I know that many of you share my love of Spanish cuisine. Being as I have an impending trip in 2 1/2 weeks, I offer this to my fellow MadridMan's Spain message board members-

Post your favorite tapa and I will try to eat said tapa in your name in one of my favorite tascas.

This offer also includes wine, beer, sangria, licores and tinto de verano.

Okay. I'll bite. hehehe...

In MY name, please have some patatas bravas with a Mahou beer. Mmmmm.... :p

Have Yummmm! err... I mean, FUN!

Saludos, MadridMan

I think I will have your 'bravas' at El Abuelo where they give you both bravas sauce AND ali-oli.

Hi Mongo
Please have some Gambas al Pil Pil - a must when in Spain.
Robbieroy

Mongo ....

Pulpo a la Gallega and langostinos and jamon for me please (although I'm not sure I've ever had pulpo as a tapas before).

Only I'll be there before you :p , so if there's anything you want me to train you for in anticipation?????

Jo

Ok Mongo...I saw this on the Food Channel. I don't know which restaurant they were at in Madrid, but it was at a tapas restaurant that served ranacuajo (tadpoles), yuk! :p . Those suckers were huge! Are you up for that?

Now, I know Spaniards eat some pretty weird stuff but tadpoles???? No thanks! :p :p :p

Not a hard one, but still my favorite: jamón iberico ...mmmmm

OK Joanne, have some mollejas and any kind of bacalao. I think bacalao is what I miss most

I never herar of anybody eating tadpoles. Frog legs yes, or river rats, or snails, but never such thing.

I use to fish them when i was a kid, but I left them again in the water.

This is great Mongo - a bona fide excuse to eat MORE - thanks

Jo

langostinos!!!!!Where are you going this trip Jo?

Hi Mongo --

Although I live here in Madrid, I thought I´d let you share my enjoyment of morcilla de arroz (or de Burgos).

Absolutely ñam ñam!!

Just have it in the name of Chica!

Puna I'm off to Madrid again :-)

This could be a good escuse for a tapas crawl - we can test out all the tapas to get Mongo trained up by proxy ... ? We don't want him to struggle when it's his turn do we?

Chica, Pim, Ignacio .. anyone?

Jo

Very unfortunately for me in this matter, I will spend most of September abroad. When are u coming?

Please have gambas al ajillo for me. And a cafe leche-leche.

Doesn't anyone want tortilla? It's OK, I will have one anyway!

I LOVE tortilla, but can make my own. Although It doesn't taste as good as it does in Spain

Ignacio - I'll be there middle of next week.

Jo

Oooooh. I'll be in Dominican Republic, but I'll be in town for a couple of days on 11th I hope you are still here.

As I don't want to monopolize this thread, I am sending you a PM.

If I was to move abroad right now I think I'd mostly miss:....white asparagus, both natural (my mum's are THE best) and bottled or canned, 'lomo embuchado', etc, etc, etc...and the possibility of having a wonderful 'pulga de tortilla' (pulga(flea)=very small 'bocadillo'(sandwich)) anytime I want most anywhere I am, without the trouble of having to run home to make a 'tortilla de patatas' myself....
And once in a while I'm positive I'd have to prepare me a fix of 'papas bravas', 'bocadillo de calamares', 'tortilla campera', 'canapés de cangrejo', 'revueltos (de morcilla, gambas, trigueros, chorizo, jamón, gulas....)', 'paella de verduras', 'croquetas', homemade mayonnaise,....and huge sandwiches of jamón with 'pan tumaca' (I blame my love of good ham for not being able to become a veggie) :o

The first thing that came from my sis' lips when she gave birth to her baby in London was "Mum make me some lentejaaaaaaas!!!' (lentils)

Hey Jo, get in touch next week girl!

and gambas al ajillo and white asparagus ....
MM, we need an icon that drools in hunger!!!!

That reminds me-Green asparagus "a la plancha" with ali oli and vino Ribeiro at Viña P on the Plaza Santa Ana. And don't forget mussels (con salsa picante) at La Ria in the Pasaje Mathieu.

Pescaito frito almost anywhere in Sevilla!

Please have a big frosty mug of Cruzcampo in a busy placa (I think that's the word) for me.....Jake

Chicago Jake-I have several Cruzcampos in my fridge right now, I will have one tonight but I will also have several (many?) in your stead when I arrive in Spain!

We just made patatas bravas tonight... yum! If you can get to Bar Stop Madrid on Calle Hortaleza in Madrid, virtually any tapas there are great. Simple, yet fantastic...

OK Mongo, I don't want you to have to walk too far,.. so go to Casa del Abuelo II on Calle Nuñez de Arce and get some pimientos fritos for me.

Please say hello to the guys at Hostal Adriano for me.

Our good friends from Madrid were just here in California for a visit. What a great time!!

Lee..GoMadrid

Lee, do you want me to have the 'chato de vino Abuelo' too? No extra charge!

Check your private mail

Thanks Mongo, but no chato..that stuff is too sweet for me.

After you have eaten all the tapas, an aguardiente de orujo would be nice.

Chipirones fritos and pimientos de padron - together, if possible! (Have your beer ready!)

I think you'll be there when niscalos are in season. If you see them offered, and haven't tried them before, try them! They're delicious, especially a la plancha with some garlic!

Ok, I'll bite. What are niscalos?

