Wow, this place was on my list for a LONG time. French basque cuisine, with some very interesting dishes…when we finally went, in a large group of 8, I was very excited.

While it wasn’t bad by any means, it was a let down…for that price, you can do better.

First, the decor: the small, cozy, rustic atmosphere is pretty nice. The service is also solid…I had no complaints.

A friend of mine had a marinated calamari that was decent, and I had a salmon appetizer which was also pretty good. Both dishes were very light, but lacking a bit in flavor.

My main course was a lamb dish, which ended up being one of the better dishes. It was solid, though not great (I’ve definitely had better). Nothing too remarkable about the sides. Others had seafood dishes and a pork tenderloin that I tried…they were okay, but nothing more.

Dessert was pretty good, but even it wasn’t anything special.

In the end, it wasn’t a bad meal, but I had dropped about $65 on a “not bad” meal. That’s not good enough…why go back when I can spend that kind of money on a excellent meal instead?

The food at Piperade is absolutely delicious, and quite memorable. It was December 08 – holiday season – on my last visit, and even on a Thursday night, the dining room was jam-packed with people.

My companion and I started the meal off with the garlic soup with rock shrimp, bacon and egg. It had a savory piquency that was quite memorable. A refreshing, zesty beginning to a great meal.

Next came my pick for my favorite dish of the evening, if not the entire year: Salt-cured cod (bacalao) with lemon creme fraiche, oysters and caviar. Words cannot describe the sensory pleasure this dish brought: The thin cod fillets were fork-soft, flavorful and ice-cold, as were the tender, plump little oysters on top (my favorite part of the dish). I still remember biting through one of those little oysters atop a piece of rustic bread, topped with some of the creme fraiche – absolute heaven.

A close second was the cold poached foie gras with membrillo paste. Personally, I much prefer hot foie gras to cold. Foie is so meltingly tender and succulent when served hot, but when cold, all the fats seize up and what was once tender becomes firm. (Sort of like what happens when you cook a chicken, then refrigerate it, allowing all the fat to become solid as a rubber ball). Still, of course the foie tasted lovely smeared on the crusty bread, particularly paired with the very sweet, complex-tasting membrillo paste.

The entree was less unusual, but still delicious: I think it was a rare duck tenderloin, well seasoned and perfectly cooked.

If we had dessert, I can’t remember it now; nevertheless, the meal was really one to remember.

spanish basque wines and cuisine are as good as the service and warm atmosphere.