Maribel

Angulas (elvers, not anguilas, eels),
The season runs from October to April. And they're the priciest in the days leading up to Christmas-NYE. This past year, because of their scarcity, the leading Michelin-starred Basque chefs refused to put them on the menu. But one of the gastronomic societies did serve them on the eve of Jan. 19, the customary celebratory dinner before San Sebastián Day and the Tamborrada.

Then, for very adventurous diner, there's the river lamprea (lamprey) from Arbo, Galicia, usually cooked in its own blood. The lamprea festival falls in April.
https://www.spain.info/en/calendar/fiesta-lamprey/

Maribel

I certainly wouldn't ever suggest that you change hotels from your lovely, serene and private Orfila to the Villamagna, since you've found your "home" in Madrid, but I just mentioned it, thinking of your sister, as it's really a lovely place now to have a meal or a drink during the Christmas season, when it's so festive.
We can walk from our Pavilions to the Villamagna, so it's easy for us to pop in for an after dinner drink or even for a late breakfast, prices be damned.
But your Orfila for us is just 2 blocks away as well!
I think you've found the perfect spot for you, just like your perfect spot outside of Vejer, and your perfect spot in Jerez. You have lovely havens to come home to.

And think about the new Don Ramón in Sevilla, the sister hotel to your lovely Casa Palacio María Luisa...it's calling your name.

But you really need a pied-a-terre in Madrid..(lol, so as not to have to cart all your purchases back to the US!)

I love Loewe, but only have their scarves (well only two, the rest are Longchamp). My purse purchase died several years ago.

I would go to Valencia in November, although the city last year didn't turn on their Christmas lights until Dec. 1. The weather should still be nice. But for your time in Cuenca, dress warmly! It can be extremely cold in Cuenca in November (been there, done that).

ekscrunchy

YEs, those tomatoes!!!! RAF!!!

Maribel, what is the "telva" set?

Now I know why I missed the Almadraba Experience, which I guess is the Petaca Chico stand, si??
Because I did not walk that aisle. I did spot Casa Dani..I knew I was not going for tortilla, due to the restaurant breakfasts....silly me..so I did NOT fully explore the market, even though I went about three times!!! Next time I will have to forego the hotel breakfast, for once,, and go for that tortilla that I've been hearing about for so long! And also the one at Las Tortillas de Gabino, that both you and Revulgo recommend. Betanzos style...??

I did pass by the famous tortilla stand in Cordoba, new the Mezquita where he puts 2 tortillas together so it looks like one, very thick one. But I've seen that place on a tv show and there were heaps of young tourists (or I thought they were tourists) sitting outside the palace, chowing down. It did not seem appealing to sit on the street to eat that, probably on a paper plate if I'm not mistaken.. And again, I had just finished my great hotel breakfast at the Hospes, so....

Maribel, I'll pass on the lamprey! It was in season once when we were near Bordeaux and after hearing about how it was cooked, I just could not.....Is it wonderful??

Next: Dinner at TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE..I'm so sorry I keep getting distracted with this.....

Maribel

Well, next time, I will go to the Orfila and personally escort you to Casa Dani, but at around noon, before it gets impossibly crowded. But first, we must make a short detour to have an oyster or two at the stand/dining space that's hidden in the back, ¡Oh Petit Bistrò!, just like in the Madrid episode of Somebody Please Feel Phil.

The "Telva" set, I'm referring to readers of the ladies' fashion and gossip Telva magazine, which features restaurants that are fashion spots, very Instagramable places, where "influencers" dine (and don't eat much) and mostly where the "hot" fashion atmosphere or the "cool factor" is far more important than the cuisine.

Yes, the tortilla place in Córdoba is Bar Santos. I´ve never entered, as it doesn't seem at all appealing to me.

Speaking of La Tasquita and the owner-chef Juan López Bedamar... he now supervises the kitchen of César Lanzarote, which I think you must hit.
https://www.guiarepsol.com/es/dormir...sar-lanzarote/

ekscrunchy

Maribel, that place is on my list for Lanzarote, thanks to you! I wonder if he would be there in May? (I'm guessing no, but who knows?!)




TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE

This is an odd way to begin a restaurant commentary, but before I begin, I want to say that although this place is a personal favorite, I would not recommend it to most foreign visitors to Madrid. This is a small restaurant closely overseen by by Owner Chef Juan Lopez Bedmar who, after 25 years alone at the stove, now shares kitchen duties with another top chef, Nacho Trujillo.
Nothing escapes his eye, but that does not mean that he takes a lot of time explaining various menu options with all diners. There is an English-seaking staff who will do their best to explain, but this is more of restaurant to visit for diners who are pretty well versed in the seasonal foods of Spain.

I just read one review on TA that made me laugh:

<<<My wife and I were looking forward to an exciting 10-course tasting menu at the Guide Michelin restaurant La Tasquita de Enfrente, conveniently located near Gran Via in Madrid. The following dishes were served; 1 Tomatoes. 2 Potatoes. 3 Prawns. 4 prawns in soup. 5 Mushrooms. 6 Octopus. 7 Fried eggs. 8 Tuna. 9 Meatballs. 10 Panna cotta. This was the worst menu we have ever experienced. Not recommended!>>>

This guy was probably not wrong; many plates DO consist of, as an example from my last dinner, 2 red prawns. Nothing else, except flake salt. Now, if you are dining there and know nothing about prawns, you might feel just as this poor fellow did: "Two prawns at 17euro APIECE??? I can get two dozen prawns for that price at home!!!"

But if you know that these are very special prawns, from Garrucha, near Almeria, considered some of the finest in Europe, you might have a better appreciation for those two prawns on your plate. (by the way, one online vendor I just looked at charges 72 euro a kilo, plus shipping)

Here's some opinionated commentary on those prawns:

https://euroweeklynews.com/2017/10/2...from-garrucha/

Just tasting them, and reading about them, makes me wonder if a visit to Almeria might be in my future!?





The same sentiment goes, for example, for the peas. If you do not know anything about the peas from Catalunya's Maresme coast, north of Barcelona, whose season lasts but a couple of weeks beginning in late March, you might exclaim: "44 euro for a plate of peas!!!!!" And I could certainly understand this. But taste just one of those tear-shaped beauties, known as "green caviar," or "the green pearl" and you might close your eyes and wonder if you've ever tasted such a wondrous vegetable. The Maresme coast even has a pea festival, in early April!

So you get the idea: TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE focuses on fine product that you will not see in many restaurants more than a few miles from their local orchards or seas. Not all of their dishes have so singular a focus; the menu changes daily and the night I was there, you could have chosen meatballs, or a terrine of pig ear, or hake cheeks (like the ones I photographed, raw, in the market earlier that day). Where the product is the star, the kitchen does very little manipulation is the way of sauces or anything else that would interfere with the purity of flavor. (The peas are cooked with a bit of jamon Iberico, but not much)

The dining room is small; there might be 12 tables and I was seated in a very nice one, in the rear corner of the space. The dining room is windowless, with almost every inch of the white walls being covered with art: Interesting art!! Art that you might want to hang on your own walls, with the majority being drawings. I'd liked to have had the room to myself just to look at them all!!

The proprietor was much warmer on this, my second visit, and he did explain the origin of the prawns and the peas, and helped me create dinner from the a la carte menu (they also offer a fairly reasonably priced tasting menu; when I say "reasonable," I mean that it costs 100 euro,, rather than the almost 200e charged for tasting menus by most of the top restaurants in the city. And he suggested that I order only a half portion for most of my dishes, so that I could sample more tastes.

Although some of my comments may sound off-putting, I like this restaurant very much and hope to dine there again on my next Madrid visit.

Here is the menu: I will take a photo of my bill so you can notice that 4 of the 5 dishes I ordered were half portions only. It's a wonderful benefit for a solo diner, especially, that restaurants in Spain will almost always, in my experience, permit half orders and, sometimes even quarter portions, of a dish.


Juan Jose Bedmar, owner of LA TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE

Late March, 2024, carta; I want to note that the prices here were the same as they were a year ago for the same dish

Dining room, then from my rear corner table; note sneakers on the feet of many diners!!

