Recently in Food Category

Today, 15 May, is Madrid's Patron Saint's Day, San Isidro el Labrador. And, as every year, the city of Madrid organizes events and entertainment for a 3-day span. This year the festival fell over a weekend. And even more luckily, it was a nice, cool day, unlike the very hot holidays of years past.

The Gran Vía was closed to traffic all day today to celebrate the boulevard's 100 Year Anniversary. That's cool, but it doesn't have anything (or much) to do with San Isidro but at least they took advantage of the opportunity to provide several venues promoting the Patron Saint's Day with typical, historical dances and concerts. I avoided this shoulder-to-shoulder area in favor of the more authentic experience in the "Pradera de San Isidro".

It is of the "Pradera de San Isidro", just across the Rio Manzanares from the Club Atlético de Madrid team's Estadio de Vicente Calderon stadium, where painter Francisco de Goya painted Madrid's (then, 1788) skyline - entitled "La pradera de San Isidro".

And it was in this park where I spent part of the morning and another part of the afternoon. As mentioned above, the weather participated wonderfully, being only partly cloudy, cool throughout the day, and worthy of a light jacket and comfortable shoes.

This year, I chose not to wait in the long line to enter the "Ermita del Santo" nor the longer line to drink the waters - which have "healing powers" - from the spring alongside the chapel. Instead, I enjoyed the performances offered by the "Castiza" dance groups, all dressed as "chulapas" and "chulapos", and dancing "El Chotis" and other traditional dances from Madrid, Spain.

More parents dress their small children as those "chulapas" and "chulapos" than do the parents themselves but sometimes you have entire families all dressed up in their cute dresses and carnations in their handkerchief-covered hair or checkered vests and caps along with carnations in their button-holes. The kids are adorable all dressed in traditional costume.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of people were  attending the mass today at noon but I found a path along behind them to get to the uphill food-court. At first glance it looks like any county or state fair in the United States complete with cheesy games-of-chance.

But further up you have one food-stand after another, covered terraces, and some of the largest paellas you've seen in your lives. They had EVERYTHING, from patatas bravas, chopitos, chorizos, calamares,  gallinejas, sandwiches, and lots of tinto de verano and beer.

And let's not forget the "Rosquillas", las tontas y las listas, which are like doughnuts with different sweet toppings. You can't pass up buying a dozen or two. I love "las listas".

There's also a large amusement park at the top of the "Pradera". I went one time and walked around but wasn't much interested in the rides at my age.

And although I won't attend, they have concerts throughout the night in the "Pradera" and a fireworks display at the end of the fiesta. I'm fortunate to have the park about 20 minutes walk away from me so seeing the fireworks is easy from the rooftop terrace.

Who attends the fair in the Pradera de San Isidro? Some may say only "nationalists". Others say only low-class people. And still others say that more foreigners attend than Spaniards. I'd say they're all wrong. The fair is not only an event to reflect on Madrid's past but also to embrace the present - not to mention an opportunity to keep us in touch with its historical dances and songs. This is never a bad thing. I love the fair, the dances, the food, the costumes, and seeing so many people happy together. Can't wait 'til next year.

What a wonderful Monday evening I had last night in old downtown Madrid. About 2 weeks ago I get this email from a couple of Americans with the subject line, "Show us the ropes for free tapas and drinks?" Talk about intriguing! Of course, I opened it immediately.

Turns out they were a 30-something couple of New Englanders living in Kentucky and working a cattle ranch - but both had other day-jobs. They were such a beautiful couple, pleasant, funny, educated and open minded. The 5.5 hours we spent together on our Tapas Crawl in Madrid went by all-too quickly.

We'd arranged to meet at their hotel near Puerta del Sol at 7pm - an EARLY HOUR to start a tapas crawl in Madridl! But it was also a Monday and I assumed they'd want to make it an early evening as they'd just flown in to Madrid the morning before and would be tired. Man, was I wrong. They were READY TO GO!!

We walked toward the Museo del Jamón on Calle de Victoria and Carrera de San Jeronimo, thinking that might be our first stop but they'd told me they'd been there earlier in the day for a sandwich of jamón serrano. Hmmm... What if they'd visited the next Madrid tapas bars already as well?

