Eating Across Europe (Part 2)

Madrid, Madrid, Madrid. To be honest, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Madrid—one of the factors being that it was so modern. Whenever I travel, I like to be in cities or towns where I can feel and see its history and culture. Madrid felt too similar to a generic western city. Sure, you can spot bits of history here and there, but the architecture doesn’t scream individuality to me (like Lisbon did). With all that being said, it is still a very lovely city and, to my surprise looking back, I ate a lot of wonderful food! I actually have to write an entry on Madrid alone because I have so many pictures just from this city!

One of the first restaurants I had the pleasure at eating at was Fatigas del Querer. One of the guys working at our hostel (“Way Hostel” for those who wanted to know) recommended it and I’m glad he did. The price was decent (€6-7 for an entrée) and everything was served in a generous size. I think the dishes were meant to be eaten family style, but Samantha and I didn’t know that at first. I had the huevos estrellados con jamon, which was basically two sunny side eggs over cured bacon and a heap of fries. I didn’t expect the fries. As tasty as it was, it was extremely rich and heavy. I didn’t do my arteries any favors that night. Samantha had a chicken dish with thick cut bacon on top and a salad on the side. Although the restaurant gave us a breadbasket and olives, we were wary about having any because of our past experience in Lisbon and being charged. Our last meal was also eaten at Fatigas and we shared a paella and tuna salad. The paella was okay. The chicken was overcooked and hard and the seafood wasn’t particularly fantastic, but the rice itself was cooked well. The restaurant’s environment was really nice though and I loved the tile work on the walls.

Enough talk about decently priced food and let’s move onto cheap food! My friend, Jessyka, took Sam and me to El Tigre for some tapas and sangria one night and everything was only €5 per person! WHAT?! I’m talking a giant mug of sangria and three large plates of tapas. I got my fill and the sangria, which was my first ever, was fantastic. It wasn’t that boozy, which I actually appreciated. The place was packed and rightfully so.

Another savory place I visited was Charcuteria Desde, which Sam and I passed by on our walking tour. There’s nothing really special about the place other than it’s 176 YEARS OLD! I just snagged a simple baguette sandwich with chorizo ‘cause I just wanted to say I got food from such an old shop. What’s really cool about Madrid is that there are plaques on the ground honoring restaurants and shops that are more than a hundred years old and Desde is a proud owner of one.

Our last savory stop is someplace I didn’t eat. It’s Mercado de San Miguel! This fantastic market is bursting with fresh food, especially seafood. I didn’t eat here ‘cause frankly everything was out of my price range, but maybe in the future I’ll be back. It’s also a fun place to be to see the hustle and bustle.

Now for something sweet! Good ol’ Jessyka took Sam and I to Café de la Luz after El Tigre. This lovely café is kind of hidden, but that’s what makes it THAT much more special. The atmosphere is cozy and cute with an array of seats and couches. I love the gigantic blackboard they had where people just doodle. There are also weird-but-awesome paintings scattered here and there. We all got wonderful chocolaty drinks, but I think the winning drink had to be Jessyka’s bon bon drink which consisted of espresso and condensed milk. I got a thick hot chocolate, while Sam drank a hot chocolate that she got to make herself (as in she got to decide how much cocoa to put in). We also shared a lovely warm carrot cake that didn’t make the picture cut ‘cause frankly it was a blurry picture (I try to only show the nice ones). The waiters at the café were also extremely sweet (pun not intended) and I’d actually like to give a shout out to Paula! Hola!

Another place I got some lovely thick hot chocolate was at Chocolatería San Ginés. This joint is known for their chocolate con churros and Sam and I decided to try the fat churros rather than the skinny ones we’ve been eating every morning at our hostel (no joke, that’s what Way Hostel calls “breakfast”). As messy as it was, it was great. The fat churros reminded me of Taiwanese yo-tiao’s (fried batter that is typically eaten with breakfast). I finished the hot chocolate as well. No one should leave that much chocolate to waste!

I saved my favorite for last: La Mallorquina! This shop is a pastry lover’s delight (so of course I loved it). Right when you walk in, you see shelves of pastries on display. They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Some are garnished in nuts, other in sugar. It really doesn’t matter because everything looks delicious. Samantha and I decided to try three of them in one sitting, so we had a Pepitos de Crema, Negritos, and Napolitanas de Chocolate. My favorite out of the three had to be the Pepitos de Crema because I love custard. It basically tasted like a sugar donut filled with rich custard. The Negritos wasn’t that good, but it looked impressive ‘cause of all of that homemade marshmallow inside. Sam personally loved the Napolitanas de Chocolate and it tastes like a chocolate croissant… with more chocolate. On our last day, I also got a Torrijas (while Sam had another Napolitanas de Chocolate). It looks like cinnamon French toast and kind of tastes like it, but I think there was less bread or pastry and more custard. Very good, but very filling and fattening.

If I got to stay in Madrid any longer, I would have caused future-Cindy a lot more health problems. I think the great food made my stay better and I’m so grateful for having other friends studying abroad (yeah, I’m talking about you, Jessyka). After this, I have one more entry about food outside of the UK. I only have three more weeks in lovely London, so I better make the best of it.