Meson de Candido menu
 

I will be in Segovia in September and would like to have lunch at Meson de Candido. I tried unsuccessfully to view the menu on their website. Apparently there is a compatability issue with my computer and the menu will not open. Is anyone aware of another website that I can see the menu on? Thanks

Perhaps you should try a different search engine. If you follow the link below (on google) it ask you to download the document in word but you can just click on open instead.

There are no prices and it seem the same menu for lunch and dinner - or perhaps they only serve dinner.

http://www.mesondecandido.es/ingles.html

Is there anything else but the suckling pig to order there? ;-)

I'm so looking forward to my meal there!!!

LOL, joannyc beat me to it! Enjoy!

njtraveler - When I saw your response I tried opening the menu on my husband's computer instead of my son's and voila! I guess he has a different version of Word. Thanks

joannyc - I can't wait to eat there

When in September will you be there?

I plan on being in Segovia from Sept 30 for 2 nights.

In Spain a chef shows that he prepared the pig correctly by taking a dinner plate and using the edge to cut the roasted pig into large chunks.

Aduchamp1, is it also a tradition to shatter the plate on the floor or is this a Meson de Candido thing?

I do not remember the shattering of the plate, so maybe it is Candido thing. But maybe some of the Spaniards can weigh in.

They are open for lunch and dinner, as I remember.

You might also consider Restaurant Jose Maria.

At either of these, you should reserve in advance:

http://www.rtejosemaria.com/

Susan:

Cannot help you about Casa Cándido; but we were with at Jose María for lunch in 2011, nothing short than excellent; we choosse all over a great list, with all kind of dishes, from great salads to (of course) "cochinillo".
you will enjoy Segovia, no doubts..

joannyc - I will be there on Sept

I was also considering Jose Maria but my son is sold on the thought of dining with a view of the Aquaduct

ekscrunchy - thanks, I already requested a reservation

joannyc - September 15

There is a town near Segoiva that is also known for their tostón or cochinillo and that is Arevalo.

http://www.spain.info/en_US/ven/otro...s/arevalo.html

Hmmmm.... Jose Maria ranks #2 on TripAdvisor while Candido ranks #15!

Maybe the Aqueduct view isn't worth it?

Joan

Half the people who rate the NY restaurants on Trip Advisor do not know of whence they speak, especially when it comes to ethnic food. They mention places that are in tourist areas, in some guide book or another, or well-known. Yes, they have worthwhile places but they are often next places, you would not send the cousin you hate.

Jose Maria is well known so I am sure that is why he garners more votes. It could be his restaurant is better, but then again who wants to argue with such a famous cook when they do not know Spanish food in the first place. Think of the herd mentality, or in this case oink, oink.

I had a lunch at Jose Maria in March. It was not a peak season and I got a table without reservation by getting in right at the opening time. I too went through Candido vs. Jose Maria decision. The people at Jose Maria seemed to be mostly locals. Business associates entertaining out of town guests, families celebrating some milestones, and a sprinkle of tourists. They do offer many non pork dishes. They waited until there were enough orders to bring out a whole Cochinillo, sliced it with a plate and distributed pieces to various tables. You must have a camera ready if you want to take a picture, because they do it so quickly.

I know you didn't ask, but here is the excerpt from my trip report, with the dinner at Jose Maria:


<Jose Maria is my kind of restaurant. Cozy, with professional service yet not in the least bit pretentious..the restaurant encloses a series of dining rooms with white plaster walls and lots of red brick. This is the one place that we saw quite a few fellow Americans, probably because we were eating so early at 9pm when the restaurant had just opened for dinner.

For some reason, here and at most of the other places we ate that week, most tables seemed to be drinking Marques de Caceres Rioja. We had the house wine which proved to be the ideal choice, as Jose Maria has been well-known in the world of Spanish wine since he represented Spain in a world sommelier's contest in the early 70s and is currently the proprietor of his own vineyards in nearby Ribera del Duero, Finca y Bodega del Pago de Carraovejas.


We began with white asparagus served cold with a red pepper viniagrette. This will sound sacreligious, but I am a big fan of canned white asparagus from Navarra, which I buy in rather large quantites to take home with me. I began with one of the house specialties, Ensalada de Perdiz y Gallo Iberico escabechado con Foie Fresco y Endibias.

The cordero asado here must be ordered by two persons and, knowing that we would be on the lechazo trail the next day, my partner ordered the famous suckling pig, whose adorable relatives are featured on the menu cuddled up in Jose Maria's arms. The pig is no more than 3 weeks old and weighs a maximum of 4.5 kilos. This tiny animal is served with fabulous roasted potatoes. The meat is incredibly tender and the skin is so scrumptiously crispy that it is truly a wonder. The skin is so very crunchy that a large portion, including the tiny ear, actually bounced off the plate and onto the floor (boohoo) when we cut into it! Never mind.....we completely demolished the entire portion.

