I had never heard of the Basque Country until I visited a wonderful old dive in Eagle Rock, California called The Bucket. The Bucket was nothing more than 8 seats around a bar, behind which Julio the proprietor cooked garlicky, mustard-infused burgers that brought tears of culinary joy to my eyes and left me stinky for the next 24 hours.
Julio was a grizzled old man who heralded from a place he called the Basque Country. We used to argue that such a place didn’t exist with the hope of provoking him enough that he’d bring out a plastic club he kept behind the bar and whack us over the head.
Of course, the Basque Country exists. It is a part of Northern Spain and for the last forty years, it was home to a rather nasty separatist group which fought for the region’s independence and killed more than 800 people in the process. At the beginning of this year, however, the group officially disbanded and threw down their arms.
The cease fire is great news for those who avoided the area out of fear for their safely. Now, they can visit without worrying that a car bomb might ruin their holiday. The reality is that it was never too terribly dangerous to visit. I did so shortly after college and lounged for a few days in the bars and cafes of San Sebastian.
It was Julio who inspired me to go, or rather, his cooking. Basque food is phenomenal. And, although I was never able to replicate my garlicky mustard sauce, Bucket Burger experience while there, I did not leave disappointed. Nor will the new wave of tourists who are returning to this region. Simply step into any bar around happy hour and the most delectable assortment of tapas will quickly seduce all your senses. Culinary nirvana is just a few bites away