Ganbara's Tomato Salad

the highlight of a long weekend in San Sebastián.

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Seven summers ago I spent two and a half months in Europe, my longest stretch of travel yet. Along the way I hoped to discover what life could be like living abroad, maybe even find a place to hang my hat for a couple of years down the road. It all began with a commission in Burgundy shadowing chef Ludo Lefebvre, followed by a week solo in Paris going to every outdoor market I could find and studying French 3 hours a day at Lutece Langue, a small language school in the 4th arrondissement. After a jaunt in the south, it was time to say au revoir to France, and meet up with my partner for the Spain-Portugal leg. We met in Mallorca and later flew to Spain’s northern coast to begin a 6-week road trip starting in San Sebastián. We drove west with stops in Bilbao, Santander, Asturias, then down the western coast into Galicia, before making our way to Portugal, where we eventually landed in Porto, then Lisbon.

During our long weekend in San Sebastián all we could do was eat. This city is like a theme park but all the rides are restaurants and local specialties. In a rare moment of hunger, we stumbled upon an unassuming restaurant called Ganbara that lured us in with its mountains of fresh croissants filled with hand-carved slices of jamón, and plates overflowing with a cascade of wild mushrooms. Seated at the bar, amidst the towering plates of ingredients and pintxos, we ordered a croissant sandwich, a plate of locally foraged sautéed mushrooms served with an egg yolk, and a tomato salad to have something fresh on the side. A snack we thought would be unmemorable was anything but. My mouth is watering as I recall those velvety, luscious mushrooms. The most surprising however, was the tomato salad. At first look it seemed like every other tomato salad we had devoured so far, but then, once I put a slice into my mouth it gave me pause. That slice of tomato was so smooth, luscious, sweet, dripping in beautiful Spanish olive oil— these perfect heirloom tomatoes had been