{"id":63847,"date":"2023-06-07T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T06:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=63847"},"modified":"2026-04-06T10:32:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:32:43","slug":"ansots-basque-cuisine-boise-idaho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=63847","title":{"rendered":"Ansots Basque Cuisine – Boise, Idaho"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Two-Time James Beard Award Nominated: Ansots Bosque Cuisine in Beautiful Downtown Boise<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Historian Jan Morris wrote “Basque is one of the world’s more alarming languages. Only a handful of adult foreigners, they say, have ever managed to learn it. The Devil tried once and mastered only three words – profanities, I assume<\/em>.” \u00a0Ellie Ansotegui, co-owner (along with her father Dan) of Ansots Basque Cuisine in Boise, Idaho lived in Basque Country for a year where she studied the language, enhancing the intermediate proficiency she had acquired growing up in a Basque family.\u00a0 Alas, she returned to her Boise hometown and without practicing it faithfully, quickly lost the additional mastery she acquired in Spain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ellie has advanced writing, reading, listening, and speaking proficiency in Spanish. \u00a0For fear of not being understood, I didn’t speak my New Mexican Spanish to her or her father. \u00a0It’s the “two nations separated by a common language” axiom that occurs literally anywhere you meet someone from “somewhere else.” \u00a0There is one universal language Ellie shares with guests at her family’s restaurant. \u00a0That’s the language of food. In a world in which there are is over 7,000 estimated languages, the language of food is universal! \u00a0Ellie spoke food very well with me, my Kim and my dear friend Dr. John Holmes-Bennett.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Absolute Magic is Practiced Behind The Counter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

John, with whom I’ve been friends for more than forty years lives in the Boise area, but had never tried the Basque cuisine so prominent in the area. \u00a0When we invited him to join us at Ansots Basque Cuisine, he was a bit trepidatious (John has known me a long time). \u00a0He feared our culinary explorations might include grasshoppers, lizards or some other exotic “food.” \u00a0Thankfully Ellie was on hand to assuage his fears. \u00a0With an effusive enthusiasm and ambassadorial skill, she described Basque cuisine and urged us on. \u00a0Ellie is a peripatetic presence at the restaurant, flitting from table to table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan, her dad, obviously comes from the same family tree. \u00a0With a perpetually smiling face, he visits every table and treats guests like family members (the type of family members he likes). \u00a0When we expressed dismay and cursed the James Beard Foundation judges for not having accorded “Best Chef – Mountain” (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming) to him, he praised the Foundation for “having gotten it right<\/em>” by selecting another Boise area chef (Kris Komori of KIN) for the honor. \u00a0Dan is a self-effacing man who doesn’t bask in recognition though he’s very happy to be complimented by highly satisfied guests enjoying the magnificent cuisine at his restaurant.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Housemade Sausages on Display<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was Ellie who picked up the phone when the James Beard Foundation called and notified her that Ansots had been named a semi-finalist for the “Best Chef: Mountain” award in 2022. \u00a0She thought someone was playing a joke on her. \u00a0Dan didn’t believe it either until the local media descended with additional confirmation. \u00a0It was easier to believe they had been nominated a second time when the call came in a year later. \u00a0Two James Beard Foundation semi-finalist nominations can do wonders for a restaurant. \u00a0Walk-in traffic increased, the number of reservations grew and (as of this writing) Ansots has a perfect five-star rating on Yelp<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

John and I hadn’t seen one another in nearly four years and had a lot of catching up to do, so Ellie must have refilled our cups of water four or five times before we really took the opportunity to study the menu. \u00a0As is often the case, we saw an intriguing item being delivered to another table that we hadn’t seen on the menu. \u00a0It looked like a charcuterie board. \u00a0Ellie quickly ferried over a separate one page menu featuring Ansots house-cured Charcuterie board<\/strong><\/em> with two Spanish cheeses and assorted pickled vegetables (with Marcona almonds). \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Owner Dan Ansotegui Delivers a Charcuterie Board to our Table as My Dear Friend John Holmes-Bennett Looks on in Wonder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Remembering “charcuterie” is a French term, I asked Dan what the Basque term for charcuterie is. \u00a0He joked that traditionally Basque people don’t cure meats, but the charcuterie board served at Ansots includes precisely the meats Basque people would cure if they cured meats. \u00a0Ellie added that in Basque, the term “ji” is used as a suffix when a Basque term isn’t known. \u00a0So, she told us, the basque term for the board we requested was a “charcuterie-ji.” \u00a0If it sounds like Ellie and Dan spent all their time at our table, that’s just not the case. \u00a0Their ubiquity and customer orientation were remarkable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ansots house-cured charcuterie-ji board was spectacular, easily one of the very best we’ve ever had. \u00a0Perhaps because Ansots cures and smokes all its meats, the board was far more generous and at a lesser price than other boards we’ve had. \u00a0Unbelievably, the cost for five house cured meats was only $18. \u00a0Add two Spanish cheeses and the cost jumps to $23. \u00a0That’s still a bargain considering some restaurants charge significantly more for far fewer meats. \u00a0Our charcuterie board also included sliced bread, arugula with fermented carrots, pickled fennel and cucumbers in a garlic vinaigrette, Marcona almonds (the best in the world), membrillo (quince jam) and pickles.