The truth is, I'd spent the previous week somewhat stressed about this tapas crawl, deciding where to take them and memorizing the path, wanting to give them a good tapas experience in Madrid. Afterall, this was their first visit to Spain and, well, let's be honest, it's the least I could do as they were paying my way through the evening!

We continued up hill on Calle de Victoria, making our first stop of the evening at the La Casa del Abuelo on the corner of Calle de Victoria and Calle de la Cruz, where we enjoyed their typical "gambas al ajillo" (shrimp sautéed in garlic with a spicy pepper) along with drinks. Here, we men had a caña (a small glass of beer) while the lady chose a glass of Spanish wine, a slightly sweet red house wine which she liked. Here is where we started getting to know each other and discussing Spain and its customs. One topic of interest to them was the custom of throwing the napkins and shrimp shells on the floor - and this place, as well as the Museo del Jamón, is well known for the practice.

Next, we went through the Plaza de Santa Ana to the Calle de Huertas where I took them by a beautiful, historical bar, Casa Alberto, which we found closed on Mondays. I was afraid of this. Earlier, on my way to the American couples' hotel, I zig-zagged my way through Madrid and found a number of other tapas bars closed on Mondays and wondered feared we might encounter more of the same on our tapas crawl.

So we backtracked to our next stop, the Vinoteca Barbechera, on the southeastern corner of the Plaza de Santa Ana. We took a barrel table and stools near the door but there were few people in the establishment. Here, we three ordered a glass of the Ribera del Duero red wine, the recommendation of the waiter. We also ordered a two items from the menu; the morcilla and roasted apple on toast as well as the octopus and potato on toast. Both were good and we shared them while getting more into Spain and what to expect on their travels.

Crossing the street, we went to the Cervecería Alemana, on the south side of the Plaza de Santa Ana. It's a historic bar, in all the guide books, and made even more famous as being one of the places Ernest Hemingway visited most when he lived in Madrid in the 1920s, 1930s, and again in the 1950s. Here, we took a marble-top, wrought iron leg table in the front part of the bar and ordered, again, beer for the men and red wine for the lady, along with a plate of 6 ham croquets and another plate of 1 piece of fried cod. It was all good and we were already starting to fill up but time was passing and we were enjoying ourselves. The all-Spanish waiters worked busily around us as we talked.

Moving on...

They hadn't yet visited Plaza Mayor so I decided to take them through the rainy plaza to the tiny Torre de Oro - Bar Andaluz, a bullfight-inspired bar with walls covered with 6 stuffed bull-heads and accompanying plaques which describe the bull and the bullfighter which killed him. Also adorning the walls are hundreds of photos of bullfighters in action, photos of bullfighters being gored, surgery photos, and photos of famous people who've visited the bar. The wait staff is totally Spanish but their basic English is good enough for those whom don't speak the local language. Here, we simply had a glass of beer (for the men) and wine (for the lady) along with a plate of olives while we discussed bullfighting, its culture, popularity, and history in Spain. They really loved the olives and recounted a story where earlier that day a waiter gifted them a bottle of Spanish olive oil after they commented on how much they liked it. What a nice detail! Who says waiters in Spain are rude!?

By now it was surely 10:30pm but I didn't want to take them back to their hotel until we visited MadridMan's favorite bar in Madrid; Bar Postas on the Calle Postas, just one angular block northeast from the Plaza Mayor. So that's where we went. Still raining, we reached Bar Postas where we found only a handful of Spaniards enjoying some tapas, drinks, and lively conversation and we were there to enjoy the same.

