Plambers: With pleasure, here are the links.

I look forward to many discussions about food in Madrid!

http://maribelsguides.com/mg_madriddining.pdf


http://maribelsguides.com/mg_madrid-06-09.pdf

Also, see if you can get your hands on Penelope Casas' book, Discovering Spain.

http://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Sp.../dp/0679765697

Thanks for the report. Does the Ritz still employ those pimply-faced kids in "doorman" uniforms to try to intimidate people deemed to be less than desirable from walking into the lobby?

Your trip sounded wonderful ekscrunchy!

I'll be in Barcelona and Granada next month. We'll be staying at the Casa Morisca. What three absolutely must hit food destinations in Granada (could be bfast / lunch / dinner) would you recommend?

Thanks!

Dukey: I think one of them did have pimples, come to think of it!! But they were really friendly--just kids like you said!

Not like the (clear-skinned) doorman at the Hassler who sneered at me when I tried to peek into the lobby. I think it was cause I was carrying a bag filled with blood oranges.
(Back in the days when I traveled with my own electric juicer, but you do not want to hear about that!)




JP: Breakfast: Lopez Mesquita
Lunch/Dinner if you like seafood: Cunini or Oliver, for either tapas or a sit-down dinner.

Anytime: Any bar with hanging ham, so you can sample jamon Iberico. There is one on Plaza Nueva that our guide recommended...on the Alhambra side of the plaza, not the Albaicin side. A more elegant place would be Puerta del Carmen.


But I was only there for 3 nights so am hardly the expert!

Here is the last bit:

About 7:30, we returned to the Bodegas Castaneda because my partner had been so enamored of their paella tapa in the afternoon. We were hoping that they would offer a tapa of migas, which our guide, Juan, had recommended. Having first sampled migas in Extremadura several years before, we are big fans of this dish, which is often derided as just “bread crumbs,” but in actuality is so much more. I even make a migas-inspired dish at home that is always well received. This is really not migas, but it is vaguely inspired by migas; I use kale instead of spinach. We eat this as a main course; take care not to let the breadcrumbs burn when the pan is under the broiler! I speak from experience!



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/di...r=1&ref=dining


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/dining/24minirex.html






We arrived at Bodegas Castaneda to find the bar in full swing, even at that early hour. So keep this in mind if you want to eat unfashionably early, as we do! Unfortuntely, there were no free migas tapas on that evening. They presented us, instead, with a tapa of mussels topped by a chopped salad, with olives in the side. Tasty enough. We also ordered a racion of croquetas, along with one fino sherry and one small beer, or “cana,” with tilde over the “n.” The cana seems to be the most popular bar drink in these parts, but there are giant barrels of sherry, various wines, and vermouth piled behind the bar, in addition to a full bar menu. Bar-goers stand under a row of hanging hams, each with a little red plastic cup attached to catch the dripping fat. Atmospheric to the n-th degree!

About 8:15, we moved on to Cunini on Plaza de Pescaderia, next to Restaurant Oliver. Oliver opens for tapas at 8pm and Cunini at 8:30, so we were among the first to enter the bar area, but the room was filled when we departed an hour later. Cunini is famed for seafood and I was sorry we did not have time to have a full meal here because the seafood I had at the bar was superb. They offered a generously sized and delicious tapa of Merluza en Salsa de Cebolla, or hake in onion sauce. I followed this with a half racion of grilled chopitos. These are baby squid, known as choquitos in other regions of the country, and they were scrumptious, grilled with olive oil, garlic and parsley. If you want to eat seafood, this place, along with its neighbor Oliver, are clearly the places to visit.

After these two tapas stops, we were sated, so we decided to call it an evening. But before heading to the hotel, we stopped at Pasterleria Olympica, near our hotel on Gran Via (Pasteleria Lopen Mesquita was already closed) for a few roscos, a light pastry made with egg whites.


The next morning, we headed out for an early breakfast. Our favorite, Lopez Mesquita, does not open until 10am on Sundays, so we took a table at Pasterleria Olympica and had a combination breakfast that included fresh orange juice, eggs and bacon, and coffee. It was all right, but not inexpensive. There is at least one other cafe-type place on this stretch of Gran Via.

I like several cups of coffee in the morning, which can add up outside a hotel where you are charged for each cup. (I can drink four cups at breakfast time at home) For my second cup here, I ordered a coffee drink served in a glass that I noticed at a neighboring table. I asked the waiter for the name but did not write it down; I believe it is known as a “manchado,” and it is coffee with lots of milk served in a tall glass. Stupendous! This will be my new favorite coffee drink in Spain. I hope someone here who is Spanish can tell me if this is, indeed, the name of the coffee preparation, and if this is the same name that is used in other cities..

