Food in Spain

Exploring Food in Spain 

We recently took a trip to Spain, it was a great experience and the food was great. I wish I had my kitchen in Spain to use all the fresh items so readily available. 

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Our setting at the Hotel Intercontinental Madrid where we decided to have our first sit down lunch. In-spite of the language barrier we were able to get great service and some very good, finger licking food.  Enjoyed every bit of it. 

This was the starter.  Kebab in a Lettuce Wrap. The waiter was courteous to remind us that you pull out the stick before eating and you eat with fingers. He just thought that these foreigners who are struggling to make sense of Spanish culture and language may try something that may hurt them.  The presentation itself was so appetizing.  I could have eaten several of these.  The sauce was so good.

 This was the main course - fish served with vegetables and the drops were referred to as soup on the Menu.  My husband thought he was getting a great deal as there was a soup with the main dish.  When he asked about the soup the server had a blank face.  Not till the dish was served that he realized that soup was referred to as sauce and that too droplets.  Still very tasty and perfect portion size.

Spanish Paella 

On the top of the dish you can also see their famous rice dish - Spanish Paella that was served on the table from the Paella Pan.  This rice dish has to be cooked in a special pan.  Else it is not a Paella.  I choose the vegetable version.  Choices were chicken and sea food in addition to vegies.

Thanks to the Chef - they served us with a small bowl of beef strips and vegetables.  Very very simple dish cooked in olive oil and salt and nothing else.  Simplicity brought out the taste of the vegetables and the beef strips were perfect.

They gave us the option of Pork or Beef.

As you can see nothing was left - it was so good and we were hungry that taking a picture was an after thought.

For deserts they served us with chocolate that was so good that there was no time to take pictures.

My Recipe for Spanish Cookies

 Tradition

There is a Spanish tradition that when someone gets married the Nuns of the Church bake some cookies etc for the newly married.  There are some places where the Nuns actually sell home made Spanish delicacies.  We stopped by one such place. Of course it was Siesta time and they were closed. This display in a window shows the depiction of the event and the final stuff.

Some more display of Cookies

Many things to see and buy

Window display of cookies and goodies - mouth watering and will contribute to your waistline.  However, Spanish people walk a lot so they burn most of the calories that they consume. It is amazing to see that they eat lunch at around 2:00 PM.  In the restaurant we were the first to get there at around 12:45 PM.  When we were finishing right around 2:00 PM is when people started coming.

Dinner time is almost 8:30 PM 

Dinner time is a bit late from US standards. Still everyone looks so fit and are an envy.  There has to be some secret that we need to explore more.

Eating at a Local Tapas

We decided to find a local joint for dinner. Reliable Google guide told us the Restaurant was almost 5 minutes walk from our Hotel, so we decided to walk. Ended up taking a taxi. Had no idea which way Google Maps wanted us to walk, also the connection was bad and we kept on getting the spinning wheel and that sound of re-calculating.
Good that we took the Taxi. It was almost a 6 minute drive from the spot.  So we could have been walking for almost 40 minutes.  This was a totally local Spanish joint and we were early and the only people looking different.  People did start coming in right after 8:30 PM.  Noticed most were regular. The server knew them and knew their routine.

They serve you with a basket of bread. You can easily fill yourself with bread itself.  It was so good.
The small bread sticks are called Picos.  They are usually served with olive oil.  Some restaurants may serve some kind of a dip to go with these sticks.  Makes your mouth water.

Local Tapas Ambience

The backdrop of tiles depicted an old city.  Wine was being chilled for the customers.  And right when the server placed these a gentleman walked in.  After exchanging the normal Hola's he sat on the counter bar stool.  The waiter served him with his favorite shot along with shrimps.  I guess he was a regular and did not have to order.  He had his shot, used his fingers to eat the shrimps and within few minutes was out of the place.  It was just about 8:30 pm when people started coming in.  They sat at their favorite spot.  As these were high tables one simple practical idea that I noticed was that the tables had hanging hooks under and people were hanging their coats under the table.  Good use of space.

Just Simple Food

A simple eggplant dish - totally vegetarian.  Little bit of salt and pepper cooked in olive oil served with fried Padron Peppers.
The peppers are so good.  You do not feel the heat.  It is a specialty served at the Tapas.

