La Rioja:
Haro: Terete, c/General Franco--very good, moderately priced meals; lamb is excellent; lowest priced house wine exceeded my expectations..a good recommendation by our waitress; many locals dine here; very casual surroundings with seating at long wooden tables
LaGuardia: Antigua Bodega de Don Cosme Palacio, Carretera de Elciego, outside of LaGuardia--good food, short menu, excellent wines; "refined" but rustic atmosphere; waiter a bit stand-offish but could have been because he was the only one working that night!!
Guipúzcoa:
Hondarríbia: ARRAUNLARI, Paseo Butrón, by the Malecón--absolutely the greatest, most exquisite meal I have ever had!!; elegantly casual surroundings; lovely, professional service; the menú del día (Menú Bidasoa) at 4200 pesetas per person included marvelous seafood dishes, a great house wine (white) and a fantastic dessert platter (trio of upscale desserts). Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the waitress brought us a plate of small, creamy, intensively rich chocolate balls...Need I say more? Total bill: $50 for the two of us. Estupendo!
Hondarribia: Don't know the name of this restaurant but it's on a hill, by the church and ruins outside of the town; easily visible (and walkable) from Casa Iketxe; good home-cooking (get the beans--it's a fabada type dish), cider available, very friendly service; cheap!
Hondarribia: Leukona, c/San Pedro--very popular bar/restaurant good for wine and tapas/raciónes.
Hondarribia: Gran Sol Taberna Jatelxea (hope I got the spelling right, it's really difficult to read the name on their "card"), c/San Pedro--nice tapas bar offering excellent, innovative tapas and raciónes; some tables; slightly older more sophisticated clientele.
Cantabria:
Comillas: Hostal Esmeralda, c/Antonio López--Gilberto cooked up a wonderful shellfish soup, steak with patatas fritas and roasted peppers (no room for dessert!); very good house wine; small, but classy, hostal restaurant with personalized service provided by the friendly and attentive Gilberto.
Comillas: Restaurant on the street behind the Esmeralda (maybe someone knows the name); great food, friendly service; popular with the locals (many young adults); moderate
Comillas: Bar Filipinas, at the crossroads into town--busy, noisy bar/restaurant with good cheap vino tinto, tasty tapas/raciónes and, by the looks of it, great cheap meals; a local clientele; dishes were coming out of the kitchen at an unparalled pace.
Castilla/León:
Turegano: El Zaguán, Plaza de España--great food; somewhat innovative (try the red peppers with dollops of garlic cream or the rape in a cream sauce) or one of the local favorites, cochifrito--sorry, I didn't care for it--in a lovely restaurant (horno de asar)in a totally restored building in a corner of the plaza; very friendly and helpful service provided by the wonderful Monica, a young, smiling Colombian girl who is practically part of the family; the menú del día is very reasonably priced; otherwise, moderate.
Segovia: Jose María, c/Cronista Lecea off of the Plaza Mayor--very popular, bustling restaurant with cochinillo asado (portion appears large but turns out to be rather skimpy, I thought) a specialty; appears to be the "in" place with well-dressed locals; good food but perhaps overpriced?
Extremadura:
Trujillo: Mesón La Troya, Plaza Mayor--a typical mesón offering a reasonable menú del día with many choices (verbally recited, no written menu, listen closely!); huge portions of "home-style" cooking; tortilla and salad are on your table before you've had a chance to grab your napkin!; service is rushed but we simply refused to hurry (as a result, we were the last patrons to leave and had to pay the dueña at her table!)
Castilla/La Mancha:
Toledo: Los Cuatro Tiempos, c/Sixto Ramón Parro (near the cathedral)--a very reasonable and wonderful menú del día (but notice that it does NOT include wine) in classy surroundings with dignified, professional service; good value, especially for such a central location in Toledo.
Toledo: Mille Grazie, c/Cadena--Looking for something different? This is an Italian Ristorante e Pizzería in the heart of Toledo. (We must have circled the area a half dozen times before asking at a local shop for directions and finding that it was "right down the street," of course!); huge selection of pasta, pizza, veal/chicken, etc. (After soup and pasta, we chose to "share" a tender, tasty veal marsala followed by two great desserts--tiramisú and some other creamy concoction)in a pretty, interestingly decorated and comfortable room; moderate.
Madrid Province:
Madrid: Restaurante Casa Valencia, Paseo del Pintor Rosales (not terribly far from the Plaza de España)--a very busy restaurant popular with well-dressed businessmen, couples, etc.; a very large selection of rice dishes with paella valenciana highly in demand; good onion soup, fantastic mushrooms; great desserts; gorgeous surroundings (notice the crystal chandeliers with dangling grapes!); excellent service; approximately $50 for two (three courses plus excellent white house wine).
Madrid: many restaurants all over the city--just peek inside to see that the diners are locals and then check the menu (posted outdoors) for prices; many menús del día for 1200 pesetas per person--a terrific bargain!; While waiting at the bar for an available table, we ordered some vino tinto...and received a nice platter of gambas a la plancha free! In another small, neighborhood restaurant where we had ordered the menú, I spied a nearby dessert (ponche segoviana...wow!) which was not an included choice. The owner explained that there would be a small supplement (200 pesetas)...no problem.
Tapas bars: We spent the evenings frequenting numerous bars on streets adjacent to the Gran Vía, on tiny streets off of the Plaza Mayor (great bocadillos de calamare for 200 pesetas and a glass of wine for 100 pesetas!), etc. I was amazed at how many places served free tapas, and not just olives! Overall, we found Madrid to be a great bargain (for eating, drinking and sleeping)--a welcome surprise in such a sophisticated capital city.
P.S. Please keep in mind that I've never met a wine I didn't like but I'm fairly critical of food.
P.P.S. Madridman, please feel free to edit my ramblings!
[ 11-21-2001: Message edited by: Carole Chiaro ]
Thanks, Carole Chiaro!!!! My goodness! What a complete report! You've just helped many many many people for their future dining outings. You're the best!
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