Train (Madrid)

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The two meal options on the train from Madrid to San Sebastian

salad with ham and cheese

Chicken with potato; pate

Museo de jamon - Spain (Madrid)

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Inside Museo de Jamon

Jamon

The cheaper of the selection of jamons.  Lighter flavor - more tender.  Not as sharp of a pork taste that you would experience in the States.

Jamon Iberico

The most expensive option of the jamon selections.  Cured ham made from black Iberian pigs.  These free range pigs eat only acorns during the last periods of its life.  The texture is chewier than any piece of meat I've tasted- almost similar to a thinly sliced jerky.  The taste is rich and flavorful with a sweet aftertaste.

Verdict:            A must visit in Madrid.  Ordering both options will give you a taste comparison.

Address:           Museo de Jamon

                         various locations

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               Jamon
                        casual

Chomp worthy:  try everything

Pass:               nothing

Random facts:

• They have a 1 Euro items menu

Madrid random

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I didn't partake, but it did shock me that someone could eat this much candy?



candy displayed in a Madrid storefront





Tximiri part 2

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Refusing to leave Madrid defeated by Tximiri, I successfully scored menu items on my second attempt.



Pintxo de foie



A generous slab of foie resting on a sliced piece of baguette drizzled with a sweet red sauce.  Sweet, rich, fatty.  Delicious!  The sweet sauce complimented the sweetness of the foie perfectly. 

side view of pintxo de foie

Hamburgesa unai - fried mixed beef and seafood on top of sliced bread

Verdict:            Second try.  Veni, vidi, vici.  Both dishes were amazing.  I highly recommend coming here and order off the menu versus the tapas that are already laid out.  The quality is outstanding and the tapas are really innovative.

Address:           Txirimiri

                         Calle del Humilladero 6 (La Latina) 

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               tapas
                        casual

Chomp worthy:  Hamburgesa unai
                            pintxo de foie

Pass:               nothing

Random facts:

• closed on Mondays
• After 10p you cannot order from menu items

Casa Lucas - Spain (Madrid)

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Bread with housemade salumi

One of the few tapas dishes actually free.  Fatty, rich salumi on top of a freshly cut bread.



Croquettes - cheese with serrano ham



More croquette!  Probably one of the better croquettes of the whole trip.  Lightly fried, hot right out of the kitchen.  The cheese oozed out fritter with a nice smokey ham flavor.

Carinena- ratatoille with quail egg (right); Mancha - hot pork with grilled onions (left)

A generous portion of pork slapped on a top of bread was pretty heavy, but still yummy.  The ratatoille provided a sweet taste tot hte Carinena.  I wish the quail egg was more of a soft poched egg with a runny texture, but it was cooked through.  Both were good.  



Verdict:         A different style tapas place than the ones in the surrounding areas.  The crowd is older and the environment is more docile.  The menu is smaller, but the is consistently tasty and well prepared.  A good place to pop in for a couple plates before starting the night.

Address:          Casa Lucas 

                         Calle Cava Baja 30 (La Latina) 

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               tapas
                          casual

Chomp worthy:  nothing

Pass:               nothing

Random facts:

Posada de la villa - Spain (Madrid)

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Olives

housemade Jamon croquettes

Nothing special here.  Acutally they were put on the table without ordering it so of course it's not free. You eat - you pay. 

Padron peppers

Lightly grilled, sprinkled with salt.  Some peppers are spicy hot and some are not.  I've had this dish many times in the States.  These peppers are a lot bigger than the ones Ive had before.  It had more of a limp, soggy texture versus a lightly grilled texture.  Also, the peppers were a little too generously sprinkled with salt.  Disappointing especially considering its popular Spanish dish.

Cordero asado (roasted lamb)

Cordero asado is a popular Spainish dish.  This place was supposed to be one of the better places that served it in Madrid.  Plated similarly to Botin's roasted pig.  The meat was tender, but the dish was too salty.  If the skin was supposed to be slightly crispy, it definitely wasn't.  Another disappointment, especially since its their house specialty.

Verdict:            Disappointing.

Address:           Posada de la Villa
                        Calle Cava Baja, 9 (La Latina)

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               Spanish, baby lamb
                          casual

Chomp worthy:  nothing

Pass:               everything

Random facts:



El Brillante - Spain (Madrid)

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Bocadillos de Calamares - calamari sandwich

Best known for their calamari sandwich.  Its one of the a huge selection of sandwiches.  The calamari is fried to order and stuffed into crusty bread.  No mayo or dressing complicates this dish.  I was already prepared that it was essentially fried calamari slapped in some toasted bread, but supposedly even due to the lack of condiments it would not be dry.  The bread was stale tasting and the sandwich DID taste dry.  The calamari did not taste fresh, although I did like how it was lightly battered.  

Verdict:            Disappointing.  Sounds great, but in reality was not worth the search for it.

