment using Parsley, Lemon Zest, and Garlic.  In this case, orange zest was substituted for the lemon, giving it a softer citrus flavor.  Frequently Gremolata is served with Ossobuco, so it went very well with the very tender and flavorful oxtail.  The Watercress added a bitter green note to the dish.

After the very good tasting menu, it was time for dessert.  While dessert was not included in the tasting menu, the fact that I was sitting right in front of the dessert station made it basically a foregone conclusion.  While chocolate was on the menu and it's always a win, what I saw leaving the kitchen most frequently, and which also sounded really good was the Crepe stuffed with Nutella and Bananas and topped with Cashews and Powdered Sugar.  While Nutella is hazelnut flavored, it does go well with cashews.  The crepe was thin and delicate, the bananas and Nutella went together well and it was a great finish.  I really enjoyed my food and drink here, but being able to converse with the chef while he was working was a great bonus.  I will definitely return next year for more and will bring friends.