Bar Postas is one of those old fashioned bars, probably been there in one form or another for 100 years but it looks like one which hasn't been renovated since the 1960s or 1970s. It's kind of old fashioned, kitsch, and definitely not "tourist friendly" in that there are only a few stools along the wall, its small-ish, its VERY Spanish in clientèle and wait staff, and the photos of plates of "exotic" food on the walls doesn't really give the average tourist a warm-fuzzy feeling. Why do I like it? Mainly for the reasons I've just given. It's VERY Spanish. You sometimes get tourists brave enough to enter but those eating here are usually those-in-the-know. Bar Postas is best known not only for their good prices but also their delicious "bocadillos de calamares" (fried squid sandwiches) and their "chopitos" (fried baby squids). It was the latter, the "chopitos" which we ordered along with a place of manchego cheese. We finished most of both, along with our beer/wine, as the wait staff pulled down the metal shutters with a startling roar, giving obvious notice to those still eating that they were ready to close as soon as the last guest left. So we did.

We walked through the Puerta del Sol and I explained a little about the Kilometro Zero placque and the Oso y el Madroño statue - Madrid's city symbol. We were all full but they agreed to my suggestion of going to just one more place for a final drink - but no food.

We found ourselves, mostly by chance, at the Café del Príncipe, a historic bar-restaurant on the southern side of the Plaza de Canalejas. Here, we had our last drinks and a plate of nuts at our window-side table. There weren't many people at this hour on a Monday night, and apparently we shut them down as they close at midnight, but since bars never ask you to leave we were comfortable to spend our last hour together quite leisurely. After much persuasion they let me pay for this round as a very small token of my thanks for a wonderful evening of tapas and wine in Madrid.

I walked them back to their hotel in the rain where we said our goodbyes at about 12:30am. It was so nice to meet them and we had a lot in common so conversation was never stagnant. Their adventurous spirits in trying new and exotic Spanish foods undoubtedly enhanced their Spanish experience. A fast calculation revealed we each had 6 drinks and shared 8 tapas/raciones at 6 different bars over 5.5 hours. NONE of us felt the affects of the alcohol after so much food, walking, and time. Better.

It was nearly the perfect evening. Even the rain didn't seem to matter. The bars were more than half-empty on this Monday night.

Thank you, M and P! And happy wedding anniversary!

I'm a little sad. Today is their last day. My favorite neighborhood bar, Restaurante Las Damas on Calle Fortuna, 5, in Madrid, the one where I have lunch once a week, has sold to foreigners. WHY to foreigners? Because the bar's owners have been wanting to retire for years and, until now, there have been no buyers in these difficult economic times.

I've only been going since discovering it just one year ago but it has become like my home away from home, where every time I walk through the door María and Daniel look up from what they're doing, smile widely, and greet me warmly as if I'm their son coming home from college - albeit without the hug.

So after 32 years of serving weekday breakfasts, lunches, and tapas until 6pm in this humble, blue-collar neighborhood, the married couple, both in their 60s, have sold their businesses and will soon be enjoying retirement away from the bar. They won't be going TOO far away, however, because they live in the same streets as the bar and have no plans to move to "el pueblo" to live out their "Golden Years".

Fewer and fewer Spaniards are taking on jobs as new bar and restaurant owners or even workers, not to mention stores of any kind. This is true particularly in working class neighborhoods where the numbers of foreigners is beginning to overcome the number of Spaniards. Spaniards are more frequently moving to the suburbs and villages outside of the City of Madrid.

Who are the new owners of Restaurante Las Damas? They're a pair of men originating from Ecuador, one of which has been working off and on in the restaurant's kitchen for the past 20 years, I was told by María just yesterday as we were chatting about the future of the bar, possibly trying to calm my nerves about HOW the bar may change. And change it will, she said, but the food won't.

The bar-restaurant will close for a short period of time in order to make renovations and modernizations. This, deep in my heart, is both good and bad to me. One of the grandest elements of this place is its kitsch-ness, hole-in-the-wall charm with worn floor tiles, poorly hung pieces of "art" on its walls, outdated toilets, and hand-written menus stuck in plastic sleeves.

At least as long as I've been going, without fail, I always see the same people day after day, everyone usually seated at the same tables. I usually only go on Thursdays but have visited on other days of the week as well. The clients are like family to María, the short, stout, and "blond" waitress/wife, who is the friendliest waitress I've ever encountered. She takes and brings the orders, makes commentary about the food (although everyone seems to know the multi-item daily menus by heart), asks about family, and chats about current events.