Address:           El Brillante Madrid
                        Plaza Emperador Carlos V, 8 

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               Spanish, sandwiches
                          casual

Chomp worthy:  nothing

Pass:               bocadillos de calamares

Random facts:



Mercado de San Miguel - Spain (Madrid)

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inside Mercado de San Miguel



skewer style tapas

Fruits and veggies

Assortment of dried chilis and fruits

Paella

Housemade chicharrones!

Housemade potato chips

Mini Foie burgers

Painstakingly stacked cherries ( I love the sign!)

Verdict:         Obviously catered to more tourists than the locals, its still a must visit!  Lots of tasty small bites with a variety of foods from vermouth to tapas to paellas.

Address:         Mercado de San Miguel 
                         Plaza de San Miguel  (Sol/Opera)

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               marketplace
                          casual

Chomp worthy:  nothing


Pass:               nothing

Random facts:

• featured in Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations

El Botin Madrid - Spain (Madrid)

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Botin - the oldest recorded restaurant in the world (per Guinness Book of Records)

downstairs dining option

House made sangria

The famous roasted baby pig (cochinillo asado)

Botin is famous for one dish - cochinillo asada (roasted suckling baby pig).  The dish is cut and prepped for you tableside.  A small cut of meat ladled with a small scoop of its juices.  While the meat was being cut, I tried to listen for that crackling of the skin to asure myself that the baby pig was roasted - no crunch sound here.    Then they pour the juice/ gravy on top of the pig - this worried me because gravy makes things soggy.  First thing I did was tap the skin with my knife to see if the skin had that crisp texture.  Yup, solid, but what a disappointment.  The crisp of the skin in my mouth was so faint if it even had any - Im trying to give it some benefit of the doubt.  The meat was tender and juicy, but way too salty. 



Meat side of the baby pig



Verdict:         Nothing amazing here.  Somewhat overpriced for what you get.  I almost felt like they rip you off considering its a popular tourist spot.  Chinese roasted pork is still the winner in the roasted pork category for me. 

Address:         Botin 
                         17 Calle Cuchilleros (Sol)

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               Spanish, roasted baby pig
                          casual

Chomp worthy:  nothing


Pass:               baby pig

Random facts:

• referenced in Hemmingway's "The Sun also Rises"

Chocolateria San Gines - Spain (Madrid)

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Chocolateria San Gines

Chocolate con churros

 Made to order. Hot, crispy when brought to your table.  The cup of hot chocolate is thick - enough so that you can dip the churro with a nice shiny coating, but still easily drinkable.  The chocolate doesn't have a rich  chocolatey flavor.  Its very different than the super sweet chocolate bars you find in the States.

Verdict:                   Its not the best churros, but its definitely one of the more popular spots in Madrid and a must visit. 

Address:                  Chocolateria San Gines 

                                        Pasadizo de San Gines, 5 (Sol) 

                                         Madrid, Spain

Type:                           dessert, snack
                                         casual

Chomp worthy:  churros with chocolate

Random facts:

• open 24 hr
• popular late night spot after hitting the bars

Taberna Txakoli (tapas) - Spain ( Madrid)

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Another fun, crowded, tapas spot in the La Latina district of Madrid.

assorted tapas

amstel light?! and fruit juice + beer

Mostly glasses of wine or Amstel Light on draft.  I choose a fruit juice + beer concoction that everyone else in the room was sipping on.  Fruity, fizzy taste- yum



Clam with white sauce (back), Hojadre con foie (front) - pastry wtih foie

A seafood salad mixture with clams and a breaded topping.  Rich tasting.  The pastry was light and flakey.  Inside was a sweet foie filling.   



Bomba rellende de carne picada - large deep fried ball of beef wrapped in mashed potatoes 



This dish is huge!  Meat + potatoes + deep fried.  Not the tastiest dish, but probably the one of the most interesting looking ones here. 



inside the bomba



Verdict:                    Fun, lively spot with a lot of different tapas to choose from.  Nothing outstanding, but a good variety
                                        of standard tapas.
                                 
Address:                  Taberna Txakoli

                                         Madrid, Spain

Type:                           tapas
                                         casual

Chomp worthy:   beer + fruit juice

Pass:                             bomba

Txirimiri (tapas) - Spain ( Madrid)

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Literally just landed and rushed to hotel to drop and headed out to Tximiri (La Latina) for dinner tapas.  Sunday nights are best in La Latina.  Everyone is out drinking with friends and having a bite to eat.  Tximiri was top of my Madrid tapas spots to try.  Apparently, if you go after 10p you can only eat what is already premade and displayed in the window - very limited.  So many appetizing things on the menu to order - made a note to be back before leaving Madrid. 

Shrimp with meatball on bread

Meatball on bread

Verdict:            First visit.  Disappointed that I couldn't order from the menu and had to choose what was left out.  Everything was good though, but I had my heart set on ordering specific items.


Address:           Txirimiri

                         Calle del Humilladero 6 (La Latina) 

                         Madrid, Spain

Type:               tapas
                        casual

Chomp worthy:  no standouts on this visit

Pass:               nothing

Random facts: