Guest Post: Visiting Madrid — A culinary adventure
Contributed by our blog follower and friend — Clayton Camilleri — this post takes us through a culinary tour of Spain’s vibrant capital. After his short holiday in Madrid together with his girlfriend AnnMarie, Clayton shared with us their Madrilena food experience. As he describes their eating adventures our tastebuds are so tantalised…
Located to the south of the Guadarrams mountains, at 2.100 metres above sea-level and along the sides of the Manzanares river is Madrid — the capital of Spain. With a population in the region of five million, Madrid enjoys a cool climate thanks to the mountains which surround it. Its many palaces, museums and art galleries are a feast for lovers of modern culture. The city also prides itself of its vibrant nightlife. But what struck us most in this lively city is the people’s love for food, and amazingly good food that is!
What at first was an unexpected trip to Spain, turned out to be one of our best experiences in this country and as stated food played an important role in this exciting journey. It was a culinary experience which will linger on my taste buds for many years to come.
Our food adventure begun as soon as we arrived! As we strolled down through narrow streets we noticed these plain bars, similar to what in Malta we call, kazini. These were full of locals talking loudly, puffing the nasty smell of tobacco and indulging themselves in food of every kind, various colours and strange looking dishes. Ordering food in a Madrid restaurant is more easily said than done…..that is because it is very hard to find an English menu. After walking nearly for half an hour through these bars we finally decided to eat at Meson Gallego Casa Valino just because the waitress appeared to be familiar with the English language. As we sat down, we asked for the ‘Menu De La Dia’, that is the menu of the day, and settled down with a fresh and light bottle of wine which was part of the menu. As we noted the time on our watches it seemed that the standard lunch time for the locals was around 3pm. Unfortunately, our assumption that the waitress knew how to speak English was not so right but finally we managed to order some food. The first dish was Paella Mixta for both of us. This consisted of a very colourful rice mixture, which contained anything from meat, beef and pork to fish i.e. whole crabs and some other 4 different types of shellfish. The taste was unbelievable, nothing like other Paellas we have tasted in Barcelona.
By the time we finished the first dish we both felt full but our thought was short lived as soon as the second plate was presented to us. I had the Conejo Asado (Roast Rabbit), which was plainly cooked but the tenderness and the taste of the meat was a mouth watering treat… I wonder what the Spanish feed their rabbits — a dish of Paella Mixta was my first guess! Mari played it safe and had a Filete De Tenera (Veal Steak) which turned out to be extremely tasty and smoky. Both dishes were accompanied by home made fries and fresh bread. Simply mouth watering food! What shocked us both was that the meal (including wine) came to only ?11 per person! We did not eat anything else for the whole day!
The next day, after touring the city and walking for long distances it was time for our second culinary adventure. The next spot we chose was in the famous Calle De Le Cava Baja a street just off Plaza Mayor. After getting ourselves confused again in which spot to enter we chose a taberna called Toma Jamon, a small bar with a small eating hall at the back and with only 5 tables. We decided to go for the degustation tapas thus we were served with a small platter of olives, some kind of tasty local cheese, pieces of cured ham and chunks of bread with a tomato like paste. After that we had a serving of grilled asparagus together with a bowl of Gazpacho. Luckily, what followed next tasted so wonderful that it made me forget the taste of the cold and tangy Gazpacho….and that was a fried shrimp omelette and homemade potato and cheese croquettes Afterwards we were presented with two lovely tower omelettes, one of mushrooms and the other made with potatoes and speck. Simply a taste from heaven!
We could not end our lunch without something sweet. Our wish was granted as soon as we passed a shop called ‘Happy Days’. It sure made our day a happy one with plenty of cup cakes of various colours and flavours to choose from.
Another thing we read about in the guide, just before visiting Madrid was this old café. The Chocolatería San Ginés which has been operating since 1894, and it is famous for its chocolate con churros. This was a serving of freshly prepared deep fried battered strips, to be dipped in a strong and thick hot chocolate served on the side. It was an exciting experience being in such an old place and enjoying a delicacy which has been served for so many years!
