Spain in August

[Xericx]

well, its a combination of their entire brand collection, some are higher end i believe. i mean i'm not going out of my way, but when over there, might as well see what the people do there. I believe they have the entire Inditex line cleared out. besides, I need something cheap to wear when I'm getting tomatos thrown at me.

also wanted to check out Massimo Dutti which is under that parent company... they're opening one in NY soon.

http://ny.racked.com/archives/2011/...ate_two_blocks_massimo_dutti_will_move_in.php

 

[impolyt_one]

I'd save my time and money and eat as much cured pig as possible.

 

[Xericx]

that's already a given. had the iberico belota last year, which was fantastic. i'll try different kinds of course.....

doing the Roast Suckling pig at Casa Botin (from Bizarre foods). some tapas crawls....really wanted to go to Albert Adria's "tickets" but no reservations. we'll do a few tapas crawls, one day of "authentic paella" (maybe even where they do the demonstration and cook in front of you...i know, touristy but whatevz). would like one or two really modern meals.....would like to see the molecular gastronomy from spain. we'll see if that fits.

probably going to eat Jamon every other day at a minimum. whole range....just to see what's good.


are there any good fast food chains...like the Spanish "Five Guys" or anything?

 

[impolyt_one]

Ferran Adria has a burger shop or something

 

[Xericx]

I wonder if mc donalds has some weird "only in spain" type thing.

 

[zoneahead]

If you think you might make it to Segovia or the surrounding area (30 minutes via high speed train from Madrid), I would hold off until there for your suckling pig experience. They take their pig very serious in Segovia.

There are a few Spanish fast food chains. The one I remember seeing in a few different cities is called 100 Montaditos. I don't know if I could recommend it over the gazillion local tapas joints you'll come across, but it's sort of interesting to see the fast food idea translated into a Spanish restaurant. You mix and match little mini sandwiches with things like jamon, chorizo and cheese and are served with fries, olives and other pickled vegetables.

 

[Xericx]

yeah, my parents ate at a suckling pig place in Segovia called Candido which they said was very good. I wanted to go to Casa Botin because it looked great on "Bizarre foods" and is the oldest restaurant in the world (supposedly).

My parents said at the Jamon Museum they had a meal of a ham sandwhich, drink and chips for 2 euro.

 

[DLester]

yeah, my parents ate at a suckling pig place in Segovia called Candido which they said was very good.

I will be there in a few days and will give it a try.

I ate at Vips last night lol.

 

[DLester]



I wanted to go to Casa Botin because it looked great on "Bizarre foods" and is the oldest restaurant in the world (supposedly).

I had lunch at Botin today and am passing along this review along with bad low light iphone pics.

There is a big picture of Hemingway in the front window, which nearly caused me to avoid going inside. I don't like that kind of touristy thing, although I understand why they do it (google Hemingway and Botin if you are curious).

When you go inside you can choose to eat upstairs in the very nice 19th century-ish, well lit space. That would be a mistake. Go into the cellar.

The cellar is basically a 500 year old hole in the ground. It is accessible behind the bar and is like walking into a mineshaft. Here:

The cellar:

There is a deeper, weirder, older, more claustophobic area below this space, which is the wine cellar. It scared the hell out of me to look into it.

We had croquetas (awesome, crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside), garlic soup (excellent). Also the langostinos a la plancha (grilled large shrimp), which were incredibly good. I am from south Louisiana so I sucked the heads of the shrimp but this is not Spanish or normal really so do this at your own risk.

I had the suckling pig, which was great. Crispy skin; moist and rich meat. I found that it was better after I added salt, so do this. It is served on the bone, which is how it should be. If you don't like that, order something else.

I got a bit bombed off a pitcher of sangria. Also good.

It is sort of expensive but worth it.

 

[Xericx]

great! thanks for the info...any other useful tips are appreciated. I'm prob going to try the suckling roast pig and the squid cooked in its own ink...just from the TV show I saw (bizarre foods).



I contacted La Matandeta outside of Valencia for paella...they have reservations available...my only concern is that it is a bit far out of the city and would likely be taking an expensive-ish cab ride out there. I heard there are "paella busses" that go out to La Alburfera/El Palmar and am wondering if that's a better choice.

 

[Kent Wang]

I went to 41 Degrees, the cocktail bar attached to Tickets. Has plenty of molecular dishes and good cocktails. I'm sure Tickets and El Bulli are way better, but it's impossible to get into those.

 

[Xericx]

been trying to get a reservation at tickets and 41 degrees, problem is I'm there during "vacation time" and a lot of restaurants are closed or too packed.

In Barcelona I'm going to try out Comerc 24 or one of the associated restaurants, which I heard was good. Also the Pinxto bar at the Bocqeria.

 

[DLester]



I'm sure Tickets and El Bulli are way better, but it's impossible to get into those.</p>

It is impossible for anyone to get into El Bulli as it closed permanently four days ago.

 

[randallr]

I've been to the Canary Islands and it was pretty awesome. I think you should definitely go to Ibiza if you are young, which I'm pretty sure you are. Make sure to go see David Guetta and party your ass off. I was just in Miami this last weekend to see Abel Ramos at Mansion and had a blast.

 

[DLester]

I went out for tapas in La Latina last night. If you are in Madrid you have to do this. I can't remember the names of all the places I ate. The tapas were more experimental and gourmet, for lack of a better word, than what you would find in a smaller city. Winding narrow streets, outdoor seating in the plazas. People were everywhere but there were no idiots or dbags.

A good stop at some point is the El Viajero roof deck, which has a view of the street scene and great mojitos.

If you don't like tapas in La Latina, then you probably don't like tapas or Madrid and should move on. Search google images if you want to see what it looks like; I took no photos.

It is hotter than hell right now btw. It is not humid and it is better than a US east coast summer, but bars go easy on the AC so you will be very warm.

I am up too early today and am not happy about that. I have been getting up around 10:00, which was working for me.