Ansots was a medium-sized place set below street level.  Owned and operated by Dan(husband), Tamara (wife), and Ellie (daughter) Ansotegui.  Dan’s maternal grandmother was a seamstress by trade but became very well known for her cooking at the Basque boarding house she ran.  Famous folks like Ernest Hemingway and Bing Crosby were known to have eaten there and she has a small cookbook.  The evolution now has become Ansots  and the inside dining area is supplemented by patio tables and a second room which is also available for rental.  Lots of windows, photographs and musical decorations surround the pretty wood tables and chairs to make it feel homey and casual.   The food is all made in-house from family recipes and many of the plates are meant to be shared.  In addition, several of the plates were offered in half-size so we were able to try a lot of their options.   Service was efficient and super friendly as well as helpful.  This is a strong recommendation to put on your list to try.

Set-Up

 

Food

Ansots Chorizo plate had 3 different varieties all house made – traditional, Chistorra and Motzak – all served with grilled onions, green peppers, pimientos and bread.  The one in the middle was the closest to what Epi would made with lots of garlic and rosemary, while the thinnest one was spicy and the motza was the shorter fat one closest to the peppers. They were all delicious and none of them that spicy.  The peppers and onions were great to mix with each.

 

Pressa Steak with chimichurri was a 3-4 oz of pork shoulder cut marinated in sea salt black pepper, and smoked paprika, then seared medium and topped with a garlic parsley mixture.  Let me say that again – topped with garlic mix.  Wow.  I love this cut of pork and this was done perfectly dripping with flavor.  It came with a baguette style bread that was buttered and toasted.  Eaten with some of that garlic I was in heaven.

 

Patatas Bravas were roasted potato wedges seasoned with garlic and sea salt then topped with salsa brava and aioli.  They lose some crispness with the saucing but still a tasty dish.

 

Clams and Shrimp Motzak was small clams and medium shrimp sautéed with chorizo Motzak, roasted garlic, sweet pimientos that were cooked in broth and white wine.  It was served with bread.  You could order this one with just one seafood.  The clams mostly fell out of the shell but the perfectly cooked shrimp were sweet and tasty.  The broth was perfect to use some bread in and the chorizo gave it just a little kick.

 

Basque meatballs could be ordered in half size and then it came with 4 lamb and chorizo meatballs in a traditional Española sauce.  It came with bread.  The tender meatballs were topped with toasted garlic and the sauce was great on the bread.

 

Spinach filled Piquillo pepper could be ordered in half size.  Here you got 2 of the piquillo peppers stuffed with Albertos’ spinach bechamel on a bed of roasted pepper cream and topped with piquillo wine sauce.  This bechamel was pretty thick and melded into the soft pepper flesh.  Eaten with a bit of the pepper cream it was another taste treat.

 

They made their own Kouign Amann so we also tried that.  It was a flaky, buttery pastry, made fresh each day, that is sprinkled with sugar and glaze.  Sorry I had a bite of it before I could take a picture – it looked so good.  The crispy top was butter and the bottom was moister with crisp sugar.  I’ve had ones with more sugar, but this was fine by me.

 

For dessert, we also had to try the Burnt Basque Cheesecake which is a traditional creamy cheesecake with a lighter texture.  It was all I hoped for – smooth and light with delicious flavor.  It was divine.