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Charcuterie Board<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My favorite of the five meats is also Ellie’s favorite, one she refers to as “meat candy<\/em>.” \u00a0That’s the Solomillua<\/strong><\/em> (cured pork tenderloin). \u00a0The tenderloin is cured with salt, spicy pimienton and a touch of cayenne. \u00a0On the photo above, you’ll see three thin slices somewhat resembling beets. \u00a0That’s the solomonillua. \u00a0Most pork tenderloin is sliced into medallion sized portions, but solomillua is somewhat smaller than the other meats on our charcuterie. \u00a0Size not withstanding, there’s so much flavor on this meat candy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other favorites included the lomo embuchado<\/strong><\/em> (cured pork loin), a velvety and smooth cured meat reminiscent of Jamon Serrano. \u00a0The loin is made using Snake River Farms kurobuta pork (qualitatively the equivalent of Kobe beef). \u00a0It takes sixteen weeks to cure and dry. \u00a0The depth of flavor and time it takes to achieve it may be the reason this is Dan’s favorite. \u00a0 Amuma’s Chorizo<\/strong><\/em> (cured chorizo) showcases a chorizero pepper sauce that will grab your attention and hold your taste buds. \u00a0It’s a superb chorizo, so different and so much better than the Mexican chorizos we tend to use.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Christorra Bocadillo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ansots Jamon<\/strong><\/em>, cured and aged for over a year, is slice very thinly and literally melts in your mouth. \u00a0Curing time can’t be rushed. \u00a0Nor will the Alsots family which values quality over sales. \u00a0They will not compromise on very exacting standards. \u00a0The fifth and certainly not last in our hearts or taste buds is Lepoa<\/strong><\/em> (cured pork collar). \u00a0It’s similar to an Italian capicola but cured in the Basque style with salt, garlic and spicy pimienton. \u00a0I should have asked if there’s a Basque equivalent term to gabagool, Italian slang for capicola. \u00a0Ellie would probably have called it gabagool-ji.<\/span><\/p>\n

The five dollar upcharge for adding two cheeses is a bargain, especially when you consider the quality and especially if you’re a turophile. \u00a0One cheese is the Mah\u00f3n<\/em> Spanish cheese<\/strong> which is made from raw cow’s milk. Mah\u00f3n cheese actually comes from Menorca, an island located between the Valencian coast of Spain and the Italian island of Sardinia. \u00a0 Mah\u00f3n is one of the only purely cow’s milk cheeses made outside of northern Spain. The salty Mediterranean winds give the cheese a very slight flavor of the sea. Spanish chefs use it with everything from filling cannelloni to topping vegetables. \u00a0Ansots sliced it into thin wedges presented on the charcuterie board for our delectation. \u00a0 There was none left when we were done.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Burnt Basque Cheesecake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other cheese was a smoked sheep’s milk cheese called Idiazabal<\/strong><\/em>. \u00a0This one does originate in Basque country. Queso Idiazabal is made from the raw, unpasteurized milk of Latxa and Carranzana sheep and is cured for a minimum of two months. Idiazabal is lightly smoked, adding to its smooth, nutty flavor. Idiazabal goes perfectly with a thick spreading of homemade membrillo<\/em><\/strong>, a sweet red quince paste. \u00a0There wasn’t enough membrillo to go around, but what we did have was characteristically sweet flavor tinged with sharpness.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ansots menu lists eight bocadillos, a Spanish sandwich served on a baguette or similar bread. \u00a0I asked Ellie to tell me what her three favorite bocadillos are and then to bring us any of the three, knowing that we’d enjoy them. \u00a0Her choice for us was the Chistorra<\/strong><\/em> (two smoky and somewhat spicy Chistorra sausages with grilled onions and pimentos on a baguette). \u00a0As with all the chorizos on the menu and those offered as bulk products, the Chistorra is hand-made using family recipes that have been passed down over the years by the Ansotegui and Inchausti families. \u00a0The Chistorra was magnificent with an assertive personality barely offset by the caramelized onions or sweet, mild pimentos. \u00a0The baguette was superb, too, a magnificent canvas for a masterpiece.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tarta de Manzana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let’s revisit the language of food as mastered by Dan Ansotegui. Dan has been involved in the Boise food scene for more than forty years, starting both Bar Gernika<\/a> <\/strong>in 1991 and The Basque Market<\/strong><\/a> in 1999. \u00a0Dan is a genuinely kind man with an extroverted nature (much like my friend John). \u00a0We didn’t know that about Dan, but when researching where to dine in Boise, cognoscenti were unanimous in declaring his restaurant one of the very best in “the city of trees.” \u00a0Virtually every source listed it as the best Basque restaurant in a city heavily populated by Basque people. \u00a0The Basque population in Boise, by the way, is large enough that there’s an area in Boise known as the “Basque Block” with numerous restaurants serving excellent food.