Basque Dining at Etxebarri

PHOTO: Courtesy of Etxebarri

Some gourmets arrive by helicopter to dine at Etxebarri (Basque for "new house"), in Axpe, a hamlet in the Atxondo Valley, thirty minutes by car from Bilbao, Spain. There, in a renovated 18th-century farmhouse, they join locals at the first-floor bar before sampling chef Victor Arguinzoniz's seasonal dishes in the upstairs dining room.

With a wood-beam ceiling and picture windows, the space is as minimalist as the food, which includes simply prepared yet flavorful baby octopus and Palamós shrimp. Arguinzoniz serves eggs and vegetables from his farm, chorizo made from his own pigs, and mushrooms that he picks from the mountains. He has also designed his own precision cookware, which allows him to grill the seemingly ungrillable, including caviar and risotto. 011-34-94-658-3042.