Mongo!

Are we on the same schedule?

I will see you at ADRIANO again!

Yes, you are a most loved person at ADRIANO.

I will for sure join the Madridman's Party.

Also, although you are such a popular/busy guy, we could set time atside for coffee!

See you there!

Hola Epaulino! I hope your flight goes better than the last time! (Mine too!) I have nothing but time this trip. 10 days and not a thing planned except the MM party, so coffee should be easy.

Maybe I should have a party with Mongo night.
Nah, that would be redundant!

Dear hawntraveller, hola everyone!

I´ll be in Madrid by end of April and I was about to ask the same question! I am thrilled about the many possibilities and cannot wait to try them. I won´t be in town for the Party with MadridMan but I´ll try the Asquinias Gallego for sure.
Does anyone know, whether Tinto de Verano is as popular in Madrid as it is in Andalucia?
Anyone with a good suggestion for a flamenco aficionada where to go and see a good dance or hear a good singer? Has anyone been to take some classes at the Amor de Dios by any chance?

From Prusiia with Love,
La Calma

Everyone I know in Madrid that works during the day drinks tinto de verano with lunch. I think it keeps them from drinking too much and going back to work tipsy You see it on tap in many places and there is always the ubiquitous bottle of La Casera next to the beer taps.

I think I'll have one now! I can drain my precious stash now that I will be returning to Madrid in 2 weeks

Dear Mongo,

cool! Glad to hear it. I am sick of explaining arrogant waiters in hip bars back home what exactly a tdv is...
I tried to establish the tdv as the new hip summer drink in Berlin, Germany ( I am sick of caipirinhas, too), but so far no luck.

Enjoy!
La Calma

To La Calma,

The only flamenco place I know is La Corral de Pacheca. It is a dinner show, but you can go in just to see the show. The food is mas a menor. It's a tourist destination. A little pricey, but for the flamenco afficianado, and I'm very literal about my ametuer status, I thought the dancing y guitarra was muy bueno.

For the best service and the best seafood: Las tres Encinas near the Puerta del Sol! Pricey but the best sopa de mariscos ever.

I must apologize to people who have asked me questions here in this thread - I haven´t followed it as closely as I should have but the pre-trip preparations (and now I´m here!) has been an understandable distraction.

Regarding places to eat in Madrid: You can be sure you´ll get lots of reviews of the Cervecería San Andrés on the Plaza San Andrés after the party on April 16th. I looked over their menu this morning and wow, I was impressed with their selection and CHEAP PRICES!

Peter San Diego wrote:
No. I AVOID Madrid during the summer. I know. I know. But it´s WAY too hot for me.

Mongo/Matt, you can be sure we´ll meet this time around.

I´m still looking forward to going back to the famed and favorite EL BRILLANTE on Glorieta de Atocho, 8.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hello (again), All!

I thought I'd add my comments about my/our Cocido lunch at Lhardy (web: http://www.LHARDY.com ) last Friday.

We made 2:30pm reservations (NECESSARY!!!) and they asked upon making the reseverations IF we'd be ordering the Cocido. I thought this interesting but now not since Lhardy is FAMOUS for their Cocido if only for the history of serving cocido madrileño at this 150+ YEAR OLD RESTAURANT on Carrera de San Jerónimo, 8 - just east of of the Puerta del Sol.

WOW. WHAT LUXURY! WHAT ELEGANCE! WHAT HISTORY! Really. This place is just incredible. While Botín beats this place on history (Botín is the OLDEST operating restaurant on the planet) and rustic-ness, Lhardy is like dining in a palace.

You arrive at street-level and a suited doorman smiles, nods, and open the door with his white-gloved hand. You pass through the foyer to the stairs where you go up to the next floor. There, someone meets you and asks if you have reservations. If you do, they seat you in one of their two dining rooms. Apparently, there are 6 dining rooms but the others are for private gatherings. We were seated in the front, street-side main dining room, called "Isabelline" (see photo on their website), which was nicely illuminated, large mirrors and paintings, beautiful place-settings, and tuxedo-wearing waiters (all men). I was surprised to appear to be the ONLY non-Spaniard in the place. I was certain it would be full of tourists but I was very wrong. In fact, 2 men wore suits but some younger people, apparently there with their families, were wearing jeans and T-shirts.

There were only about 12 well-spaced tables in this dining room. We, of course, had the cocido madrileño and ordered a bottle of Crianza Rioja with the meal. Everything was good. But we joked that we (that is, my ladyfriend) could make the same good-tasting meal at home for about 10% of what we were paying at Lhardy. Hehehe... So yes, the cocido was good but we were paying for the 1.5-hour experience more than anything.

Below I'm itemizing the bill NOT to brag about how rich I am (because I'm not. And besides, my ladyfriend was going to pay the bill. ) but more to show how much this place really is, for a typical meal there. I think people often shy-away from places because they don't know how much things really cost.

Here we go.. prepare yourselves....

2 Pan y Mantequilla (bread & butter): 4.20 € ($5.56)
2 Cocido: 55 € ($72.84 :eek )
1 Tocino Cielo (desert): 7 € ($9.27)
1 Soufle Sorpresa (desert): 10 € ($13.25)
1 Agua Mineral (bottled water): 3.50 €($4.64)
2 Quinta (2 aparetifs of sherry): 6.00 € ($7.95)
1 Azpilicueta Crianza (Rioja wine): 18.00 € ($23.83)

Subtotal: 103.70 €
I.V.A. 7%: 7.26

Total: 110.96 € ($146.87 )

Here's the funny part. While talking during the meal (I was careful NOT to put my one hand on my lap under the table, by the way - how rude! hehehe...) I mentioned to my ladyfriend (who was paying for the meal at her invitation) that I doubted if they had waiters who spoke English, menus in English, or an English version of their website . She said, "I bet they do!" SO WE BET THE MEAL!! Wwe called over the waiter and he said yes, they speak some Spanish, they have an English menu (he brought it over to me), AND their website has an English version which includes prices. WOW. HOW WRONG I WAS! $$$$ €€€€ OUCH! I PAID DEARLY!!! Hehehehe.. Thank goodness they accepted American Express. Cha-Ching!

So do I recommend Lhardy? Well, SURE, if you have that kind of money to spend and want a special, elegant dining experience. The food is good and plentiful. I suppose they're open for dinner too but they're more "famous" for their lunches as you wouldn't (I don't think) order Cocido for DINNER. I doubt I'd go back again, though, UNLESS someone else was paying the bill. hehehe...

Is this place a "Can't Miss Place to Eat"? No. One can miss Lhardy easily and without repent. You can certainly buy a lot of good meals at other restaurants for the price of this one meal at Lhardy. This is the kind of place for something SPECIAL, something memorable, something elegant and historical.

So that's that! Hope it helps someone in the future.

Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks MadridMan for a detailed review of Lhardy\'s ! I really appreciate it! I have passed Lhardy's gazillions of times, but never dined there. In 1980, one of my professors, Aurora de Albornoz , a known poet and authority on Juan Ramón Jiménez, used to speak of Lhardy (to us poor students )with such respect for the authentic old world atmosphere and over-all dining experience. It was really great to relive the experience with you, MadridMan!