Marti Buckley is an award-winning author, culinary expert, TV host and freelance journalist based in San Sebastián, Spain. She is the author of two books about Basque cuisine— The Book of Pintxos and Basque Country and the host of the four-part documentary Rioja Paired and has also given talks at platforms such as TEDx, the Oxford Food Symposium and Emory university. She is also the author of the Phaidon Wallpaper City Guide for Bilbao/San Sebastian and a writer for outlets such as Condé Nast, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure and AFAR.
Please introduce yourself to our members.
I'm a journalist, cook, and cookbook author from the South in the US that has lived in San Sebastián, Spain since 2010.
Tell us about your current project.
I just released my second book, The Book of Pintxos, as well as a docuseries called Rioja Paired that explores Rioja's amazing hidden secrets.
Tell us about the restaurant scene in San Sebastián.
San Sebastián is one of the best places to eat in the world. It's perfect. There are pintxos, small bar bites; there are restaurants specializing in grilling the freshest produce; there are traditional Basque restaurants; there are up-and-coming chefs looking at food with a more global point of view...and just a really high bar of culinary skill as well as good taste on the part of the consumer!
What are your three favorite restaurants in San Sebastián and why?
- Antonio Bar - This is somewhere I go all the time. A simple, neighborhood pintxo bar that has it all—the best tortilla, great fresh produce like porcini and raw tuna, and lovely hot pintxos. Not to mention a secret table in the storage room...shhhh.
- Rekondo - No place I'd rather be on a summer evening than on their leafy terrace with a '64 Rioja or a Vega Sicilia, chomping on baby line caught squid stewed in its ink. Basque heaven.
- Elkano - Every time I go, this grilled fish mecca in Getaria gets better. The turbot of course, but also the kokotxas three ways and last time I was there, an ice cream served on pea puree drizzled with olive oil. Plus they're just the best people.
What’s a new restaurant or hidden gem in San Sebastián that you think is doing great things?
Bar Manojo is probably the newest spot that I find myself returning to. An ever-rotating chalkboard kind of spot where you can get small, medium or large servings of micro-seasonal dishes like raw sliced saffron milk cap mushrooms with cured cheese.
What’s your favorite kind of restaurant and why?
A restaurant where less is more. A restaurant run by a family or its owner that makes tiny changes every day to really make a place feel lived in and incrementally better every day.
What are your three favorite food cities and your favorite restaurants in those cities?
- New Orleans – I used to live in New Orleans as early as the mid-1990s, so my perspective is both one of someone who has grown up there and someone who later discovered food from the professional kitchen point of view and returns to eat there. Commander's Palace is obviously a classic, but it's one that has maintained consistency and a place to go for those Louisiana classics in a fine dining atmosphere that has fallen a bit from fashion, but one that I love to soak in. Gumbo, turtle soup, bread pudding—we grew up cooking from the Commander's Palace cookbook at home. For a more modern classic, I always love visiting Cochon, where I can satiate my hunger for all my favorite pork products from Louisiana. I love the gluttony, richness, and absence of fear around butter. For simple, family run spots, Mosca's (Italian-American-New Orleanian) or Dooky Chase is another classic spot I love. I spent elementary school eating red beans and rice every Monday and it's one of my favorite dishes. Willa Jean for morning and brunch, great baked goods, cheesy grits and vanilla bean iced lattes, yum! Mosquito Supper Club is another favorite for its different vibe and exploration of the real Cajun cuisine from the rest of the state.
- Paris – I don't claim to be the know-it-all of Paris, because I don't get there enough, but I think it is endlessly exciting. The French are of course the masters of the classics, but the newer generation of chefs is recreating what bistros should be and I am so here for it! No visit is complete without a meal at Bistrot des Tournelles. I think Signature Montmartre sums up what new French fusion is all about. And Verre Volé for a madcap spot with delicious everyday food and natural wines.
- Birmingham – I have to say Birmingham, Alabama, since that's where I spent my formative later childhood as well as where I learned to cook, under the godfather of Southern cuisine, Frank Stitt. All of his restaurants are amazing, Bottega, Fon Fon, and the hopefully soon-to-reopen Highlands Bar & Grill. The thing about Birmingham is you don't expect much but you get your socks knocked off, and everything is a great value. There is a lot of versatility, from Niki's West, a frozen-in-time meat and three, to barbecue joints like SAW's, to Greek-run daytime spots like the hot dogs at Sam's Super Sandwiches or the original Zoe's Kitchen, to more contemporary restaurants with protegees of Frank at the helm, like El Barrio and Slim's.
What is your favorite dish and where is your favorite restaurant to have it?
Summer succotash, Hot & Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama. This pile of the best southern produce—pink-eyed peas, tomatoes, seared corn, fried okra, with a few bacon pieces thrown in, topped with a chive-y mayo and some balsamic vinaigrette. Oh my gosh so good.
Who is an up-and-coming chef you are keeping an eye on?
Luke Dolphin in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France. He is an instinctive chef whose head is down. He's not one to be influenced by the world and trends around him, instead relying on his senses and sort of cooking in the moment. Met him when he was at his first spot, L'Antre, and have followed him to his amazing 12-seater, Pluviose, in Saint Jean de Luz.
Who is a food expert whose restaurant recommendations you’d like to see?
I always listen to Aiste Miseviciute, and what she has done to connect the world of eaters-who-travel is awesome. IYKYK!