A few of the cornucopia of interesting drawings and photos embellishing the walls




I will continue this after I make my own dinner!!

Weekender

Eks,

My family spent numerous vacations at both the Pierre Marques and Las Brisas. Acapulco was quite the place back in the day. Sadly, no more.. We spent Christmas in Puerto Vallarta in 1963…yes, 1963. Quite the experience with wild donkeys on the beach…

You have outdone yourself with this recap of your Spanish sojourn…a fabulous read..

Maribel

eks,
You've done a terrific job of explaining the Tasquita de Enfrente experience.

About those prawns (gambas), those of Garrucha in Almería are highly prized and thus equally expensive at the fishmongers´s stands here. Along with the Garrucha ones, there is the equally prized Gamba Roja de Dènia, hailing from the Marina Alta, Comunitat Valenciana, that Quique Dacosta has made famous, and that Miguel Ángel sometimes offers off menu at La Catapa. We had those recently. At La Catapa and in the markets they're priced similarly as those from Garrucha and prepared simply.

https://www.pescaderiamunicio.es/tie...roja-de-denia/

In Dènia we attended the yearly "Concurso Internacional de la Cocina Creative de la Gamba Roja", which attracts chefs and gastro critics from all over the country. Of the 70 candidates who apply, only 8 finalists are selected to compete in the final stage of the contest to determine the most creative dish created with this specimen, the vaulted Gamba Roja de Dènia. This contest is held each March at the Municipal Market and draws a huge crowd.

This year's winner was Cristina Gómez, sous chef of Restaurante FIERRO in Valencia, which you should put on your dining list. The panel of judges was composed of food critics like Capel and noted chefs hailing from different parts of the country, including Dacosta himself.

So, I think that a trip downtown to Dènia from Valencia should be in your future. It's a wonderful dining town with much lauded restaurants such as El Faralló (the "temple" of the gamba roja de Dènia), the charming El Baret de Miquel, that requires reservations for the summer season months in advance (like La Castilleria), along with Peix I Brases with 2 Repsol suns and Michelin star. And Dènia is quite a pleasant coastal town in and of itself.

Maribel

The "tear peas" (guisantes lágrima) or "caviar verde" whether from the Basque Country (Getaria or Balmaseda) or those from Catalonia's Maresme (Llavaneras) should always be prepared with minimum intervention in the kitchen; they can be eaten raw but they're usually very lightly, quickly poached in an Iberian ham based broth, sometimes with a quail egg yolk on top.

The ones you enjoyed at NOOR, the "costa de navazo" ("sandy shore") ones came from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, I believe.

The season for the even more expensive (this year 480 euros/kilo) Basque tear peas is shorter, while the Maresme season (340 euros/kilo) can be longer. But If the weather is too hot, the season can last just 3 weeks, if cooler, a few weeks longer. I've had the latter as early as late February, but by late spring, they both disappear from high end restaurant menus. So diners seeking them in the spring should always ask if they're available.

La Catapa will only serve those from the Maresme 1) because of the high price and 2) because the Basque tear peas are snapped up immediately by the Basque 3-Michelin star chefs who have their own personal purveyors. And they're not available daily.
Since La Tasquita de Enfrente is one of the finest "restaurantes de producto-producto puro y duro", Bedamar's menu must change daily, depending on market availability. And he is a notorious stickler for detail, as you've noted!

Maribel

One amusing critique I read on Chowhound about a certain restaurant, ......., that didn't serve the "best" products, chiding said restaurant for not serving Basque tea peas but instead those "inferior" ones of the Maresme.

He enjoyed his Basque-sourced tear peas at Rodrigo de la Calle's El Invernadero ("Greenhouse") and did not equally enjoy those from the Maresme. Said poster said that he could certainly tell the difference!

Poster didn't realize that many, many highly regarded chefs choose the Maresme guisantes lágrima for their slightly lower price and their slightly increased Spring availability. They don't consider them inferior, as Bedamar knows well. And in Catalunya the Michelin-starred chefs almost exclusively choose those from Llavaneras, Maresme, because they pride themselves on showcasing the local product.

