Washington is home to plenty of serious food lovers, and now they’ll get a rare chance to eat at one of the best restaurants in the world for free. The Mugartiz name is known alongside Noma and the late El Bulli as one of the best restaurants on the planet (number four to be exact, according to the 2013 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list). The bad news, at least for Washingtonians not willing to hop a plane to Spain: Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz set up his groundbreaking restaurant in San Sebastian. The better news: Winners of an online competition that starts today will be treated to never-before-tasted dishes from the upcoming 2014 menu.
Obviously it’s no small feat getting to the Basque countryside, but Mugaritz, and its location in the small town of Errenteria (about 20 minutes from the San Sebastian airport), is built for pilgrimages. The old adage that good things come to those who wait holds true for the cooks themselves; Aduriz just shuttered the restaurant for four months while working with scientists, musicians, artists, and fellow chefs to create the new menu that the contest winners will sample over lunch on April 27. (Yes, there’s a reason the 50 Best list describes Aduriz’s cooking style as “techno-emotional Spanish.”) Typical prix-fixe-only options start at 180 euros, roughly $250, according to the restaurant’s two-Michelin star writeup (the highest star rating is three).
Those interested in entering the You Open the Doors of Mugaritz contest can visit the restaurant’s website on Thursday to complete an entry form. Submissions will be accepted until March 31, with winners (allowed one companion) announced on April 1.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
