Month: June 2015

We'd already had a pretty full day. It was pretty hot after lunch and we were stuffed full of orejas.

The one great thing about our apartment was that it was easy to black out the entire place. And the A/C worked really well.

Also, the apartment was located basically across the street and a block or two from the Prado Museum. The Missus had really enjoyed visiting the previous day. Plus….it was free! She had wanted to return.

So after waking from a restorative nap, we were (well She was), ready to head off.

And off into the bright Madrid late afternoon…..

Before heading into the Prado Museum, the Missus wanted to check out San Jerónimo el Real, the Catholic Church right above the museum. This is all that remains of a monastery that stood next to Buen Retiro Palace.

The feature of the church I enjoyed the most were the beautiful stained glass windows.

The visit to the Prado was just as interesting as the previous day. I got to see that beautiful work by Velasquez again. And in addition, there was a special exhibition of works by Picasso.

To be perfectly honest, I'm below a neophyte when it comes to art. I do enjoy the work of Joan Miró, but that's about it. Having only seen the later work of Picasso, I really could not understand or relate to his work. There were several early works of Picasso in the museum. I thought they were really well done, I'd only seen his later Cubist work, but was really impressed at his early work. We were headed to Barcelona next, so we would make it a point to visit the Picasso Museum.

After our visit, we headed back to the Missus's favorite spot in Madrid; Puerta del Sol.

We decided to find a place close by. I had this place on my "Calle de la Victoria" list.

This being quite early for dinner in Madrid (815 pm), the place was empty except for one other group.

The girls working here were very nice….though everyone seemed really friendly in Madrid. I had a caña and the Missus a tinto. Man, the potatoes we really tasty; the aioli had a ton of garlic in it and the tubers were nice and waxy.

This place served Galician style food; so of course I wanted the Pulpo a Feira, but the Missus wasn't sold. So I went with the Pulpo and Camarones. The whole thing is served in a pan submerged in olive oil.

This was like getting your French fries served in its cooking oil…….anyway; the shrimp were really tiny like cocktail shrimp, but had nice flavor. The octopus didn't do well, it was very tough. The olive oil tasted ok as we dipped our bread into it. Though next time I'll go with the Pulpo a Feira.

La Pulperia de Victoria
La Victoria 2
Madrid, Spain

We decided to cut our losses and find someplace to grab a another light bite on the way back to the apartment. As we passed La Oreja de Jaime, he was cooking and saw us through the window. He smiled and waved at us telling to come back in…… He's such a character, how could we refuse?

This time we sat at the bar and noticed all of the funny stuff on the wall. Like the calendar photo of Jaime with a wig and sunglasses on….and the plastic ears (orejas) hanging on the wine bottles. The place really reflects the owner….it has character.

Now, the Missus had seen something on the menu that I didn't know. So of course She was fascinated. Mollejas. We asked what mollejas were and Jaime grabbed the part of his neck under the jawbone. The thymus gland….mollejas de cordero; goat sweetbreads. Based on our previous experience here; we knew portions would be fairly large….but sweetbreads, that's rich stuff, there's no way you'd get a huge plate of that, right? Wrong. After ordering it, Jaime went to the tray of what almost looked like gizzards and grabbed handful after handful of the stuff. The Missus and I looked at each other in stunned amazement. This went on the flat top, with a good amount of oil. Man, Jaime is not shy about the sea salt either. After achieving a nice char from the griddle, an application of a slightly spicy and smoky sauce was applied. The stuff he puts on patatas bravas and we were served this huge plate of mollejas.

The first, say 12 bites were really good, if a bit too salty. But man, after a while, it's just too much of a good thing. The texture, or should I say combination of textures keeps your interest. There are those creamy pieces, but also of texture of the surrounding tissue, some crunch, some fat, some sinew.

It's always fun to try something new. It's even more fun having it at a place like La Oreja de Jaime.

La Oreja de Jaime
Calle de La Cruz 12
Madrid, Spain 

Sun had set and we headed back to Puerto del Sol. It was 930 and things were just starting up in Madrid.

We dropped by the market in the basement of El Cortes Ingles and got some yogurt for the next morning. It would be our breakfast before heading off to Barcelona.

We walked down the back streets parallel to Calle Atocha. Past the many bars, the squares, the folks and families just heading out to dinner at 10pm.