I don't know whether I could tell the difference in a blind taste test. It would be interesting to try. They're equally prized here.

ekscrunchy

Maribel I wish I could remember that CH reviewer. My guess is that he/she was not from the US..the person obviously knew something bout the peas, or thought they did...so could not be an American, I don't think.. Any hints from you? Its terrible that all that writing got lost when they folded.

This morning was to be a continuation of the TASQUITA commentary but now that I've read your last few posts (some of your best!!) I've gotten immersed in reading about Denia, and even Elche.


El Baret difficult to book??? Why would you ever think that?? I did (or tried to do) some sample bookings....no hope for a table for two until late August! So I've marked my calendar to try again in July. It seems the they book FOUR months out!! More difficult, even thanSacha and La Castilleria!!

Oh, yes, Acapulco was quite the place back then...before there was a Princess, before Pierre Marquez expanded, when Puerto Marques was a lovely quiet little cover with a few open air fish places to eat......we never stayed at Las Brisas but we must have visited a few times because I well remember those pink and white buggies, and the flowers in the private pools!!!!

One year a friend of a friend of a friend of my Dad's rented what to me looked like a movie star's house with columns rising up from the edge of the property overlooking the sea. I think it was called Villa Nirvana. They took me to a party there and you cannot even imagine how far my eyes were bugging out. To me, back then in the early 70s this seemed like the real "jet set," but now I do recall that there were things that were taking place there that were hidden from my eyes...




That city really took the plunge and now I wonder who their tourist base is made up of....budget domestic tourism, or charters from Canada? Ii wonder if putting in the road from DF helped or hurt the city? I think we were there long before that happened, although I did go back much later, in the late 80s, for a few nights and it surely was not the same, although th divers were still plunging off La Quebrada. But, I was driving through the old part of the city with a Mexican friend and, right in front of us, 2 men shot at each other right in front of. where we were stuck in traffic! I'd never seen that before--the silver tracings of the shots In the dark, before my friend pushed me down inside the car.....I'll never forget that..

Goodness I've veered from guisantes de lagrima to the fall of Acapulco! Will get back on track later today, as I will have time alone..

Maribel

Yes, here's your hint: The Chowhoud poster was/is Asian.

And yes, El Baret is as difficult or more to book than La Castilllería.

Here's my whole review from my Valencia-Dènia-Alicante. dining guide:

"This was the most eagerly anticipated food event of our recent trip, since it is one of the toughest reservations in Spain to book—3 months out in winter and at least 6 months out in summer. We booked online exactly three months ahead for our March 5 lunch and left a credit card deposit of €20/p, returnable if one cancels 24 hrs in advance.The owner/chef, Miquel Ruiz, abandoned his Michelin-starred restaurant (actually 2 of them) to open this small, unpretentious bar, “baret”, located on an unassuming narrow street in Dénia to present without pretensions his highly inventive tapas and small plates dishes, that change according to whatever is freshest at the market that day.

The small space has only 9 tables with mismatched chairs and a whimsical, “vintage” décor that displays the chef’s collection of sifones, some books, plants and miniature chairs. Several disappointed potential diners were turned away while we dined. There are also four bar stools but not set for dining that day. We were the only “tourists” in attendance pre-Fallas.

Miquel greets his diners at the door, his wife Puri Codes patiently explains the 7-10 daily specials, along with the 20 tapas items on the printed menu, and advises diners only to order four dishes (plus dessert), and the friendly son takes the orders. We immediately felt comfortable and “at home” with such lovely hosts.

We began with the complimentary aperitivo of homemade potato chips topped with a creamy cockle and lime sauce, then the chef’s famous patatas bravas: 15 roasted fingerling potatoes with skins intact, each topped with a stewed cherry tomato, bursting with flavor, and a black olive, sitting on a bed of ali oli and crushed corn nuts, then came two large, creamy, heavenly buñuelos de bacalo (cod fritters) on a bed of ñora pepper sauce and topped with ali oli, then berenjenas a la brasa, the tenderest of eggplant topped with honey, and finally a tuna tartar, tartar de bonito with leeks, all accompanied by a bottle of Finca Chardonnay. 90% of the wines on the short wine list are local.