The lunch regulars include a table of two old ladies, one of whom proudly wears her dated and somewhat disheveled fur coat on winter days. Her companion, equally as old, seems to suffer from Parkinson's disease but her quivering voice doesn't force her to quiet its loudness - I can hear every word from 5 tables away. It was this same woman whom just yesterday spilled some water on the floor, got up and went to the bathroom, and returned with the mop to clean it up. Everyone joked about how she should be paid for "working" or at least get a free meal and she simply said, "No pasa nada", "No big deal."

Another couple of men, also both retired, meet there every day and chat about politics, a little about sports, and whatever's going on in the world. They sit at the table next to me and I sometimes like to eavesdrop on their opinions of American politics.

There are more regulars, somewhat less colorful, but include a couple mechanics, some kind of middle-aged office worker, and a old man which does nothing more than occupy one of the eight tables with his glass of water in a beer mug. He likes to talk a lot with the other tables. I always sit at the same table, near the entrance to the bar section as the "comedor" (dining room) is in the back of the bar-restaurant. Upon entering and leaving, everyone greets everyone else with a smile and a "Buenas tardes. Que aproveche," which means, "Good afternoon. Enjoy your meal." Isn't that nice?!?! We don't have such a friendly custom in the USA. Too bad.

Daniel Gil, owner with his wife-waitress María, is also the cook and works behind the bar. He's of average height and weight, bald, and has a genuine human quality about him, not worn-out or overworked as are lot of people his age in the restaurant business. I guess some people are just like that inherently. He always has a kind word and a smile, taking a moment to chat as you pay, never rushed, never distracted by the bar's activity to be "with you" for those 45 seconds. That means a lot to customers.

María was telling me yesterday about the interview done and subsequent article written about the bar by El Mundo newspaper (see photo/article below) in 2008. TeleMadrid saw the article and came to interview them on television too. They were so proud - and have reason to be.

Restaurante-Bar Las Damas has the best and the cheapest "Menú del Día", just 6 Euros for the complete meal of the first course, second course, side salad, bread, red table wine and accompanying carbonated Casera water, seasonal fruit and home made desserts, and coffee at the end. How do they do it???!! ONLY 6 Euros! I know I sound cheap but when you weigh the quality-price ratio you really cannot beat that.

Every day the "Menú del Día" varies but you find the same "standards" throughout the week. There are typically 6 items to choose from for the first course and 6 for the second course but these items change from day to day. For example, paella is always served as one of the available first course items on Thursdays. They have light meal selections as well as "hungry man" meal selections. I most often choose their "Sopa Castellana" (hot bread soup with egg) for the first course and, yes, most often, something "manly" for the second course. Yesterday I had the steak and potatoes with grilled green peppers but today for the second course I ordered the 2 fried eggs, fried potatoes, and grilled green peppers with 6 "croquetas de jamón". Mmm.. Mmm... MMMM!!! Good Gravy!! Man-oh-man do you eat well there WITHOUT FAIL.

Their statement has always been, "Comida Casera de Mercado" which means, "Homemade food from the market." What market, you ask? The Mercado Jesuitas, just around the corner from the bar. The meats, fish, eggs, fruits, and nearly everything is bought at the market.

Again, the food is top quality, or at least the top quality available from the working-class neighborhood's market which, I'd guess, is typical/average quality. Daniel, the cook, really is a master at cooking the basics, always nicely salted (but not over-salted) are those delicious fried potatoes, steaks, and grilled chicken. Really, it's like eating at your grandmother's house in Kentucky (or Southern Ohio in my case). And the desserts are always homemade too. My favorite is the "pudín" - which is nothing like "pudding", but more like a pie. Theirs has a healthy dose of orange-peel with a coffee flavor. To look behind the curtain to the broom-closet-sized kitchen (see photo of Daniel cooking in article below) you'd wonder how anyone could cook for more than one person, let alone for 8 tables!, but Daniel does it masterfully. Or rather, he DID IT masterfully - since today's his last day.

