My Trip to Spain: Snacks

If you know me and how I travel, then you know I'm very big on snacks. It's good for mid day eating, late night booze soaking eating, and everything in between. I think we went a bit overboard on this trip. But at least we got to try a bunch of stuff. I think the common thing for this Spain snack adventure is definitely potato chips. But before I start with that, I must remind you that no European trip is complete without coffee. Morning, noon, and sometimes night. It's what keeps us going day after day.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 5): Toma Jamon

On our last day in Madrid, we decided to do the last jamon place on my list: Toma Jamon. You can't have too much pork products while in Spain, right?

We started with a plate of mixed jamon including chorizo sausage, pork loin, salami, and jamon. Little pieces are bread are included so that you can wrap the meat around it. We watched the guy slowly sliced the meat from the leg. I love eyeing them. So far, a good start to the meal.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 4): Asador Imanol

While we waited for the food at Street XO, we also went next door to Asador Imanol for some more food. This place was a more traditional Spanish tapas restaurant.

At this point, if we saw vegetables, we ordered it. So the alcachofa frita (fried artichokes) to share. Crispy and light. Perfect for snacking.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 4) Street XO

Later that night, we were all pretty tired from the day. All that walking and site seeing will add up. So we didn't want to go too far for dinner. Luckily, I had a couple of tapas places in mind that was only 5 minutes away from our hotel. Interestingly enough, they were located inside the food court in a mall. Now, I know what you're thinking. Who goes to eat in a food court on purpose? Well, if they serve food like this, you would too.

First some background information. Street XO is the sister restaurant to Diver XO. The former being a casual yet hip tapas restaurant playing with both Asian and Spanish flavors. The latter is a 3 star Michelin rated restaurant with white tablecloths and matching service. If I were traveling alone or just with Mr. M&P, I would have gone to Diver XO. But when you're with a group, it's a little more difficult. But Street XO came highly recommended.



When we arrived shortly after it opened, the place was packed. All the bar seats were taken and others were waiting. We clearly didn't think this through. But lucky for us, this was a food court. We ordered a bunch of dishes to go and then grabbed a bunch of tables at the communal seating area. Score for being resourceful!



We started with a giant platter of Peking Duck Dumplings (pictured above). These were really good. The wrapper was thin and crispy, the meat inside tender and flavorful, and the garnished of scallions, peppers, and hoisin sauce around made for a beautiful presentation.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 4): La Mallorquina

A couple of rain showers left us looking for cover for a couple of minutes. What better way than to duck into a cafe for some hot coffee and pastries?

La Mallorquina is quite the bustling bakery right in the middle of a square. The main floor is take out only but if you grab a number, you can wait for table service upstairs. Don't skip on the torrija (the rectangular pastry on top) which is a bread soaked in milk, honey, and spices then toasted like French toast. The edges are crusty and crunchy while the middle remains soft and custardy. Although, I don't have a sweet tooth, I really liked it. Sweet but not overly so. A really nice midday snack. Oh and if you're wondering, that second pastry (the round one on the bottom) is an ensaimada which is just a sweet bread. Nothing special about that.



La Mallorquina

Calle Mayor, 2

28013 Madrid, Spain

+34 915 21 12 01

www.pastelerialamallorquina.es

My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 4): Mercado de San Miguel

On our last full day in Madrid, we left it as a do as you will day. We've seen most of the big sites and hit a lot of big touristy things. So we slowed down this day and did a very relaxing schedule. How European of us, no?

We started the morning at Mercado de San Miguel. Everyone talks about La Boqueria in Barcelona but this market is worth seeing as well. This is less a market to buy produce and meat but more of a market for cooked food and drinks. Think Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, PA. The weekends are packed and crazy so try to go on a weekday instead. You'll be much happier, trust me.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 3): Sobrino de Botin

After all that meat, we needed to burn off those calories in time for dinner. Lots of walking around and site seeing did the trick. A bit too much in fact so we headed back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit before dinner. I reminded everyone that our reservation that night was some heavy eating. So no filling up prior to the meal. We went to Sobrino de Botin (also known as El Botin) which is a rotisserie restaurant. It's pretty famous and is lauded as the oldest running restaurant in Spain and maybe the world.

