i just recently went on my first trip ever to Spain with a group, coordinated by a teacher. i stayed in the puerta del sol area of madrid and visited the plaza mayor almost every night. i found the best restaurant/bar in the entire city, i swear. it is called El Cuchi and if you go there you should order strawberry daquiries and nachos. they rock. if you enter the plaza mayor where the statue in the center is facing you, then go to the back-left and down the stairs and you will see a sign that says "El Cuchi....Hemingway never ate here" the waiters are really nice and cute and it is cheap and great food. if you go there tell me about it!
cd

El Cuchi is great for students, and/but that isn't a real SPANISH experience. I'd head out to a regular tapas bar instead. There used to be a restaurant on one corner of the Plaza Mayor, the one that leads, um, right? if you are staring at the arco de cuchilleros exit, that was like a family bar. No terrace, but fantastic tapas (boquerones fritos) and a great clarete house wine. Damned if I can remember the name, but you saw mostly espanyoles in there. That's the key. Yet if I were 16 in Madrid, I might want to be in El Cuchi with fun waiters, eating nachos too!

Strawberry daquiries and nachos in Madrid? How UN-Spanish!! Hahahaa... Still, I'm sure this would rock if *I* were 16inMadrid too!! Where else can a student (from the US???) go to get buzzed by cheap booze and food?

I always wondered what that place was called. I always remember the awning/sign that says "Hemingway Never Ate Here", but could never remember the name! El Cuchi. I'll have to check that touristy place out.

If you want touristy places near/in the Plaza Mayor, how 'bout the little place on the north inside face of the Plaza called Bar Andalus: El Tore de Oro. It's not at all big and is narrow, but is STUFFED FULLL of bullfight memorobilia including BULL HEADS hanging from the wall. I think I counted 5 bull heads as well as a glass-encased "traje de luces" (suit of lights - the uniform of bullfighters). I had a beer here on two seperate occasions and they gave free tapas each time (paella on a Thursday and maybe olives on the other visit). While touristy, it was full of businessmen AS WELL as a couple who were taking LOTS of photos (like me. hehhee).

Rgf, I think you may be talking about "Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas in the southwestern corner/stairs of the Plaza Mayor at El Arco de Cuchilleros. It's partially UNDER the plaza itself. We had one fantastic dinner her on my last night in 1998. It was incredible! The 10 of us sat at a big table in our own little brick-domed dining room with an ancient mural of Madrid in the 1600s (?) behind our table. I had the cochinillo (roasted suckling pig) and after eating I was given a tour of the kitchen where they showed me how they roasted the piglets in the brick-lined domed ornos (ovens). We finished off the night with a big, fat cigar at the table along with a brandy. They gave us all recuerdos (souvenirs) of a small ceramic urn/pitcher with the cursive writing of the name of the place. We all forgot ours at the table upon leaving. How stupid.

I would say Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas would have to get my vote for finest restaurant only because I haven't tried many outside of the house. This is one of the things I hope to do in October, to try many restaurants in Madrid like the famed Hemingway restaurant El Botín and a few others.

I look forward to hearing other suggestions.

Saludos, MadridMan

hey now guys....although El Cuchi may be "un-spanish", when you are 16 and broke (and yes I am from the US)in spain its a pretty good restaurant =) and talk about un-spanish..i had a spanish exchange student this summer and all she would eat was peanut butter and pizza. she wouldn't even eat her spanish food (like paella) at her house while i was in Spain with her. does anyone know how to flip a spanish omelette and keep it in one piece? my mom and i end up cutting it into sections and flipping each one separately. still tastes the same though =)
cd

Oh! Me! Me! I do!! My Spanish ladyfriend always calls on ME to "flip her omellettes". hehehe.. SERIOUSLY! But then, she makes them in the first place and my only role is to cover the pan with a plate, flip it, and put it back in the pan for further cooking. The end result is ALWAYS delicious!!

OK, 16inMadrid - here's how to keep your tortilla in one piece!!