I'm tempted to simply end this article here, leaving "the old" behind, carefully encapsulated in the blog's archive and not taint it with "the new" of what-will-be after the new owners take over and change things. Suffice it to say that Juan Carlos, the new owner from Ecuador, the one who has been making much the food I've been eating (when Daniel's not available) , assures me that the prices will not change, nor will the food. They will, however, modernize the place a bit, stay open evenings and weekends, and put up a big-screen TV in the dining room (oh, gawd) for when there are fútbol games to be watched. I just hope it's not turned on during the lunch hour but I suspect it will. Juan Carlos, the new proud owner, seems to be quite careful and mindful of the fragile clientèle which has been built up by Daniel and María over the years. The last thing you want to do is disenchant the regulars.

But it's hard to believe the new owners can be as charming as Daniel and María. With them, you always felt like you were at home eating Mom's home cooking - although it was really Dad in the kitchen.

(pausing to reflect.....)

Isn't it silly that right now, after writing and re-reading this previous paragraph, I suddenly find myself emotional? I guess because I feel I've lost part of my family.

Upon paying the 6 Euros at the bar, I announced that today there would be no 1 Euro tip - as I've made a habit of doing. I told both María (who was waiting for the next order) and Daniel (who was cooking just behind the curtain) that today, instead, I brought them a gift. Leaning down, I whispered to María that it was a bottle of champagne to help them celebrate their retirement. At that moment I was sure María was going to cry - but she didn't, thankfully, because I may have broken out as well. She instead spread her arms, put her hands around my head, and kissed me tenderly on the left cheek, and then on the right, thanking me for the gift. I thanked them for all the wonderful meals, the good prices, and the friendly service.

Saying goodbye was sad and I didn't get the chance to shake Daniel's hand as he was busy cooking. Instead, I wished them well and turned to leave, pulling the door open and shouted an "¡Hasta luego! ¡Nos Vemos!" with a smile to the new owner, Juan Carlos. He returned the gesture, surely wondering if he'd ever see me again.

Walking out onto the street I felt odd and a little emotional, like something was missing. Something was already very different in my little world.


Previous Blog Entries about my meal experiences at Restaurante Las Damas include (although I'd changed he names to protect the innocent):

"Another GREAT Menú del Día in Madrid" &
"Menu del Dia - Menu of the Day for Cheap Lunches"

The below photo and article, published by El Mundo newspaper October 17th, 2008, can be viewed in its larger (2.2mb), more legible size (in Spanish) HERE.

This was PURELY a scientific study. No, REALLY, it was! Today, I was at my Madrid neighborhood supermarket doing my usual Friday shopping for the weekend. Since I always buy a bottle or two of wine, usually the reliable Rueda white wine, I found myself at the wine section.

Sure, I grabbed the usual bottle of Rueda but perused the others as well just out of curiosity. There, I saw a bottle of store-brand red wine for 61 Eurocents - on sale! I thought for a moment, "How bad could this swill be?" Upon further inspection of other "cheap wines", I found a non-store brand bottle of red wine for 90 Eurocents - NOT on sale - and decided to buy it with the intention of writing this blog posting - which I'm doing now with a slightly light-head while listening to RadiOlé flamenco music. Seemed fitting.

I chose the 90 Eurocent bottle of "Campo Bajo A.R." red wine, listed on the one-label as "Vino de Mesa" or, simply put, "Table Wine". What is table wine? Table wine is the inexpensive wine they give you when ordering the "menú del día" - the set lunch menu. Most often, they'll give you the option of drinking this basic table wine with "Casera" - carbonated water - in order to "cut" the basic-ness of the wine. Adding this water usually helps a lot.

Somewhat ominously, the wine's brand name, "Campo Bajo", or "Lower Fields", should have been indication enough to scare me away from even trying this cheap red wine but, as I said, this was in the name of science! And for me, being a former professional geologist, the study intrigued me.

So I bought the bottle and paused for a moment at the checkout line, wondering if the cashier thought, "Damn! This is one cheap bastard for buying such a cheap wine." Oh well. No matter. This is a blue-collar neighborhood so I'm sure I'm not the first one to buy it. Besides, this is a serious study! (uh-huh.)