Miquel’s reinterpreted tarta de manzana is legendary, looking nothing like an apple tart, made of two large slices of puff pastry filled with sliced raw apples, pastry cream and dulce de leche or vanilla ice cream, topped with honey. Despite its fame, we couldn’t manage dessert.

80 euros very well spent.

His other signature dishes include the brazo gitano of ensaladilla rusa, feeding four, (at least 1,000 calories per bite!), figatell de sepia (somewhere between a sausage and hamburger filled with squid), pastisset de hígado de pato and boniato (looks like an ice cream sandwich, made of duck liver and sweet potato, served between two cinnamon cookies), fesols i naps (local beans with turnips), sashimi de caballa (mackeral) with artichokes in 3 textures, caramelos de hueva de atún with caramelized hazelnuts (balls of tuna roewrapped in colored tin foil, like caramels, and served on a miniature clothes line). Bite into them and they burst with flavor!

No matter what you order, you look around at the other tables and feel that you’re missing something even greater!! This is an incredible gastronomic treat!

The wine list is quite modestly priced and features small, local producers only.

In the future Miquel hopes to open a non-reservations vermouth bar across the street.

You’ll find this amazing spot tucked away in the Casc Antic on an unprepossing street not far from the market. The restaurant boasts one Repsol sun.

Closed Sunday/Monday and the entire month of August, the height of high season!.

At Avenida de Burjassot 54."

Another sidetrack: Before we discovered The Cloister, we spent Christmas vacations in Manzanillo, Mexico at Las Hadas.

ekscrunchy

Maribel this is a wonderful encapsulation of what I was trying to get across: "restaurantes de producto-producto puro y duro".
What other restaurants come to your mind when you think of the term?

TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE (CONTINUED)

Now that I've described the restaurant and the style of putting product over all else, I'll get to my dinner that evening. Before I do, know that is located on a small nondescript street north of the Gran Via. If you walk past when the place is closed, you will see a dark wooden front slathered with ugly graffiti. Even when open for business, potential diners will find little to entice, except perhaps the array of Michelin and Repsol stickers pasted willy nilly on the glass panel of the door. You'd never guess what awaits behind that non-descript entrance. Another reviewer suggested the that stretch of street was a favored stroll for certain ladies of the night and if so, you might think it was kind of shady but not to worry. I saw no signs of that activity and even if I did, I would not be deterred, as I already knew what awaited inside.


My dinner on that Friday night:

1.Half order of canyuts, very similar to navajas (razor clams), canyuts come from the Ebro Delta in Catalunya, where salt and fresh waters "embrace." Canyuts are slightly smaller, more yellow, and with more intense flavor than the more common razor clams featured on many Spanish menus. 18 euro for media racion of some of the most delectable clams I've ever eaten..was money well spent....they had a pleasing, springy texture and a pure flavor of the sea. Absolutely marvelous; I was sorry I did not oder a full portion.

2. .A pair of Gambas Rojas de Garrucha (Almeria). Dusted with large flakes of sea salt and nothing else, these were also sublime. They are priced by the piece, which is usual in many Spanish restaurants (you can often order croquettes by the piece, oysters, of course, by the piece, etc). The prawns cost 17 euro each and they were quite large.

It is important to know that a "piece" is known as a "unidad" on Spanish menus, and is abbreviated "ud."

(Also crucial to understand is that menus in many finer seafood (and meat) restaurants tend to list prices fish, shellfish, and meat, especially beef, by weight. So you might see: "Rodaballo (turbot): Precio por kilo: 75euro" or "Chuleton de Vacuno Mayor 5-7 anon de edad: Precio por kilo: 72 euro." The latter states the age of this particular steak (5-7 yers old), and its price of 72 euro per kilo, or about 35 dollars per pound today, if my math is correct. So 72 euro per kilo might seem like an extraordinary price for steak; but put it in dollars. per pound and it sounds a lot more reasonable. (The meat will be weighed before grilling and trimming).