Not able to wait a minute longer for my lamb, I ordered the baby lamb chops which proved to be the tiniest versions I had ever seen..the eye portion was not much larger than the face of my watch. Again, accompanied by fantastic roasted potatoes. Now I love my greens, but I must say I did not miss them one bit here...this is meat for meat connoisseurs and salad or vegetables would just occupy space that could be filled by more meat!

And for dessert, the sweet that is now competing with Pastel Vasco in my affections. Ponche Segoviano, is a confection of custard, marzipan (ooops, forgot about that delight in my list of top sweets) and liqueur oozing through layers of light yellow cake. I am sure Claire or Maribel will be able to provide a more accurate description..all I can say now is WOW.

Dinner at Jose Maria was wonderful, but not nearly as wonderful as the meals that awaited us the next two days when we left Segovia and began our journey into the Segovian hinterlands in search of Roast Suckling Lamb. The meal for the two of us, including water, the Tinto "Autor" Jose Maria, and a second dessert of ice creams, cost 96 E. with tax. (The cochinillo is priced at 19.95; the lamb chops at 18.50.)>


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-segovia.cfm

Aduchamp1 - there are so many towns that must be well worth visiting. Travelling is wonderful!

ekscrunsky - your meal sounded delicious! I have read many of your trip reports, my mouth watered many times. As a matter of fact I have your thread that compiled your eating experiences written down in my notes to go over again so I can list restaurants.

Everyone is making me hungry!

Well, it seems that I'm just going to have to try both of them! :-)

I have a question re the cochinillo. At 4.5 kilos, that is not a whole lot of meat considering the bones and the un eatable parts. The meal for 2 incl. dessert was 96 euros, fair. Now according to another post a bigger cochinilo was brought out and divided with the use of a plate to show its ternderness(no use of knife), (the same is done in Hawaii), they just use the bone from the hip, and the meat is divided to the table.. But who gets what? The table with ham gets more meat than the ribs, etc. I a sure the locals get the best serving. I would rather get the whole smaller 4.5 kg for my family than a small serving. I think you are referring to large tour group of 50 people whole divide a whole pig. I am missing something? I have roasted plenty of larger pigs (75 lbs) and know the difference in the type of meat.

In Spain they serve the head. The cheeks are delicious.

Some places ask which parts you want and do not serve the entire pig.

The pigs are a maximum of 4.5 kilos before cooking, but often smaller. They lose much of that weight when cooked. Two people are usually served the entire pig including the head; discounting the bones, there is still plenty of meat.

The front windows of Jose Maria and other local eateries often showcase some of the items on offer, including the whole pigs. They are quite small.


Like this:

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/med...g-1335-jpg.jpg

Last week I was in Puerto Rico (San Juan and the island's capital of roast pig, Guavate) where I consumed quite a bit of lechon asado, much larger animals laced with spices and roasted outdoors on a spit.

One of the cooks there told me that the pigs weigh in about 90 pounds raw, and about 60 pounds or so after cooking. So that is the kind of pig that could feed lots of people--a tour group or, in my case, guests at a large party. And those are the pigs that have parts that are far superior to others in terms of texture and flavor and fat content.

But the pigs in Segovia are a different breed and a fraction of the size of those larger animals, and the taste is quite different. Remember that they are "suckling" pigs, with all that that word implies.

In any case, they are all delicious!

After my post I figured out something. The wife and I plan to travel alone,not in a group, so how , what and when we eat is our choice. We don't have to told what to do which is what would have happen if we were in a group.

I conducted an image search and could only come up with this 2010 photo of their menu: http://www.vicenteherrero.es/wp-cont...1/DSC01277.jpg

I can also highly recommend Mesón Duque, Calle de Cervantes, 12, is on the path from the Aqueduct to the Plaza Mayor: web: http://www.restauranteduque.es

It's nearly as famous and nearly as old, too, for their suckling pig and lamb. We tend to go there as it's a bit less touristy (as it's not alongside the aqueduct). There, the "Menú Típico Segoviano" costs 30 Euros per person. Had lunch there last Sunday. For the first course, I had the "judeones" - big, fat white beans and chorizo+morcilla. For the second course I had the "cochinillo" suckling pig. House wine and dessert was included. The place is just beautiful, too, and the wait staff is Spanish, mature, and professional.

Saludos, MadridMan - an American in Madrid - @ you-know-where!