What better wine to drink with leftover Chinese food than this one? Perfect! Upon opening it with corkscrew I was already prepared for the worst. "Sniff!" Well, it wasn't bad at all. Now, how does it taste? The first glass was fine, not strong at all, pretty easy to drink. So far so good. I'd finished my lunch and most (read: all) of the bottle and thought, "Okay. Now for the post-drink headache test." Two hours have passed and I still don't have a headache, and haven't taken a siesta, but still certainly feel the affects, while not overwhelming, of the 12% alcohol content.

So what is my summary? What is my official review? Okay. First I must say that I've often been called "cutre" for my simple pleasures so please keep this in mind. But without prematurely devaluing my review, I must say that the 90 Eurocent bottle of red Spanish table wine was not bad at all. It definitely exceeded my expectations. Really, I thought it'd be undrinkable but I was wrong. That is not to say it was better than a 1998 Rioja Reserva, far from it, but it was drinkable and fine.

Earlier this week I had lunch with a friend at the very exclusive (read: unknown) "Casa de Granada" rooftop restaurant (nice views!) near the Tirso de Molina metro station in downtown Madrid and the 9 Euro "menú del día" included a similar table wine. With that, without even asking, a bottle of Casera carbonated water was offered to accompany the wine. It was fine without the water but made even better with it so I imagine today's wine would've been the same.

So fear not the table wines given with the menús del día lunches in Madrid or throughout Spain. You'll often get - or be offered - a bottle of Casera water to accompany the wine. I'd say accept it, if only to try it with the wine or to have bottled water to finished your meal as they don't (usually) charge you for it.

FEAR NOT the cheap Spanish red wines. I wouldn't choose them for dinners or good lunches, but for a glass or two to accompany an average lunch they're just fine.

MONDAY UPDATE: Just 3 days after writing the above Madrid blog entry about "cheap" Spanish wine, I returned to my local supermarket to discover they've lowered the price of the same bottle of wine from 90 Eurocents to 81 Eurocents - and that's not even the sale price! Incredible.

It's so nice to have a GOOD excuse to sleep until noon (or almost) and surviving a New Year's Eve in Madrid is a good one. Last night all of Spain celebrated the changing to the new year of 2010 and all television channels were fervently covering the event.

On TVE, the festivities started around 10pm with a 1-hour montage comedy hour by José Mota (watch 1-hour video via link) with dozens of short skits parodying countless politicians, stars, public figures, and news events of 2009. We laughed a lot.


About 20 minutes before midnight, the formally-dressed TVE countdown team of Anne Igartiburu, Spain's "Mira Quien Baila" host, and dancer-actor Manuel Bandera stood on their Puerta del Sol-facing balcony, with their breath perfectly visible in the freezing cold windy weather, constantly wrung their hands. Ms. Igartiburu was bare-shouldered but, from time to time, pulled her wrap more tightly around her to break the wind momentarily and Mr. Bandera frequently stuck his hands in his pockets. Poor things, freezing to death. Hope they were paid well.




The principal player on television is/was TVE (Televisión Española), Spain's National Channel 1 whom, beginning today, January 1, 2010, will no longer have commercial advertisements and no interruptions during its specials, series, and movies. At least that's what they say. I have to admit I don't see how it's possible to survive without advertising income. But then again, it is a State-run entity. So does that mean our tax Euros are going towards its maintenance? I predict within a year's time they'll have commercials again. Besides, how are we going to decide at what point in the movie we're going to go to the bathroom?

Oh sure, we changed channels for a couple minutes before midnight to TeleCinco to see Belén Estéban's new face after serious (and much needed) plastic surgery but that's all. She and some other guy were the official presenters standing in front of the open windows facing Puerta del Sol's Casa de Correos and its enigmatic bell tower from where the ball will drop to ring in the new year.

After the fireworks and ending statements were made, Televisión Española began a montage of scenes of the previous decade's festivities and personalities. The Spaniards with whom I was sharing the experience sang along to the songs, old commercials, and commented about how young they all looked in their day.