When you see food priced this way, you do not have to do any math to figure out how much to order. Often the waiter will ask you how hungry you are, and suggest a weight that will suit your appetite. Your waiter will often bring the raw meat, or fish, to your table and confer with you what size fish you prefer; or, you can look in the cold fish case and select your own sole, lobster, or Carabinero prawns, to be prepared in one of several different manners--grilled, baked in salt, sautéed, etc.

Back to my dinner:

3. My third course=a half racion of segments of cardoon, lightly cooked in almond milk and showered with bits of of black truffle. I had the same dish here last year and loved it; this time was no different and, as I mentioned before, the price was the same as it had been a year ago.

I always try to order whatever is in season; at a restaurant like this one, you have no other choice, because that is all that they serve. But it does help to read up on whatever foods will be at their peak during. your visit. We rarely see cardoons in US restaurants and they require a lot of work to prepare at home, so I like to sample them whenever I see them on menus.(I had them the previous night at LA CATAPA, with artichokes and ham). This is a signature dish of LA TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE. 34 euro for a racion; I had a media racion, priced at 17euro.

4. Guisantes del Maresme (half order). These are the absolutely out of this world peas, the "green pearls" which I discussed, above. Half order: 22 euro. To take the first bite of one of these tear-shaped nuggets is to understand why they are so coveted by Spanish chefs, and so expensive. Throw out any memories of any pens you have had in the past. These are peas to savor, in tiny bites, with your eyes firmly closed! Concentrate on the flavor, and on the snappy texture....heavenly!

One comment on pricing: Many restaurants will charge a bit more than half the price of a full order if you order only a half order. For example, a full order of a stew/guiso might cost 30 euro, but if you want only a half order, the price might be 18 euro, not the 15 you might expect. Conversely, LA TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE charges a half of the full price for a half order of a dish.

5. Chipiron de Potera. These are a variety of small squid that are taken from the sea in a painstaking "artisanal" manner that does not damage the animal. (Potera refers to this manner of fishing). I ordered, once again, a media racion, which afforded me two delicate and delicious chipirones, priced at 18 euro. The mode of catching them contributes to the high price.

I was thrilled by my meal and would have even had room for dessert; looking back, I wish I had sampled the panda cotta with Canadian honey.. My bill came to 118 euro including one glass of white wine and water. TASQUITA also offers a tasting menu for 110 euro. This address, which first came to attention in an article in the New York Times years ago, in which Food Writer Mark Bittman revealed a few of his favorite eating spots in Madrid. has solidified its place on my own "Madrid Essential Restaurants" list.

Here are some photos; note how the reviewer whose comments I linked above, must have thought he was being t taken for a ride, due to the spareness of most of the dishes.

ekscrunchy

A media ración of delectable canyuts from the Delta of the Ebro River, where fresh and salt waters mingle. Cousins to razor clams (navajas); these are smaller, more golden in color, and with a more intense flavor than the far more widely available razor claims known in Spain as "navajas;" translation: Knives.

Some foods taste a LOT better than they look and these canyuts are a great example. Just thinking of. them makes me want to cross the ocean and return to TASQUITA!

Pair of the coveted and rare Gambias Rojas from Garrucha, near Almeria, in Andalucia. Notice the hefty flakes of sea salt.

Lucious concoction of cardoons simmered in almond milk (fresh almond milk!) and showered with black truffles (they look like dark chocolate!)....light and lovely and supremely tasty.

Maribel

Hi eks,
What other restaurants that you haven't yet explored are restaurantes de producto, puro y duro?

In addition to the ones you know well, the cochinillo temples in Segovia, the lechazo temples in Pedraza, Campaspero and Roa, the buey temple of El Capricho in Jiménez de Jamuz in Leon,
you have the alubias temple (black or red Tolosa beans) of Frontón or Bodegas Hika in Tolosa and Villabona, Gipuzkoa, plus the txuleta pilgrimage restaurants in the Basque Country, many of which you already know, but I would add those in Orio for besugo (sea bream), such as Bodegas Katxiña, Asador Joxe Mari, Xixario and San Martin. The fishing village of Orio is the temple of sea bream, besugo. Our most memorable anniversary dinner was taken at Bodegas Katxiña, under the stars with gorgeous mountain views.