Right after you pour the egg-onion-potato mixture into the pan, over high heat, MIX the stuff with a spatula, pulling up what's on the bottom - cooking fast - and flipping over what's on top, and needs cooking. When about one third of it looks cooked (happens fast), lower the heat way down, cover the pan, wait a few minutes, and try flipping it. Because it won't be so runny in the middle any more, it should all stay together. Works for me every time!

Your exchange student ate peanut butter? I'm shocked!! You can only find it in health food stores in Spain! Most Spaniards won't touch it!

Here's a funny story. I was once in a small pueblo's health food store to buy oatmeal for my father-in-law, since he has poor digestion and I thought he might like some with milk. Anyway...After I paid for the oatmeal, I asked the lady if she by any chance had "crema de cacahuete" (peanut butter - literally cream of peanuts). She gave me a look of pure disgust, and said (in Spanish), "We don't sell creams here!" in a nasty voice. I thought her reaction was a bit extreme, but I smiled politely, said good-bye, and went my way. It wasn't until I was halfway down the street when I realized that she thought peanut butter was a skin cream!

hey everyone, well this is a little off topic but i just thought i would tell a funny little story i have. i had to fill out a biography to be matched with a spanish student on my trip this summer and i run cross country so i asked my spanish teacher how to say this and he told me to write "Me gusta cruz campo". little did i know that this was a beer in spain! so my spanish family was very worried and thought they were going to be hosting an alcoholic! but it was cleared up =) oh and one question, as a gift my spanish family gave me these plastic containers of chocolate stuff they put in sandwiches and i was wondering if you can buy it in the us. it is like thick chocolate icing sort of....nocilla or something. any ideas?
cd

Mmmmmmm! Nocilla! It's what kept this skinny kid alive when I was growing up. Being a fussy eater then, and still somewhat now, I ate only Nocilla sanwiches, pan, sin mantequilla, salads, and Tortillas de patata.
I grew to appreciate Spanish food later.
There were always Americans at Pryca looking for corn. The Spaniards would always seem pensive since they consider corn to be animal feed for the most part!
I am currently longing for Spanish potato chips! YUMMY

This thread is a hoot!! MM, no, it is not the Cuevas de Luis Candelas I am thinking of. I ate there once, and HATED the touristy atmosphere. Much too hokey for me. And claustrophobic. OK, this place would be on the east side of the plaza, then, I guess. Just a bar, with an entrance off the plaza and another one off the side street. An ice cream freezer by the door, simple tables up front, some tables in the back for regular meals... anyway. It was a good place for my family like 10 years ago when ALL my kid wanted was cola-jet and un vasito de heldao camy etc. Nocilla makes me laugh. And yes, you CAN get mantequilla de cacahuete (p.b.) in places like El Corte. The kid lived on that, too. But he does love tortilla de patata!! Diana gave the exact preferred method for the flip. You have to lift the sides of the tortilla slightly with the spatula so it is mostly cooked. You also need a plate that covers the pan about perfectly. I always do my flip over the sink just in case! mmmmm

Wait, MM, I am terrible with directions. If you are staring at the steps that lead down the Arco de Cuchilleros, the bar I am talking about is on your right, at one of the arches leading out of the plaza (E or W? no se). If I weren't lazy I'd go look at my map, but I won't remember the name of it. MM, you should try some of the Basque restaurants in Madrid, riquisimos. Check out the casa vasca, right next to the Spanish teatro on, what, Zorrilla? You can munch downstairs (great tapas, also some dishes that are good and cheap), or eat in the more formal restaurant on the second floor. It's great! If you have never eated at Eidelweiss (right near the casa vasca... on jovellanos?!?), it is an absolute essential Madrid experience. Go early, go hungry. The portions are huge. Same waiters today as from when I studied in Madrid in the 70s!!!


eaten, not eated. SOrry, working with LYNX!

[This message has been edited by rgf (edited 08-19-2000).]