They specialize in whole roasted pig and if your party is big enough, you can get a little porker to your own group. But before I show you that, we noshed on some appetizers beforehand. Some clams in garlic broth were good. Tender plumps of clam still in their shell and bathed in a garlicky sauce.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 2): Chocolateria San Gines

Around a dark alley lies a much talked about late night spot: Chocolateria San Gines. Churros and hot chocolate. I thought to myself that this is a must do but I probably wouldn't be that into it. Boy was I wrong.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 2): El Zagal

That night, we were looking for a casual place to watch the Real Madrid vs Barcelona futbol game. We had previously tried to get tickets with no luck. Well, the luck would be 500 euros each but that's the kind of luck none of wanted to part with. Instead, we asked our concierge about nearby bars or restaurants that may be showing the game. We walked around a bit. Not to our surprise, many of the places were packed already. People had staked out their tables hours prior to the game. Again, the Spaniards do not care about loitering. We need to remember that. We eventually find a place that was both a bar and a restaurant. While the front of the house was packed with avid fans, the back was pretty empty. There on the wall in the back was one tv and we immediately chose the table right in front.

With our claim to land settled, we proceeded to order some much needed drinks. Beers, wines, and cocktails for everyone. And then the menu. We started with the pulpo (octopus) which is a standard dish in Spain. Again, tender pieces of octopus tentacles and soft potatoes. A sprinkle of paprika on top as a garnish.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 2): Cinco Jotas

After El Rastro and more walking, we were ready for lunch again. The weather was still really nice and we wanted to sit outside again. Again, a group of 7 was a bit troublesome when it came to tables. With the waiters being aloof and "European", we took things into our own hands. We all huddled around a table top for 4 people. We made the space ourselves and patted ourselves on the back. Why? Well, basically Spaniards love to linger over lunch and relax. So waiting and hovering over a table doesn't work here. They don't care and won't even bat an eye.

With our accomplishes behind us, we sat down, enjoyed some cold drinks, and ordered away. We chose to share some calamar a la plancha (grilled whole squid), tortilla, gnocchi with anguilas (baby eels), and verduras a la plancha (grilled vegetables). The grilled squid was tender and plump. A light dressing added the acidity that brought it together. The tortilla was filled with tender slices of potato. The egg was just lightly cooked until golden on the outside but still runny on the inside. That was a happy surprise. I've never had a tortilla that had a runny middle. It was excellent. The gnocchi with baby eels were just fine. The pasta itself wasn't too exciting but the baby eels were delicious. My first foray into baby eels and it's been good. Apparently they are a delicacy in Spain. And the plate of grilled vegetables wasn't anything exciting except for the fact it was a plate of vegetables! We really needed something like this. Vegetarian and light.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 2): El Rastro

The next morning involved coffee and a long easy walk to El Rastro which is an outdoor flea market. While I quickly walked through most of the kioks selling knich knacks and basically junk. I did see a few interesting items for sale including a chastity belt, dirty comics, and sweaters that would trump any and all ugly sweaters in the US. In fact, one pink ensemble was shaped like a certain female body part. But I digress. After walking uphill and only fueled by coffee that morning. I was hungry.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 1): O'Pazo

After being fueled by that awesome lunch, we walked around even more trying to digest everything just in time to have dinner. Of course, we were still on NYC time and was having dinner relatively early for Spain's standards. But with jet lag, we had no choice on the first day. But that didn't stop us from having a nice dinner. Located out in the more residential area of Madrid, we went to O'Pazo in search of seafood. While the dress attire is officially casual, this restaurant is certainly not. While we were in our tshirts and jeans, most of the other patrons were dressed to impress. There were even some suits among the crowd.

The place looks really fancy and modern. Fresh seafood on ice is presented in front to showcase the catch of the day. I felt a little embarrassed at this point. I thought I had chosen a relatively affordable place to eat but instead led my friends to a fancy place with fancy people.



But after looking over the menu, the food was actually very reasonably priced. In fact, main dishes weren't much over 15-20 euros. And when the dishes came out, the serving sizes were grand. In the grand scheme of things, the place had the decor and atmosphere of something special but the price of the food and drinks were much more affordable. I was relieved at this point. Thank goodness!



When we sat down, they served us an amuse of smoke salmon which was so delicate and buttery. Smoky but the flavor of the salmon stood through. A really delicious start to the meal.

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My Trip to Madrid, Spain (Day 1): Museo de Jamon

When traveling abroad, we generally like to pick flights that arrive in the morning. That leaves us with plenty of time to check into the hotel and jump straight into the city. We landed in Madrid first. And boy were we anxious to see and absorb everything. But first, we were hungry. After walking around a bit, we settled on Museo de Jamon in the Plaza Mayor. There are several locations of this place but this was closest to where we were at the moment. Besides, it was a beautiful day out and we wanted to sit outside. Also, we were a group of 7 at this point so we had to pick places that would work with a bigger group.

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