 Different angle of the same dish.  you can see the stem - after a few minutes nothing was left except the stems of the Peppers.

Hauka Fish 

Soft and delicious and a lot meaty taste.

Simple Fish Dish Served with Padron Peppers and Potatoes. 

And this is what my husband ordered.  He usually sticks with fish.  The quality of the fish was great. Had a lot more meaty flavor.  It was Hauka Fish. 

At the Mayor Restaurant in the Middle of the Square.

Spoiler Alert - skip if you do not want to read

Some thing that may not sound Good 

This would read a bit gross but it is a Spanish delicacy, which we passed on.  They eat suckling pigs. Baby pigs that feed on mothers milk are slaughtered between the ages of six to twelve weeks.  It sounds so bad but it is something that Spanish people love and it was highly recommended.  Wanted to cover it to give you just an idea.  

This is a statue of a Chef cutting suckling pigs using a plate. Depicting how delicate the meat is. This picture is real and I did not make up this story.

We ordered the lamb roast.  It was OK.  The potatoes and tomatoes tasted a lot better.  So if you end up passing on the Suckling Pig and the Lamb Roast do not feel bad. Again language was a big issue. 

None of the servers spoke English. We were struggling and that is when the student sitting on the next table came over and asked if we needed help.  She was from North Carolina and had been studying in Spain and spoke perfect Spanish.  That was such a relief.  Did not catch her name but they were behind us when we got to the Castle. 

Seemed strange but noticed several street vendors seller Tea.  The baskets were labeled as Teas from different countries. Did notice Tea from Ceylon now Sri Lanka, Tea from Pakistan and many more countries.  Do not recall seeing Tea from India.   

Of course there were other goodies and herbs for sale too.

And he was there to serve us at the Alhambra Look Out Point in Granada.  If you go take a taxi to the top and try walking down.  When you walk down explore the streets and the courtyards.  

Another Local Restaurant

We decided to have lunch at another local restaurant.  Pretty much a working class joint.  It was amazing that there were only two people running the restaurant.  One cook and one server.  

Lucky for us the server spoke English.  She was so nice and went all out to help us select.  Even though she was running around like crazy but still she was paying enough attention to all the guests.

They did not have Hauka Fish but still had these. They tasty great. Again very little spices, cooked in olive oil - the taste of lemon, the salad and the fries all made a great combination.  

Good food.

I ordered the roasted chicken which was good too. See the Purple and yellow slice on the plate below.  It was something that I had not eaten before.  So we asked what it was.  

Discovered a New Vegetable

It is a purple and yellow carrot that has been around for centuries.  Our server was very gracious she brought out a Carrot to show us what it looked like and wanted to give us the carrot as a souvenir.  However, we had to pass on it as we were traveling.  It tasted pretty good.  

Slice of Purple and Yellow Carrot that was part of our salad.  Good taste.  

Our Server brought out a Carrot for us to take.  Very helpful and nice server.

Organic Eggs have a Quality of their own.  

We ordered fried eggs for our breakfast and noticed that the eggs tasted so much better.  The color of the Yolk was not yellow but more orange.  These were organic eggs.  Wondering where we can find this quality in USA.  

Food on Train

We took the European Fast Train to Granada from Madrid.  It was an early morning train so we were served breakfast in the First Class. Nothing fancy just simple breakfast.  What was interesting was that they served yogurt based drink for breakfast.  

Of course there was coffee and snacks.

This will give you an idea of prices.  Multiply everything with 1.2

Locals having breakfast in the Mayor's Plaza.

Meat Shop

Checking out local foods

This is where locals go to buy fruits

Locals buying seafood

At the bar -trying to get my coffee at the Real Madrid Stadium.   It was a sneaky way to enter the Stadium without paying the big entry fee - we did not care for the trophies that Real Madrid has won.

Some Tips if you Go

• If you decide to have a sit in dinner or lunch give yourself enough time.  Restaurants usually take time. When in a rush we landed at one of the Fast Food Chains.  All big names were there.
• Except for fast food, prices at restaurants are generally higher than what you will pay in the USA.
• When paying by credit card they will bring the mobile charge machine over to you and process there.
• If you have restrictions on what you can eat, always ask.  For example a bean dish may seem a vegetarian dish but it maybe cooked with pork.
• When ordering water make sure you make it clear as to what you are ordering.  Bottled water can take many forms.

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