The wonderful folks at Estancias con Arte had left us a basket of "stuffs", including orange juice, which would come in handy for breakfast. They also left us a bottle of wine (such a nice touch!), which we enjoyed while doing our "pre-packing" for the next morning.

Getting to our train the next morning was a breeze. Atocha Station is basically 2 blocks (albeit good sized blocks) away.

One interesting note about Atocha Station. There's a tropical garden in the concourse of the train station. While the Missus was waiting for our morning espresso, I took a short little walk.

Madrid was interesting for us. I know it wasn't the Missus's favorite place; I think the heat, schedules, noise, crowds, and the mild grittiness of the city had caught us off guard. On our return trip however, something had changed, we had gained an appreciation for the liveliness of Madrid and embraced the late nights. But for now, we were off to Barcelona.

Thanks for reading!

So, how did we end up travelling to Spain? Well, if you're a regular reader, it's a familiar story…much like almost all our other trips, it was food. We were having a version of Patatas Bravas at Tasty n' Alder in Portland when the Missus made Her decision. "We're going to Spain……" So there I was, planning first a trip to Spain, then adding the Basque Country, then Bordeaux, finally Dordogne. The decisions developed quite organically, the logistics, while not difficult took a bit of planning.

A few months later; there we were, a bit bleary eyed arriving in Madrid. Getting to where we needed to be was quite easy; the Expres Aeropuerto costs a mere 5 Euros to get from the airport to Atocha Station. We had some time to kill and walked around, though it was getting to be quite warm, up and down Calle Atocha. One funny thing, we actually sat and took a break in the square right where our apartment would be on our return trip to Madrid! Anyway, after some coffee, walking about, we met the owner of the apartment we were staying at….which happened to be a couple of blocks from Atocha Station and got settled. It was getting mighty warm by this time, so we were ever so happy to have a nice strong A/C unit. After a wonderful shower we headed out to get something to eat. It was 1pm, early for lunch in Madrid and Sunday to boot. We were close enough to one of the areas I had mapped out Calle de Jesus, a small stretch which has a number of Cervecerias and Tabernas. The favorite here is obviously Cervantes, but the line was crazy, and it looked like all tourists. Instead, we chose this little place next to La Anchoita named El Olivar.

The place was fairly quiet, there were two parties of what looked like regulars, a good sign, there were some items on the menu I really wanted to try. The place was manned by a staff of two.

I started with a beer, the Missus a "Tinto" a young, light table wine. The gratis olives were briny and worked well.

As for ordering food….well, I was tempted by the sign that said "Especialidad Rabo de Toro"…basically oxtails, but man, it was just too hot for us to try that. Rather, I saw two items on the menu I wanted to try.

The first, was Jamon de Bellota. Awhile back, I'd done some research and found that there's something above and beyond your "normal" Jamon Iberico. These days, "JI", while still having the heritage of the blessed Black Iberian Pig, is now corn fed, and perhaps; if you're lucky, acorn fed somewhere during the process. The Jamon Iberico de Bellota on the other hand, is truly acorn fed. Also, while typical Iberico is cured two years; Bellota is cured for an even longer period.

This place did Bellota, decently cut, already "sweating" when it hit the table, the taste is sweet, not too salty, the fat velvety, lacking in the 'stringy/sinewy" texture that I've had with Jamon Iberico.

Since we grow Padron Peppers, we couldn't wait to try some.

They deep fry these babies in most places. We found that the versions in Spain had a thinner skin and were a bit "sweeter". These were on the salty side though.

Lunch was nice and we headed back to the apartment satisfied and ready for a "siesta". 

Awaking refreshed, we took care of a few outstanding odds and ends, then headed out to the Prado Museum. You see, on Sundays from 5pm to 7pm and on Mondays thru Saturdays from 6pm to 8pm admission is free.

I can truly say, that my visit here truly gave me and appreciation for art that no other museum had been able to do. There are no photos allowed; but I purchased postcards of some of my favorite paintings in the museum.

I had never heard of Diego Velazquez, but when I walked into the gallery and saw his painting "Las Meninas" (The Maids of Honor) I was amazed. I saw it from a distance, the painting had almost a 3-D effect and seemed so life-like, the composition and depth was amazing as it actually seemed to pop out to me when I walked into the room. I guess I had first seen this work at the angle that worked right for me. I was strangely moved by the painting, something that had never happened to me before.