Our next eating experience was at ‘La Camarilla’, once again in what became our favourite street, Cava Baja. Again, we opted for the Menu De La Dia, which came with a good cold beer and some very tasty firsts, made up of toasted bread with salmon and avocado and the other with cured ham and melted brie. Following were some type of pastry filled with a paste which we did not manage to identify what this was made of. I must admit this was turning out to be a bit frustrating not being able to understand the menus and the waiters seemed to be too busy running around the place rather than making their utmost to speak to us in English. This issue kept haunting me… especially in the next serving. I ordered a dish described with the word ‘madrileño’ therefore I thought that it must be some local speciality. Indeed it was a local favourite which turned out to be the Cocido Madrileno — a soup like dish which although was very tasty it contained large pieces of pork belly and black pudding. I had no option but to eat this the Maltese way… so I dipped chunks of bread in the sauce instead of eating the meat! The other dish was another omelette tower, similar to what we ate the day before, but this time it was made with abundant chunks of white fish.
Our lesson from this experience is….Always Carry A Dictionary!
After that experience we decided to opt for a more classic meal. A Brasero Colonial per dos at ‘Colonia Del Sacramento’. Now this was not our first time eating a mixed grill in Spain but yet again we were surprised by the amount of food we were presented with. The only difference this time was the way it was presented on our table as can be seen on the picture below. And for a good red wine take note of the name: Protos — Ribera Duerro 2008. Excellent!
Other places worth mentioning are the various places called Museo Del Jamón which means a Ham museum where you can get a simple yet delicious baguette with Jamón ibérico, and a typical iberico cheese for just €1. One can also buy different types of hams and cheeses over the counter. Just be careful, these places are absolutely packed especially the one we went to which was just off Puerta del Sol.
Next up on our mind was a cold beer so we popped in at the Cerveceria 100 Montaditos. This terrific chain of bars serves up no fewer than 100 different varieties of mini bocadillos (filled rolls) that span the full range of Spanish staples in more combinations than you could imagine.
You fill out your order and take it up to the counter, and your name is called in no time. Prices for these mini rolls vary from €1 to €2.50 each, but they’re filled up with really genuine products and with that you get a pint of Mahou (a local beer) for just €1.
Our holiday was nearing its end and after visiting other different tapas bars and sidrerias, that are places serving different types of ciders and obviously good food we decided to end our journey at a place we have visited four times during our stay, but to our disappointment it was always full. So on the last day we went there by 8.30pm which is ridiculously early to eat for the locals. This time the place was nearly empty with the exception of a couple of tourists which had other eating schedules than the locals. The place was called Taberna El Tempranillo, and what came next blew us away! This time we opted for a normal meal rather then tapas. Starters consisted of toasted bread with quail breast and duck cured ham. Absolutely wonderful, but we had seen nothing yet.
We chose the specialties of the day as main courses and with a little help from the waiter who took the time to explain to us what was on the menu, we ordered a very delicious squid and chickpeas soup and some good meat cuts. The main courses were presented separately and so first we dived in the squid and chickpeas soup which although it was a bit strange it was very good especially the tenderness and taste of the squid cooked in white wine. Next up was the meat! A plate of raw strips of meat seasoned with salt and only salt. At this time the waiter tried to explain that this was a very fresh cut of meat and we had no doubt in what we saw. What followed was a hot dish on which we were meant to cook the meat ourselves and so we did. Few seconds on each side and there it was, the most delicious piece of meat we have ever tasted, something out of this world! Dessert came next and although it was again very hard to understand the ingredients we were blown away by the taste of this platter. Next came some good Spanish vermouth and sweet carob wine to end up a memorable holiday in this beautiful city which I would not dare to think twice to visit again in the future. Buen apetito!
