Ranina's Profile
Hound from Hong Kong visiting Spain. Recs needed for a man willing to eat anything that moves
I hope it'd not too late, so here it goes:
I'm from Madrid, and I recommended a few restaurants in Madrid in my other post (you can probably read it if you click on my profile). For fine dining, go to El Paraguas... I believe it is the best restaurant in Madrid at the moment. But it is expensive, so be warned.
As for what extraordinary food to try:
-Morcilla con arroz, from Burgos, is indeed dreamy.
-Percebes (goose barnacles)
-Bigaros (delicous sea snails)
-Navajas (long, razor-like seafood)... we love fish and seafood in Spain, so if it swims in the Mediterranean/Atlantic, you'll find it here! (unfortunately, at the expense of a very damaged marine ecosystem)
-Oh, and from previous experience with foreigners, they seem terrified at the thought of sucking the head of a prawn... but we think it's the best part :)
As for other interesting food items that I myself prefer not to eat:
-Pig's ear (although a bean stew/cassoulet with pig's ear is one of my favourite dishes 'judias con oreja' it's called)
-Manitas de cerdo (pig's feet)
-Callos (tripe in a kind of tomato sauce)
-And of course the usual liver ('higado') or brains ('sesos').... all of these delicacies that I never really got into.
Best of luck and enjoy :)
Two weeks of eating in Madrid
Oh, and one last thing... try to adjust to Spanish eating times, otherwise restaurants will seem very empty and boring... we have lunch between 2-3pm and dinner starts at 9-10pm.
Also, check out La Latina neighbourhood. Full of great places for midday tapas and is also packed on Friday and Saturday evening. Entire streets full of places to have some tapas and drinks. On Sunday mornings it is very busy as well due to El Rastro (flea market). Basically the area around a bar called El Viajero (you can find it online), that has three floors and the top is an open terrace with a view of the Catedral de la Almudena, perfect to unwind in the evening or enjoy the sunset light.
Two weeks of eating in Madrid
It might be too late, but here are a few suggestion... I'm from Madrid :)
My favourite restaurant at the moment is El Paraguas (you can find the address online)... expensive but the best at the moment. Their produce is excellent. Maybe for a special going-away romantice dinner.
On the other end of things, the very cheap gallego restaurant Maceiro (the one on the street Huertas) is great fun, either for a weekday lunch or for a Friday night. They open at 8pm for dinner and are open 'til past midnight. You sometimes have to wait. It is very popular with all sorts of crowd as it is very affordable, the food is good (steamed cockles, pimientos del padron...), the place quaint and the atmosphere is fun (if you don't mind your little table being close to other people's). At midnight (at least on Friday and Saturday), the lights go off and they do a 'queimada', typical of Galicia, and if you don't know what that is, then I suggest you go and find out! And don't mind the rough, amazonian-like waitresses!
The Mercado de San Miguel is a lovely space to buy or just sample some delicious cheese or oysters and enjoy a good mid-day wine.
If you like meat, Rubaiyat, brazilian restaurant near Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium is excellent. Again, expensive. If the weather is still nice, they'll have their outdoor area open. You might bump into the odd football (soccer!) star or celebrity, especially on weekday lunchtime.
I'd leave it at that for now. Just stay away from restaurants that have their menus translated into english outfront... let the head waiter make a few suggestions... oh and don't refer to 'frutas del mar', haha! It works in French, but in Spanish it makes as much sense a 'seafruit'... 'marisco' is the word you want, and 'marisquerias' are the places that specialise in them. The restaurant Puerta 57, inside the Real Madrid stadium, is a little old fashioned for my taste (unless you can seat on the balcony with a view of the pitch), but they have very good 'marisco'.
I hope that helps and best of luck.... and yes, enjoy a hot chocolate with churros at San Gines... ideally late at night after a long evening of drinking and partying... it is always very busy at 5/6am when the nearby clubs close their doors!