And then there were the dark and somewhat disturbing works of Francisco Goya, who during a "dark period" (perhaps somewhat paranoid) in his life painted some rather disturbing works. Like Saturn Devouring His Son. Which kinda spoke to me in the "you know, I'm having a really bad day" way. Though Goya's most famous works are probably La Maja Vestida and La Maja Desnuda which are on display at the Prado…..it's the "dark works" that I found interesting.

There was a bit of overload, so we decided to stop and return the next evening. Because…..well, it's free, right?

It was still fairly early in Madrileno terms at 645 though the Prado was closing (it was Monday). So we headed off on a walk arriving at what is considered the heart of Madrid, Puerta del Sol - the "Gate of the Sun", this was once the location of the Eastern gate of the city walls. The Missus and I had our favorite objects in the bustling square. Mine is the statue of the Bear and the Madrono Tree, which is actually the official Coat of Arms of Madrid.

For the Missus, it's the iconic Tio Pepe sign, actually an advertisement for a brand of sherry. The sign shone with neon brightness over the square from the 1950's until 2011. The removal of the sign caused so much of an uproar, that it returned to its perch in 2014.

Because the sun sets so late at this time of year; it wasn't until our third night in Madrid, on our way back that we finally were able to take a photo of the sign in its full neon glory. The Missus loves these wide open squares, so we'd find ourselves returning here everyday during our stays in Madrid.

By now, the clock was closing in on 745, I thought a visit to one of Madrid's most popular eating neighborhoods, La Latina, targeting on the ground zero of eating and drinking streets in the area; Calle Cava Baja. The Missus loves Her eggs, so I thought She'd enjoy the classic "Huevos Rotos" (broken eggs) from Los Huevos de Lucio. The bad thing was….we couldn't find the darn street. We took a wrong turn down Calle Ribera de Curtidores ending up all the way down on Ronda de Toledo. We ended up having  to turn up at Puerta de Toledo walking all the way back up the street.

We finally found little Calle Cava Baja. The street wasn't too busy since it was still an ungodly early hour to eat in Madrid……830 in the evening…..

As you can tell by the sign; the specialty here is huevos…eggs. The place is owned by I believe the son of the highly regarded Casa Lucio across the street.

We'd arrived just a tad after 830pm and you can tell, the place had just opened. It seems that only tourists eat before 10.

It was all part of our education. As was finding out that the portions were pretty hefty. It was only later on that I came to find out to order things "media racione" (half orders). Until then, we'd be eating pretty large portions…like this plate of Manchego Cheese (12.9 €).

The best dish of the evening was the Berenjenas crujientes con salmorejo (7.95 €).

Wonderfully crisp, well seasoned, thin slices of eggplant fried to perfection, not a drop of grease. The sauce was a thick tomato based "soup" with nice hints of garlic.

And of course there were the Huevos Los Clasicos (8.9 € – the House Classic Eggs).

"Broken Eggs", basically cooked soft then slightly mixed breaking the yolks. The eggs tasted lovely, almost rich, the potatoes had a wonderful flavor…..for some reason, potatoes in the states don't have the same flavor. It reminded me of potatoes in Peru. Again, this was a bit too high on the sodium scale for us…and we like salty.

I had a beer and the Missus a "Tinto" a light red.

It was a filling and satisfying meal.

Taberna Los Huevos de Lucio
Calle de la Cava Baja 30
Madrid, Spain

After dinner, the Missus decided that we needed to walk around a bit so we headed to Plaza Major a square ringed by very symmetrical three story buildings. This was once Madrid's Central Square. Many events have taken place in this square since it was built in the 17th century, from bullfights to public executions. On this evening, the square was packed for a concert. It was the end of the San Isidro Festival…though we'd come to find, there always seemed to be a celebration of one kind or another happening; Spaniard's like to  have a good time.

We also started understanding why folks eat late here. It was almost 10pm, the sun had gone down maybe 20 minutes ago and the temperature was still in the 80's.

As we walked back down toward our apartment, the Missus and I discussed our day. We both loved the Prado Museum. Puerto del Sol and Plaza Mayor just seemed a bit too crowded and the place a bit more littered than we enjoy. The food was good, but on the salty side. I had enjoyed our meals more than the Missus. In the end, we were enjoying ourselves…..it was good to be on holiday, visiting somewhere we hadn't been before. And tomorrow was another day!

Thanks for reading!