What I Ate [This Weekend]

I know, I said that my next post was going to be a re-cap of a Bullfight. That's next, I promise. But first, since it's Wednesday, I wanted to do another WIAW post! This week I'm doing a WIA[This Weekend] because my friend Vivian was in town to visit and we had some really delicious eats!

Since Vivian has never been to Spain before, I knew that we needed to start her trip off on the right foot with a Tapas dinner!

Patatas Bravas: typically consists of white potatoes that have been cut and then fried in olive oil and served warm with a spicy tomato sauce.

Croquetas: typically filled with bechamel, jamón, onions, or mushroom.

This is not a typical Spanish tapas but the "grilled chicken with caramelized onions and a warm curry sauce on top of a crisp piece of toast" was enough to sell us. :)

I'm not usually one for salmon dishes (especially bagels and lox--I know, who am I?!) but this also had caramelized onions and we were loving the flavors from the last dish. This came with the most amazing cheese--I could just eat a block of that creamy cheese!

And well of course a night in Spain could not be complete without a generous helping of Dulce de Leche gelato.

In staying true to our Spanish weekend, I took Vivian to a cute cafe for lunch for a menú del día. We decided to order all different dishes so that she could try a little bit of everything! First up were our primero platos (first course). This dish was incredible. Imagine perfectly baked potato rounds topped with fresh jamón de miel (honey ham) topped with queso ibérico (Iberian cheese) and finished with a sprinkle of paprika. Do these pictures even do it justice? This was by far our favorite dish.

Next up: the classic, Paella Mixta. This particular paella was very good--not too seafood-y and just enough for the both of us to try.

One of our segundo platos (second course) was baked chicken drumsticks with patatas bravas (these come with just about every entree you order in Spain). The chicken was literally falling off of the bone, and cooked in the most amazing sauce. Amazing.

Our other entree was typical albondigas con patatas bravas (meatballs). Again, perfectly cooked. The sauce on the meatballs was spot on!

A menú del día is not complete without a postre (dessert), so we chose the chocolate cake which was a puffed chocolate sponge cake with just the right amount of sweetness and a Spanish custard with a delicious sugar cookie.

...and then we decided that we needed some chocolate from one of the oldest pastry shops in Madrid. When in Spain, right? This little white chocolate mouse-guy powered me through an entire afternoon of shopping!

On Vivian's last day we went to both El Museo de Prado (The Prado Museum) and the Reina Sofia. Vivian is an art history major so this was right up her alley! In between museums we grabbed lunch at one of my favorite spots, "Cervecería 100 Montaditos." We split the sandwiches below. I don't remember exactly everyone that we ordered, but I do remember we got a classic montadito con tortilla española (mini sandwich with the traditional egg quiche), con jamón y quacamole (ham and guacamole), y con pollo asado y queso (roasted chicken with cheese). They were delicious!

Will you look at that sauce? It was to-die-for-amazing-garlic.

With a café con leche for Vivian.

We had a great weekend!

I'm so glad that she came to visit me and that we got to eat some of the best food I've had here in Madrid, which is saying a lot because I've had a lot of good food here! I can't wait to learn how to make all of these amazing dishes from my friends here so that I can share it with everyone back home. :)

Vale!

I can't believe I've only been here for 4 days! I really feel like I'm adjusting to the culture and language of the Spanish people. On Saturday when I went out to explore, I grabbed lunch at a local café called "Cervecería 100 Montaditos". The bar serves 100 different kinds of sandwiches on baguette rolls. I ordered the Pan Cereals, Gambas con tomate natural y lechuga (grain bread, shrimp, tomato salsa paste, lettuce) which is served with a side of freshly baked/fried chips.

It was delicious! But, I definitely didn't know it was going to be that small...next time I'm going to order 3 different ones to try! And the best part? This meals was only 1.20E (about $1.73)! How great is that? And on Wednesdays, they have a 1E deal! You can bet I'll be frequenting this place for lunch :)

Later that evening, my friends Zahra and Soo arrived to the apartment and we spent the evening unpacking and settling in. Skip ahead to Sunday and we had a truly Spanish day. We embraced the 3:00PM lunch time with a menu del día (menu of the day). At 12E, each person gets a drink choice, appetizer, entree, and postre (dessert). We decided that we wanted to try a lot of unique Spanish dishes and each ordered something different to share.

Gazpacho (A Spanish-style soup made from tomatoes and other vegetables and spices, served cold)

Ensalada con atún (Salad with tuna--this is very typical)

Paella (A Spanish dish of rice, saffron, chicken, seafood, etc)

Churrasco de la Ternera a la Parilla (Grilled beef rib with potato fries and roasted red peppers)

Another dish with Ternero--it was very tender!

Tortilla Española (a thick egg omelet made with potatoes and cooked in olive oil)

Flan de huevo (egg custard with a typical Spanish cookie)

The flan de huevo was definitely our favorite, so delicious.

Flan (custard with caramel)

Helado (ice cream)

In Spain, almuerzo (lunch) lasts for nearly 2 hours. This is definitely something we're adjusting to here, but welcoming to leisurely time with open arms.

Later Sunday evening Zahra, Soo, and I met up with some other NYU students around 7PM and went to El Jardín Secreto (The Secret Garden) for some drinks. It was a cute place and I got a blended fruit juice drink and we all shared a brownie/ice cream/fruit dessert. Everything was great!

Afterwards, we explored the area on our way back home.

El Palacio Royal (The Royal Palace)

El Senado de Madrid (The Senate)

Stay tuned for my next post which will include more Spain pictures and food features!

Vale (Okay!), the Spaniards use this word in just about every sentence!