We shared a bottle of wine, sidra, and a simple selection of embutidos, cheeses, and patés. It was a good evening and I finally found my way home and to bed by 3am, sleeping this morning until 11am. It was a good, deep sleep in a new year.

Happy 2010, World! Be kind to one another, please. May we pull ourselves out of this "Crisis" and begin protecting the environment. We all have a part in this.

I've just returned from a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with Spanish friends, through and through. The dinner consisted of a tasty fish soup with rice. Delicious. At first reading, many Americans hear "fish soup" and immediately they furrow their brows and wrinkle their noses. I was the same way before moving to Spain.

Christmas Eve dinner was simple. It consisted of the first course, the fish soup, and later the array of fine embutidos of Jamón de Jabugo, Lomo de Bellota (all the best-of-the-best), langostinos (fat shrimp), berberechos (small clams), patés and Manchego cheese, torta del casar creamy cheese, blue cheese from Austurias, and a variety of breads. It was all delicious and we all partook while passing around the bottle of Spanish Cava.

The evening ended with conversation, turrón & polverones, and the children playing the Wii. Never ending fun. So now I'm home, writing this blog, and mentally preparing myself for tomorrow's Christmas Day lunch; a baked turkey, prepared by me as well as green bean casserole. Oh, and there'll be lots of red wine too. The guy from whom I buy my embutidos and cheeses "gifted" me a 12-year old bottle of Reserva Rioja red wine yesterday after buying the high-end jamón and lomo for tonight's dinner. What a nice detail.

Tomorrow's Christmas Day. I have a few gifts to open which were sent by my parent but that's all. Here in Spain, I'll have to wait 'til Magic Kings Day on the 6th of January.

Merry Christmas & Feliz Navidad, everyone!!

People tend NOT to go out on very cold weekend nights. Well, that's what I thought. Sure, the terrazas were put away and few people were walking in the streets but the bars I saw were packed!

I was sitting home, feeling kind of bored and lonely, and just up-and-decided I'd go downtown. Plus, I was hungry and really had a craving for morcilla. It's been so long since I've had some. I asked a few people if they'd like to accompany and they all (okay, I only asked one person) said, "No way! It's too cold. Better to stay home." NOPE!

So I put on my shoes and coat and went down to catch the bus right at 10pm. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long although it's not ALL THAT cold, at least not for a Midwestern USA boy. "This ain't nuttin'!"

The bus dropped me off at its end-point, next to the Plaza de Oriente, Opera, Palacio Real and I made my way towards the streets between it and the Plaza de Santo Domingo - and there are LOTS. I chose one bar on the corner of Calle de San Martín and Calle de las Navas de Tolosa called "Restaurante Cervecería Doña Juana" - right across the street from the VALOR "chocolate" shop. Doña Juana was one of the few which had space at their bar and so I entered and ordered a beer, got a free tapa of salchichón on bread. Then I ordered a single, FAT croqueta de jamón and a "pincho de morcilla", which was 4 slices with bread for roughly 2.50€. Good stuff. Another caña and a plate of green olives accompanied it. A crowd of 20-somethings came in, all wearing Santa Claus hats, boisterous but friendly, and crowded around me. I was finished anyway so I decided to try someplace else.

I walked two doors downhill on the same Calle de San Martín to the Restaurante Mesón Las Descalzas. They too had the bar wide open and only one table occupied with a bunch of other 20-somethings. So I grabbed a stool, ordered a caña, and got the free tapa of black olives this time. Looking over the sign behind the bar I decided on the pincho de moruno (2.80€) which is skewered and roasted pork cubes with a slightly spicy sauce. More good stuff. While waiting for it to arrive I noticed the patatas bravas (3.10€) on the board behind the bar and almost wished I'd ordered that instead. So many delicious Spanish foods and so little time and space in my stomach! So then I ordered another caña and got a slice of tortilla de patas as the free tapa. I ate in peace here, watching a bad Hollywood Christmas comedy movie on TV and covertly eavesdropped on the table to 20-somethings until I finished my food.

