Andres, Lo siento---my apologies for the unfamiliar slang. But, you are a man-about-town in Madrid, no? Do you have a patatas bravas recommendation? Your post concerning the wine store was appreciated.
Thanks, Kitt

man-about-town?

Wolf I think that if I have to learn American slang, British slang, Irish slang, Australian slang, New Zealand slang, South African slang.........to be able to understand them I´d better start thinking about suicide ,I mean, all of us have a lot of things to do in life and just keeping one English alive means many hours every week let alone if I had to know the different slangs around the world. Wouldnt it be a little bit easier if English speakers understood that English has become the international language of the world and that when you are not in your local environment people are not going to understand your slang?

Andrés

[ 02-11-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

I agree that we should avoid slang (popular expressions that change as often as fashions do!), but there are expressions (idioms, colloquialisms) that have entered every language's popular vocabulary and should be part of any language learner's "homework"! That's not to say that we shouldn't be mindful of the variety of languages spoken here (we do, in fact, have some board visitors whose first language is neither English nor Spanish!), of course!

I hope board users will ALL feel comfortable asking for help when an expression is unfamiliar...and the number of threads that have been dedicated to language issues (slang, local expressions, differences between Spanish in Spain and in the Americas, etc.) certainly suggests that members like to talk about "how people talk"!

Andres, I think "zero in on" comes from using military targeting equipment (and the expression is not a new one), and "man about town" is commonly used to refer to a person who knows a place well and moves about in it smoothly.

And we ALL should know what "brave potatoes" means!

Mmmm... Just a few more weeks until my next helping of patatas bravas. Mmmmm.... Yum..

I'm puzzled, doesn't ANYBODY here call them 'papas bravas'?

(Then it must be a Zaragoza thing....)

Pim

[ 02-15-2002: Message edited by: pim ]

Kitt the advice given so far is right.
If you are looking for "Bravo potatoes" then the district to go is "Huertas" and the bar any of the four "Las Bravas" you will find there (they have this orange outside colour you cant miss).
Thomas Cook in his guide "time for food" is the first bar he recommends in "Huertas" but Thomas Cook doesn´t say, and only knowledgable natives know, that if their Patatas Bravas are good there are no words for their "Tortilla de patata Brava"(with a red spicy sauce on top). Be careful not to ask for the Tortilla at the end I am sure you will prefer it to the Bravas.

A.J.

[ 02-14-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Andres, Since I read your reply concerning the "Tortilla de Patata Brava" I can't stop thinking of how delicious that could be. Thank you very much, I will definitely want to try that!
Do you happen to know how that "Brava" sauce is made? I don't know if I can wait until I get to Madrid----maybe I should practice at home??
Thank you, Kitt

Ummhh not only I don´t know but I would be careful about asking questions ;-)let me explain:
The first think you will notice about this place is this Patent number just right on their sign they boast so much about. Yes! they have a copyright on their sauce so if you try to know what the sauce is made of make sure there is no lawer around ;-)

Cheers,

Andrés

Ok, I give up, what are patatas bravas? I will be in Madrid visiting my son for two weeks beginning March 30th. I'll want to impress him with my knowledge of Spanish delicacies which I figure from perusing this board are: churros, cafe con leche and patatas bravas - only, what the heck are they? Enlighten me, por favor!

Mama Chula (cute name),
Patatas Bravas are slices or cubed pieces of boiled (in olive oil, correct?) potatoes covered with a spicey reddish brown sauce and usually eaten as a tapa with tooth picks. You can see a photo of them HERE (on the right), photo taken at El Brillante in Madrid by our own board member, replay (see his photo HERE ).

Mama chula, hey! You'll be in Madrid on April 4th!! That's when I'm having the next "Party With MadridMan: Version 4.0" at El Brillante! Keep an eye on the website for more details. Hope to see you there!

Saludos, MadridMan :p salivating at the thought of patatas bravas

[ 02-20-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]