But there´s also very fine txuleta in Navarra. Our favorite is found in Lekunberri at Asador Epeleta and another at Arotxa in Legasa.

Lera in Castroverde de Campos also comes to mind, which does wonderful game dishes and is a temple or pilgrimage site for game lovers during the season.
Also Porrúe in Bilbao for impeccable grilled fish and Asador Horma Ondo in Larrabetzu, Bizkaia, where mikelg and I met José Andrés, whose txuleta is exemplary.
There´s also Asador Bédua for txuleta and tortilla outside of Zumaia, sitting on the river with a wonderful terrace, where a sequence of 7 Apellidos Vasco was filmed.
And in Benavente, Zamora, there´s El Ermitaño.

And I won't even get started here about the rice temples of the Comunitat Valencia, both in Valencia and Alicante provinces, Casa Elías El Xinorlet, for example.

eks, you need many more trips!

ekscrunchy

The following day I made the first of what were to become several attempts to purchase the cheesecake made by Alex Cordobes, darling of Madrid's cheesecake aficionados. After a short visit to the Mercado de la Paz, I walked a couple of blocks to his outpost next to the Bless Hotel. I was no less than a block away when I noticed the the line to purchase looked as if it contained about 30 determined amantes del tarta de queso. Waiting for a half an hour was not for me, so I made my way back towards the hotel, but not before stopping at one of my favorite food shops in Madrid: MANTQUERIAS BRAVO.. This winning space,, overflowing with the finest of Spanish foods and wines, has catered to the discerning residents of Salamanca for almost a century and remains family run and staffed with the most delightful and helpful personnel you could imagine.

Of course, I picked up a few tins of preserved fish, some vino de Jerez,and spent a long and pleasant time browsing. And then, I spied a few stacks of pressure-filled round tins inside a cold case. The name RIO FRIO began calling my name!!! I remembered Maribel and (I think) Revulgo singing the praises of the caviar farmed in Rio Frio, near Granada. If I was so far thwarted in my pursuit of cheesecake, caviar would certainly make a more than acceptable substitute, and what a wonderful snack for mom to enjoy in my hotel room during afternoon siesta hours! I selected a maroon-colored can of the smallest size available; I think this was 110 grams. (I can check, since I saved the tin to use, after a thorough washing, for storing something..I'm not sure what..maybe earrings????)

I took my purchases to the counter and, on a whim, I asked if they could be delivered to my hotel so I would not have to return there, carrying my purchases. "Well, of course, Señora!!"
My goodness, this reminded me of a couple of those very old time purveyors that serviced the carriage trade from Manhattan's Madison Avenue decades ago.
I paid, and went on my way...to peek into the Ritz Hotel, now the Mandarin Oriental (I described my visit there earlier.)

From there I walked to the MUSEO DE ARTES DECORATIVOS, a museum I'd always wanted to visit but somehow had never had the time.

I'll describe this in a minute, but I'll finish up with the conservas and the caviar by saying that when I finally returned to the ORFILA, a tidy carton was waiting in my room, with the caviar inside wrapped with ice packs and swaddled with bubble wrap. (I'll get back to my "caviar hour," later, but I think I ought to have bought some slices of good bread that I could slather with butter and pair with the caviar; and of course I did not have a mother of pearl spoon, so I had to make do with the little espresso spoon in my room!!) I'm afraid my caviar etiquette is a bit rusty. Or do you eat it straight from the can, as I ended up doing??

Maribel

Did the lovely Elena Bravo, perhaps, wait on you? Yes, this gorgeous store has very much catered to the carriage trade for many years and has impeccable service. I love it. I just hope it never gets sold, as has been sold the lovely Bombonería Santos on Serrano, as Revulgo just told me. So sad to see these beautiful, iconic places close.

Elena and the gourmet critic Rafael Ansón enjoyed some beluga caviar and Marqués de Riscal wine not long ago.
https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial...o-bra_3859313/

ekscrunchy

More photos of dinner TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE. (got distracted, forgot to add these in the section about the restaurant)

"GREEN PEARLS," half order of peas from the Maresme coast, just northeast of Barcelona.

