Yuhi

Many times people have asked me which city I love more New York or Bilbao and I always respond it would be like asking who do I love more, my mother or my father. I love New York, it was love at first sight, but I miss my mother.

When I need to feel at home, away from home, I pay a visit to Yuhi Fujinaga. He is the chef at Bar Basque restaurant in the Eventi Hotel in Manhattan. Yuhi is a good man and a very good cook. He understands food. There are no esoteric ingredients in Yuhi’s dishes just a magical hand behind them. They are simple and focused, they taste the way they were meant to taste. He creates a full landscape where you hear the sounds and not necessarily the notes.

I am not a food critic, I am not a gourmet, but I do know about food because I grew up in the Basque Country and we are culturally predisposed to make a big deal about it. For Basques eating is a kind of national sport. My only patriotism is the love for the food that I ate as a child. Life is uncertain so I like to make sure that I eat first and when I go to the Bar Basque I am certain I will enjoy a great meal.

I know that Yuhi loves beer and fishing. I don’t know what kind of music he likes, so I am going to leave you with this Basque song that tells of a man who also misses  home.

I also want to include this link