Cuisine

Cuisine Update November 25

In this update, I will detail some of our dining experiences over the last several months and also provide some general observations about dining here. On October 11 our friends Jim and Cynthia Stoll made the 7-mile trek across the hills (which seem like mountains to me) from their hotel to our townhouse!! My brother and his wife were visiting as well and together we made the short walk to a local restaurant called Ovo. The restaurant features Italian cuisine with a Spanish flair. Charlie's steak dinner was in a distinctly Spanish style with the steak served over french fries. The attached photos will provide a sense of the evening.

Whether you are at a high-end restaurant or local bar-restaurant it is customary here that you are provided gratis with a free starter (there's a whole story behind that tradition reaching back 700 years and involving a sick king - great stories like these are in the Hidden Madrid book written by our friend, Mark Besas). At the low end, you might receive a cup of potato chips. At the more upscale you often are given olives, sausages or croquettes. See some examples to the right.

When dining you are usually provided bread here. If you do not want bread you have to affirmatively decline. Also if you want tap water you have to specifically request it or you will be given bottled water. Two common potato dishes here are patatas bravas and patatas alioli. One would think that caesar salads are universal. They are not. Check out the salad you might receive here when ordering a Caesar.

The ubiquitous patatas bravas y bread

Seafood risotto, of course.

Fish with a squid ink-dyed potato topping, marinara and pesto.

Gratis appetizers before dinner

Caesar salad!

Steak over fries - typical.

Spanish twist on a caprese salad.

Las Viandas Bar San Lorenzo - 10/6/19

Located in a square just outside of the entrance to the Royal Monastery this delightful restaurant with outside seating offers excellent options. As a starter we had one of the best appetizers I have ever had, duck pate over goat cheese. For my main course I had grilled octopus (pulpo) with potato. Judy had a delightful shrimp salad. We give it four stars.

Duck pate over goat cheese

Delight shrimp salad

Pulpo with potato

La Mamona de Aravaca 9/20/19

For our Friday date night we left our place at around 9 pm. Julie asked whether we needed umbrellas and presciently I answered, "no dear it doesn't feel like rain to me."

We set off walking for an area about a half mile away, which has a number of restaurants and bars and found this delightful spot. The restaurant has both indoor and patio seating. We opted for patio and quickly learned that smoking is permitted there but not inside which appears to be the standard practice here. (So when you go to that nice restaurant with the nice outdoor patio assume smoking is permitted.) Going forward we will be eating indoors and save our outdoor dining for our upstairs patio within the safety of our personal no smoking zone. As we were acclimating to the smoke filled environment (the inside was full), the heavens parted and it rained like it did when Thiensville flooded in June 2010. Understanding we were there for the duration, Julie and I opted to share three plates and a bottle of vino tinto (red) recommended by our waitress. We started with an appetizer, matrimonial toast, which consists of toast, tomato spread and fresh anchovies. It was off the charts excellent and I don't eat anchovies stateside but here and on the Italian coast I enjoy the way anchovies are prepared with olive oil, slightly breaded and grilled. We also shared a pork dish and patatas bravas.

Matrimonial toast

Delicious pork over potatoes (fries, basically) and fried onions on top.

Vino Tinto 9/19/19

Ribs with potatoes

Giant salmon and seafood dish

Of course no out-of-country adventure is complete without exploring indigenous food and drink. It will likely take us six months to sample the restaurants within walking distance of our townhouse. Our goal is to have one comida (midafternoon meal 2-4 pm) and one cena (dinner 9-12pm) per week.

Today we followed the advice of Jose, who works at our townhouse complex, and visited his favorite local spot, Vino Tinto. We had walked by the place a number of times and thought it might be an interesting local place to have a drink, however the quality of the food was not apparent. In front of the restaurant are a number of bar tables which are typically surrounded by standing men and women who are smoking and drinking. Outside you would occasionally observe someone eating a small sandwich or appetizer - not much of an invitation to enter, but with Jose's recommendation we were energized to cross the outside haze and enter the restaurant.

Fortunately, smoking is not permitted in the restaurant and although not fancy it was clean, inviting and principally a working person's destination. That having been said, the food was fabulous and very modestly priced. Julie and I each selected the menu of the day which permitted us to select two courses and a glass of wine for 10 euros each (that is about $11.60).

I chose a first course of cannellones with mushrooms followed by barbecued ribs and potatoes. Julie opted for a salad which she was surprised to find was a mixture of potatoes and vegetables, followed by an amazing mixed seafood grill, salmon, shrimp and muscles (most of which she took home due to the large amount of food - the portions seem to vary by restaurant).

I do not think my brother Charlie, who will visit with his wife Judy in early October, is ready for the small plates of Spain so hopefully we can catch Vino Tinto on a day the seafood grill is offered.

I love it when a low key place absolutely surprises!!

Food in Aravaca 9/16/19

I discovered El Neuvo Zagaun on my first exploration walk into Aravaca after waking from my flight induced morning nap. It's comfortable atmosphere and choice of indoor or outdoor sitting combined with its diverse menu make it our go to restaurant to stop in for a late afternoon beer and/or tapas or later for cena(dinner).

On my first stop in at about 4 pm I ordered a Mahou beer, sat at the bar and was befriended by the owner, Victor who speaks flawless English. His welcoming manner and willingness to assist me with my nascent Spanish cemented it as a weekly destination.

The menu is an eclectic mix of the familiar and unique with options as diverse as egg dishes, Thai curry, pizza, hamburgers and salads. In Spain, lunch (comida) is generally the large meal of the day and occurs between 2 and 4 pm. Zagaun offers a three-course menu of the day for a set price which varies daily.

On the Friday Julie and I opted for comida. We both chose the menu of the day with Julie selecting ceviche as her first course, fish for her second and finally coffee rather than dessert. I started with patatas bravas, then chicken and also cafe. Patatas bravas is a Spanish dish that consists of potatoes cubed, baked and topped with Bravas salsa. The salsa seems to be mayonaise based and often has quite a kick. Zagaun's bravas is mild yet delightful. On other occasions we have sampled the Thai curry lamb and shrimp along with several of their dinner salads. All have been wonderful, especially the salads - one with salmon and the other with shrimp. The vegetables in the salads were crisp, fresh and tasty. Wow the tomatoes taste like they were picked yesterday and the dressings were delightful.

So when you come visit you will get to judge for yourself. We will do like the Spaniards and take you to our favorite place.

Mi amigo. We are regulars now.

Salad with smoked salmon

Patatas Bravas

Camarones al ajillo

The bread here is absolutely fantastic. Baguettes everywhere. (Julie says the thin Spanish women never eat bread, according to our Dutch friend who has lived here for three years:)