Guisantes del Maresme; you can just spy the thinnest sheet of jamon Iberico laid over the vegetable. You can now see why these are called "green pearls."

Chipirones de Potera, from the Delta del Rio Ebro, in northeastern Spain. The salt flakes look like crystals and the shading conn these molluscs is worth of a painting. Nice melding of the mottled color of the porcelain with the chipirones.


Exterior of LA TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE, MADRID





MANTEQUERIA BRAVO on Calle Ayala, just west of Mercado de la Paz. (They close for lunch at 2:30pm, opening again a few hours later)

ekscrunchy

Maribel you are fabulous!

I'm afraid I made an error when we spoke about the RioFrio caviar and compared prices between ECI and M.Bravo. I would have sworn that the dark red round tin at M Bravo was marked 119. I just took out by envelope of receipts and see the I was charged 135 for it. I'm just so positive that it was priced lower; I did save the tin after I washed it and will be very curious if the price sticker is still on there. None of this is important now,, but I wanted to correct what I told you, that MB charged less than El Corte Ingles. Is it possible that the 135 represents the initial price of the item PLUS 10% marked on the invoice as "base" and PLUS another 21% at the bottom of the bill also marked "BASE??" Maybe that explains my confusion....





Yes, I need to delve much, much deeper into the Basque region and also Navarra. I've had very few chuletas, ever. And we never even made it to Tolosa cause it was pouring so hard on the market day we had planned to go...
And certainly, it's been far too long since I've been to Catalunya and even there, I have not seen much outside of Barcelona.
And I do know that this upcoming trip just skims the surface of Galicia.

Ok, I'm going to ask a few mismatched questions:

In and around Valencia, what are the names of some of the "rice temples," besides El Xinoret? I'm imagining they are not IN the city of Valencia...true?

You are driving me crazy trying to think of the CH guy...I'd love to read the comments bout the peas, so I can do some Googling later...

A waiter at the Orfila was a big fan of day trips from the city, and hs is very keen on the "black villages" net Guadalajara. I looked them up and the architecture is mesmerizing but the towns are partly abandoned...never seen this area mentioned here...should I look into this more?

Almeria, Murcia, Elche???? Three cities I've also yet to see discussed here.....I imagine if they were fascinating for one reason or another they would have already been written about.

I'll tell you what I DO see mentioned, though!!! When you take a look at the Spain forums on TA, it seems as if almost HALF of the queries are about BENIDORM!!!!! I passed through there once when I was in summer school in Valencia, 50 years ago, more or less....and even BACK THEN, all I remember is one seemingly endless block of high-rise towers along the beach.

I'm just rambling along here, so don't feel as if you need to touch all those questions!! If I didn't ask so many this report would have been finished last week!

Hasta la próxima!!!!!

Maribel

I'm going to give myself this book by Dacosta and Roca, all you need to know about the Gamba Roja-
https://www.casadellibro.com/libro-e...78993/13940316

Another hint: said poster remarked that he/she had had much better Moorish food in Morocco than at Noor. Did not like Noor. Para gustos...los colores.

The "temples" for rice, in addition to Xinorlet (since Paco Gandìa is now closed) aren't in the city of Valencia but in the countryside, both in Valencia and Alicante provinces and even Murcia. I'll make a list for you shortly.

Yes, the black villages are interesting but semi abandoned. Not many folks (young people especially) want to live in the pueblo anymore. No, don't look into them. We stopped by recently in some of the "red villages" of Segovia (eastern side), and during the winter, these are very, very sleepy places.

Benidorm----I stay far clear of it. Couldn't pay me to spend a vacation there. We did have to drive by it on our way to Alicante Ciudad, and to my eyes it's a monstrosity of high rises. But that's just me. "Beni" does have a huge following on the Spain TA forum. Again, para gustos...los colores.

My sister-in-law lives in Almería Ciudad, and I´ve visited but just once. It's an interesting city but not a top tier destination for me. I'm not really attracted to desert scapes, but it does have some beautiful, unspoilt beaches around Cabo de Gata, but I prefer the Costa de la Luz, like you.

Tim_and_Jenni

People say that a good journey prolongs life. Travel more often 😊