Watching the clock, it was now about 11:10am and the last bus on my line left Plaza de Oriente at 11:30pm so I paid the bill and made my way back. And wouldn'tcha know it, just as I arrived the second-to-last bus was pulling away so I had to wait in the cold for the next one. Nor problem, jacket unzipped, cool but refreshing after my 4 beers, and a belly full of good, Spanish food.

On the short bus ride home we drove by the Parque de Atenas, the park which is between the Almudena Cathedral and the Puente de Segovia... and it was FULL of youngsters enjoying their Botellón. Man, they must have been A) Crazy, B) Freezing, C) Alcoholics, D) hoping to "hook up", or E) ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Now I'm back home, it's about 12:15am, and I may just go to bed.

Someone once asked me on Facebook, "Why do all your entries have to do with food, wine, and sleeping?" The answer is simple. Are there any better pleasures here in Spain?

"The American Store" in Madrid is great. They have absolutely everything - WHEN they have it, that is.

I took the 30-minute walk+metro+walk trip to the store next to the Hospital Clínico San Carlos today (metro Moncloa), all bubbly and confident that I was going to get my Thanksgiving Day supplies - ONLY to be PYSCHED!! I did call beforehand, sure, to see that they'd be open, but that's all.

Oddly and wonderfully enough, they don't close during the lunch hours so that's cool, I went just after lunch. No problem. But when I arrived, after taking a tour of the construction site of El Faro de Moncloa, I found they had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for Thanksgiving Day.

Last year I went there and stocked-up on all their goodies for Thanksgiving Day, no problem, but this year the clerk said they were sold out but expected a new shipment - LATER THIS WEEK. That's great, but.... Thanksgiving Day is... errr.. ummm.. THURSDAY!!

They had no pumpkin pie mix, no cranberry sauce, no stuffing, and not pancake mix or syrup, of which I was also super low at home. But nothing for Thanksgiving apart from a few graham cracker pie shells, turkey gravy mix, and the turkey baking bags - which I used last year to disastrous results.

So I guess I'll simply call before making the trip next time - AFTER Thanksgiving. What a shame. I'm hosting a bunch-o-Spaniards for Thanksgiving Day - the weekend AFTER Thanksgiving Day weekend and, as usual, I'll be the ONLY American in attendance - and I'll be doing ALL the cooking, too!

Happy Thanksgiving Day, Americans! If you're home with family, great. If you're abroad, just make the most of it and spend the day with people you love.

Sunday nights in Madrid can be pretty relaxed. You know you have to get up early (or not) to work the next day but you still have some wonderful memories of a nice weekend fresh in your mind.

So how does one push forward past the midnight hour, making it officially a Monday morning? I guess it's not easy for many but, fortunately for me, it's never been hard. Sure, I have to go to the gym and catch up on emails and the usual administration stuff but I also have to prepare my 3rd quarter invoices for my accountant (he's Irish, thank goodness).

My mind swims with blog posting ideas, upcoming client contract renewals, and of course the shopping and other daily chores.

Friday afternoon I went to the Plaza de Oriente in Madrid to cheer on/support the 2016 Madrid Olympics Host City Bid, only to lose in the final stage to Rio de Janeiro. They deserved it, I think. The Madrileños were somewhat disappointed but they definitely weren't sulking. They seemed to simply say, "Oh well. That's the way it goes. Shall we go get a beer?" And that was that.

Saturday night I met some total strangers from the message board for drinks at the El Anciano Rey de los Vinos (across the street from the Almudena Cathedral) and from there we went to the Restaurante BelaLúa where we had 10pm reservations. We chose a table on their terraza and enjoyed some GREAT Rioja Reserva wine along with our meals. Some had grilled vegetables while others had the steak and potatoes. We started with some croquets and ham which was really good. After the great meal and the good conversation, we strolled over to the Chocolatería San Gines for some Chocalate con Churros. It was a good night and got back at 2:30am.

So Sunday nights are calm. I'm all alone, had leftover langostinos and Rueda white Spanish wine for dinner, watched NFL football live on Canal+ satellite TV, and now contemplating going to bed with a good book. Tomorrow's another day and it's a new week. Hope we have cool temperatures, too.