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| Sangria and olives tapas |
Part of the fun of traveling is exploring the foodie culture in each of the places we visit. Some places are more well-known around the world for their distinct food such as Japanese sushi, Peruvian ceviche, and Argentine steak; but most of the time, we've had no idea about the typical foods consumed in a certain region such as Ecuador and the Peruvian Andes, so it has been a wonderful adventure just discovering the foods.
Spanish cuisine is more well-known around the world. We've encountered good tapas restaurants even in our Midwestern city in Kansas and in Japan. We've had paella before. Gourmet stores sell imported Serrano ham. However, we've never been certain if the food is close to authentic or not. Well, this was our chance to find out while we were in Madrid.
Several aspects about Madrid dining surprised us. First, we were pleasantly surprised at how cheap the food and drinks were. We basically went on a tapas bar crawl one night, and discovered several places with excellent specials such as a beer and 1 tapas for €0,90! Also, most drink orders came with tapas such as olives and toast with jamón. We easily became full just from "free" food. Also, we've heard so much about the Spaniards eating dinner late that we didn't go out until at least 10 pm, only to find that most of the bars and restaurants were closing at midnight, even on a Friday night. This was very surprising to us.
During our short stay in Madrid, we mostly ended up grazing on bites of food throughout the day - a typical Spaniard lifestyle of ordering drinks and small plates and consuming them standing up, then moving on to the next location. This way of eating was perfect for foodies who want to try a little bit of everything without having to commit to a full entree.
We recognize that the Spanish food is very regional, so we may not have experienced the best-of-the-best since we didn't get to visit the actual region in which the food is derived from (e.g. eating paella in Madrid instead of Valencia; probably similar to having Kansas City BBQ in New York), but we definitely got a nice sampling of Spain.
Our first meal was a Valencia-style paella. The secret is in the pan! Loved the crispy rice on the bottom. We washed it down with Madrid beer, Mahou.
Museo del Jamón - NOT a museum at all. Instead, a deli and restaurant, serving a variety of Spanish ham...Iberico ham, Serrano ham, etc. If you belly-up to the counter, they offer an excellent €1 menu of various ham sandwiches and even a glass of beer. Our meal came to €4 total for a nice sampling of Spanish ham and brewskis.
Any foodie will fall madly in love with Mercado de San Miguel. The name comes from a 13th century church by the name of Iglesia de San Martin de los Octoes that used to be here before a fire destroyed it. The open area then became a fish market, then a covered market in 1916. Unfortunately, the San Miguel market began to deteriorate due to growing competition from modern supermarkets. However, a group called El Gastrónomo de San Miguel bought and restored the marketplace, and has been a gourmet Spanish food center since 2009. There are many different food stalls specializing in Spanish ham, roasted nuts, olives, fruit, croquettes, meat, seafood, pasta, etc. Most vendors sell prepared foods that you can consume on-the-spot while you walk around with a glass of wine or sangria.
Calle Cava Baja, just south of the main Plaza Mayor, was a perfect place for a tapas bar crawl. After trying out several places, our instant favorite was a flamenco themed bar, La Perejila, where they kept bringing out free tapas with each of our drink orders. We got to sampling of Spanish chorizo, fried Marcona almonds, green olives, Gouda cheese, chips, etc. It was a lot of food and we were stuffed. They also had a nice variety of Spanish drinks. We thought they made the best sangrias, but Akiko ventured out-of-the-box and tried another drink known to Spain - sweet vermouth. She described it as "flat rum and coke...", so she quickly moved onto cava (Spanish sparking wine) instead. One of the specials that night was gazpacho, so of course we had to try that, too. It was heavenly - like a cold, creamy, tomato salad in a cup! Perfect food for 110F weather. After 10 cocktails and free tapas, our tab for the 4 of us was only €25!
We didn't actually eat at Sobrino de Botín, but had to do a walk-by and take a photo of the oldest restaurant in the world (since 1725), as confirmed by Guinness Book of World Records. Apparently, Goya - the artist - worked there as a waiter, waiting to get accepted into art school! The restaurant is also mentioned in Ernest Hemingway's novel, "The Sun Also Rises".
On our second and final night in Madrid, the four of us were on our way for more authentic Spanish food, when we got side tracked by a very modern looking, Japanese udon noodle restaurant. Normally, we would be die-hard, local-food consumers if we were on a 1-2 week vacation, but having been traveling for 3 months, we really couldn't resist the urge for a taste of Japanese noodles. It's just something we hadn't come across in South America! It was pure satisfaction, in Madrid, of all places.
Next up? Moroccan food. We will be arriving in Morocco during Ramadan, so we don't really know what to expect, but hoping for an amazing Moroccan feast! 'Til then...Salud!
