Hordago

A Basque inn perched at the Lizarrieta Pass on the French-Spanish border, at the end of a road that suggests you've taken a wrong turn. The building supposedly moonlighted as a smugglers' den at some point, which does give the lamb something to live up to. The chef forages the herbs and mushrooms himself, and the cooking leans creative without losing its footing in the landscape. The terrace view across the hills is, frankly, the accomplice.

One honor, in evidence: