Although most people know the name Wolfgang Puck, the world's most famous Basque chef, there are far too few people that are aware of the substantial contributions that Spain has made to the landscape of modern global cuisine. Vale Restaurant on Hoboken's Washington Street has focused on its Spanish roots and has found a flavorful niche. With tasty and well-prepared dishes from northern Spain, Vale is sure to please the casual dinner guest as well as the knowledgeable Spanish transplant.

The menu is designed around the eclectic taste of the Basque region of Spain. Basque is nestled just south of the French border where the Pyrenees Mountains fall into the Cantabrian Sea. San Sabastian is the capital of the Basque region and statistics show that residents spend more than twice of their disposable income on food than in the United States.

The singular characteristic of the Basque region is their dependence to the sea for substance. In the Middle Ages, fishermen would go as far as Newfoundland looking for cod. Basques still eat more that four times as much fish as the average American does especially sole and cod.

Fishy business

With such an exalted attitude toward fish, you might think that Basque chefs would simply grill or broil fish to accentuate its freshness and flavor. But instead they take a very different approach. They chop or slice fillets, serve them with complicated sauces, and combine them in seemingly contradictory ways. But somehow this elaboration seems to work, and it is this layering of complex tastes that is one of the hallmarks of Basque cuisine.

This layering of unique but flavorful combination can be seen in Vale's filet mignon with shrimp over rice ($16.95). This entr