On our way here, one of my travel buddies informed us that San Sebastián is a foodie capital of the world. We all expressed the appropriate amount of doubt of course - you can't just blindly trust statements like that. But I just had the single most phenomenal meal of my life at what apparently is currently the 8th best restaurant in the world (THE WORLD) - Arzak. 3 Michelin stars, the whole deal. I'm from New York City and at the moment NYC doesn't have a 3 Michelin star restaurant so perhaps my friend was right. Further proving his point, I've spent this entire stay eating my way through amazing restaurant after amazing restaurant, mostly pinxtos (tapas) bars, most of which look like hole in the wall joints. They just do not put up with average food here. And the funny thing is that the best dishes look so simple and then you bite into them and bam(!) - your eyes are rolling back in your head, which yes is the only appropriate reaction to such deliciousness. I've been totally spoiled. What are the chances I can convince a local chef to come back to the US and be my cook? I can offer fun dogs to play with and, uh, free use of my shoe collection. I dare you to find me someone who could resist that.

White tuna with rhubarb and lilies at Arzak.