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Dan and Ellie speak the language of food in the way they interact with their guests. \u00a0Beyond that, Ellie expresses herself through her mastery of baking. \u00a0Somewhere between welcoming and serving guests, she manages to bake some of the very best pastries we’ve ever had. \u00a0Though the three of us were satiated, we couldn’t pass up the luscious post-prandial offerings. \u00a0I was most intrigued by the burnt Basque cheesecake<\/strong><\/em> described on the menu as “a creamy cheesecake with a texture somewhat between flan and NY cheesecake<\/em>.” \u00a0This is a crustless, almost alchemic masterpiece, an \u00a0intentionally burnt cheesecake which provides a bitter outer layer and extra creamy inside.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kouign Amann<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wonderful as the burnt cheesecake was, it may have been the third best dessert on our table. \u00a0“Best” honors might be accorded to the tarta de manzana<\/strong><\/em>, a house-made puff pastry with an Italian vanilla pastry cream, thinly sliced apples glazed with an apricot marmalade. \u00a0The apples crowned the pastry with a thinly shaved floral design. \u00a0The combination of flavors ranged from sweet to tart to absolutely decadent. \u00a0It’s probably what love would look like as a pastry. \u00a0John showed what a good friend he is by sharing it. \u00a0I may put him in my will for that act of munificence.<\/span><\/p>\n

You could easily make an argument that the Kouign Amann<\/strong><\/em> is not only Ansots’ best dessert, but one of the world’s most unrecognized “best” desserts–in part because it’s so labor intensive. \u00a0For decades it’s been a hidden gem available only in Brittany or to immigrants therefrom. Les Madeleine\u2019s Patisserie Cafe<\/a><\/strong>(now closed) in Salt Lake City was our introduction to this magnificent pastry. \u00a0If anything, Ellie’s version is better…and not only because it’s bigger than Les Madeleine’s. \u00a0Ellie uses a bread dough (King Arthur I believe) and premium butter on her version. \u00a0It makes a difference. \u00a0Outstanding as it is, it’s so rich I can still only eat one. \u00a0Thank goodness my Kim shared hers with John and me.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Co-Owners Ellie and Dan Ansotegui<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this life, you will encounter many acquaintances, a few friends (mostly for a specific time and place) and very few friends for life. \u00a0Dr. John Holmes-Bennett is one of the latter. \u00a0There is no one with whom we would rather have shared our first experience with transcendent Basque cuisine. \u00a0There is no one better to have served it to us than Ellie and Dan Ansotegui, restaurateurs who know it’s all about giving their guests a great experience through the language of food.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ansots Basque Cuisine<\/strong>
\n560 West Main Street (The Pioneer Building)
\nBoise, Idaho<\/strong>
\n(208) 336-9166
\nWebsite<\/a><\/strong> | Facebook Page<\/strong><\/a>
\nLATEST VISIT<\/strong>: 7 June 2023
\n# OF VISITS<\/strong>: 1
\nRATING<\/strong>: N\/R
\nCOST<\/strong>: $$$
\nBEST BET<\/strong>: Cured Meats Plate, Christorra Bocadillo, Tarta De Manzana, Kouign Amann, Burnt Basque Cheesecake
\nREVIEW #1337<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Historian Jan Morris wrote “Basque is one of the world’s more alarming languages. Only a handful of adult foreigners, they say, have ever managed to learn it. The Devil tried once and mastered only three words – profanities, I assume.” \u00a0Ellie Ansotegui, co-owner (along with her father Dan) of Ansots Basque Cuisine in Boise, Idaho lived in Basque Country for a year where she studied the language, enhancing the intermediate proficiency she had acquired growing up in a Basque family.\u00a0 Alas, she returned to her Boise hometown and without practicing it faithfully, quickly lost the additional mastery she acquired in Spain. Ellie has advanced writing, reading, listening, and speaking proficiency in Spanish. \u00a0For fear of not being understood, I didn’t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3625,3072,703,3067,2836,5647,524,553],"tags":[3085,3087,3076,3081,3077,3078,3084,3082,3083,3272,3080,3088,3089,2634,3086,3079],"class_list":["post-63847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-james-beard-foundation-best-chef-mountain-semifinalist-2024","category-basque","category-dog-friendly","category-idaho","category-james-beard-award-best-chef-restaurants","category-rating-n-r","category-spanish","category-across-america","tag-amumas-chorizo","tag-ansots-jamon","tag-basque-cuisine","tag-burnt-basque-cheesecake","tag-chorizos","tag-christorra-bocadillo","tag-cured-sausage-board-charcuterie","tag-dan-ansotegui","tag-ellie-ansotegui","tag-james-beard-best-chef-mountain-semifinalist","tag-kouign-amann","tag-lepoa","tag-lomo-embuchado","tag-manchego","tag-solomillua","tag-tarta-de-manzana"],"yoast_head":"\nAnsots Basque Cuisine - Boise, Idaho - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=63847\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ansots Basque Cuisine - Boise, Idaho - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Historian Jan Morris wrote “Basque is one of the world’s more alarming languages. 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