We had originally planned to taxi to the airport in time for our flight to Madrid at 1:30pm. But when we discovered that the airport bus stopped on Gran Via, just a couple of blocks south of the AC Santa Paula, we opted for that alternative, which cost 3 euro per person. (Buy the ticket from the driver.) The buses leave every hour on the hour.

But before we left town, I did make a quick trip to Lopez Mesquita for our airplane meal: Two hefty slices of Pastel Moruna and two equally large slices of Pastel Santiago. They wrapped these for me with meticulous care, in a box neatly tied with string. Lovely products, lovely service. Thank you to Maribel for recommending this bakery.

The airport bus arrived promptly on time; the ride took about 45 minutes since there was no traffic on this Sunday morning. A word of caution: Suitcases are stored beneath the bus; keep en eye on the luggage compartment at all of the bus stops while you are inside the bus.

We arrived at the small and pleasant Granada airport with lots of time to spare; for those without their own food, there is a cafeteria with a wide range of hot and cold dishes, snacks and drinks inside the terminal. The flight back to Madrid, and the connecting flight on to New York, on Iberia was just fine (food not good; no tv at the seats but that did not bother me much, as we had food and books) and we arrived home with luscious memories and a desire to return someday very soon!

yep, that's the thing about Spain huh? it leaves one with the desire to return....again and again. great report! thanks so much :)

I really enjoyed your report, and I love your travel-style. Thanks for all of the wonderful details!

delicious report, eks! We just returned from 3 weeks in Madrid/Seville/Granada and loved re-living the trip through your report.

Was the coffee-in-a-glass drink perhaps a "cortado?" That was always my coffee drink of choice - about half coffee/half hot milk.

oops - that would be a cafe con leche. A cortado is what my husband ordered - mostly coffee with a "drop" of milk.

Thanks, everyone!

Linda: Many thanks! The name of the coffee drink definitely began with an "M." (Although I cannot tell you how many times I've insisted that a certain word began with a certain letter, only to be dead wrong!) But I am almost sure it was an "M." For certain, NOT a cortado, at least in that restaurant..

But I suspect that these drinks have different names in different cities.... It had lots of milk and was served in a glass....

Hola Eks! Tagging for wishful reading later...

The Café Central of Málaga is the creator of a unique way of ordering coffee that characterizes the people of Malaga, which has become so popular, that it has spread throughout the region.
http://www.cafecentralmalaga.com/

'nube' (cloud) aka 'manchado' (stained) in Granada and Madrid.

Hola Marigross! I still remember your wonderful northern Spain report!

Revulgo: This is a GREAT link! Very helpful.

One more question, though: What are the "nubes:" called in Valencia and Barcelona?

eks,
nubes are clouds :-)
I really don't know. If coffee, manchado? If candy, jelly balls?

Soooo, ekscrunchy, did you think the Conquest of Water tour duplicated what you had seen/heard earlier during your audio tour of the Alhambra? We have our Alhambra tix already but are considering adding the Conquest of Water tour for the next day. We are going in November.

BTW, we are also staying at the AC Palacio Santa Paula. Got a good rate for the room for two nights- euro 118 each night and are using Marriott points for the third night. DH has platinum status at Marriott so we may get a room upgrade, and we do get free breakfast and included internet. It didn't look like we could do much better at some of the other area hotels.

Hello, Happy!

I am sitting in a hotel in Maratea, Italy right now, using their computer after days of being off line. So noticed your question. The Conquest of Water tour does not replicate the audio guide at all. We were the only ones on the tour, so we veered off the topic often. The actual, planned lecture is very detailed and might even be too detailed for some visitors. It is fascianting but if you have the luck to have the guide to yourselves, you can really discuss anything you like, as we did (in my case, we talked a lot about olive oil!)

So I would certainly recommend, provided you have a keen interest. I gather that the tours are not well subscribed, so the chance of having the guide alone is probably pretty good. No duplication at all.

Hope this answer makes sense..I will check in again to see if you ahve more questions. I hope you find GRanada as magical as we did.

a nube may be a cortado if what you are getting is an expresso with a large or small dash of milk. sorry for my tardy reply!

ttt

Thanks eks! My timing was very good. Thanks so much for taking time away from your current trip to respond to me, it is most appreciated.

My DH would really be into that tour. He loves the mechanics of things and watches "How It's Made" without fail. :)