They're a type of fairly large mushroom - bright orange with green stuff on them - looks like mold, but it's part of the mushroom. Sounds awful, but really - they're out of this world! They're only available for a short time around this time of year, and since they're hard to find, they're a bit pricey. In Cataluna I think they're called rovellones.

LOL
I`d kill for a roast beef dinner now..

Price i pay for being in Spain too long,ah well for all those left in UK-enjoy the rain LOL..

Mongo - I think you are there now?

I have trained well for you ...


I spent 6 days eating everything in sight, including many of those tapas mentioned. I am well and truly stuffed! It was hard work, but I really wanted you to be ready to do justice to the Tapas By Proxy eating schedule.



This feast was at MM's favourite, el Brillante, and I had to really force myself to complete the training schedule here, the pace was a bit too much too soon. I did thoroughly enjoy every mouthful though.

Thanks to pim, Chica and miguelito, I also managed some more serious training sessions.

I hope you appreciate the hardship and effort I went to to help you in your mission to Proxy.

It was tough

Hope you really enjoy the real thing on behalf of everyone, and please please please have some Pulpo a la Gallega for me, it was one of the few things I didn't manage to do a work out with, and is my all time favourite excercise.

Jo

ps - spike1 .... lastly .... can you believe that on my way home two days ago, there was a big picture of a roast beef dinner in Barajas airport at the self serve cafe place? Yes, it was their main dish!

Oh my! Oh my! OH MY! Jo Anne wrote: Was that photo taken at El Brillante???????!?!?! If so, THAT MEANS THEIR TERRAZA HAS RE-OPENED!! WOO HOO!!!

Thanks for the report, Jo Anne! Can't wait to get Mongo's too. Yummmm... :p

Saludos, MadridMan <burp!>

Yes, it was taken at the one and only el Brillante, just a few days ago, but the table was at the back (facing the Reina Sofia), not the terraza at the front.

Diana

Chica, pim, myself and my friend had the Pimientos de Padron BUT .... aaaaargh! ! The first one I ate was a killer and the girls witnessed me being a crying sniffling wreck! I was brave though and ate another 5 or 6 of them which were wonderful Sneaky little things aren't they?

Pass the water.

Jo

Hey Jo --- good for you for eating some more!!!

Personally, I'd go for the beer instead of the water!

This summer I bought a package of pimientos de padron, took them home (Costa Brava at the time) to fry them up - and can you believe it, not a single one was "hot?" I was bummed!

I'm impressed! You did a great job!

LOL
Thanks for that Jo...

I did have a Barajas roast dinner.Not good.

I have enough trouble asking for beef here.

I must admit tho.no probs with peppers and tomatoes,i should be a vegetarian but havent had a good roast dinner for a month.

Glad your trip went well

Do you need a winter hol in a villa with pool.Good rates LOL.

Marmite(forgot it) and mustard accepted as part payments.

Spike

I bought a package of seeds (pimientos de padron) and brought them back, too. I think that is illegal...but that's a whole different topic. I had the opposite effect. EVERY ONE is really hot. Which is good for me because those are the best ones - but it gave my friend hiccups!

Since this thread has been resureccted, I have a request.

When I was in Madrid in April, I failed to have
"Gambas al Ajillo". It has a certain sentimental value to me.

Can anyone cover me on this?

Mongo:

I am not going back to Madrid until the end of September, so you will probably be able to take care of this yourself. But do not fear, I will go to Casa del Abuelo and get gambas al ajillo for you. Do you want gambas al la plancha too?

Hola GoMadrid-I am hoping to be there myself at that time. I always like to take advantage of the warmer weather cuisine such as gazpacho and tinto verano without the full summer heat. Hopefully I will run into you in the elevator!

Although I enjoy the gambas at Abuelo II
(my friend Inez runs the place), I prefer to get my gambas and langostinos across the street at "La Costa de Vejer". They are a better value, just as good and with less tourist traffic. There is nothing more relaxing to me than a plate of langostinos, a glass of fino and reading a copy The Herald Tribune spread out on the bar before a siesta in Hostal Adriano. (Costa Vejer doesn't close in the afternoon.)

Mongo wrote:
Mongo, what a great idea! I think I will prepare some tonight in your honor!! yum yum!!!

This is NOT fair. you guys are having all the fun. am a wreck Can't wait to get there.

Ok, first a poll for those of us who have never been to Madrid.

1) the very VERY best place to eat Tapas
2) favorite tapa - you can only pick one
3) Indicate where in Madrid to find this place, with geographical references (for the rest of us)

Next question; someone said something about bringing back food item(s). What are the chances of bringing back a Hamon Serrano?

To answer your first question, I really believe that there is not one single place that has the best all around tapas. The large places like Bar Brillante across from Atocha station and the bar at Hotel Europa will give you good overview.

To really get the best you need to go to the smaller specialty places such as El Abuelo for gambas, La Trucha for smoked fish and calamares and Oreja de Oro for orejas and mollejas.

My favorite, if I had to decide would be Mollejas. They are the sweetbreads of lamb, grilled in garlic and parsley with a squeeze of lemon. This may change tomorrow and will certainly change on my next trip. (See Oreja de Oro, above and below)

The best area in my mind for tapas is around c/Victoria where it crosses c/ de la Cruz and over to Nunez del Arce up to Plaza Santa Ana. This includes both Abuelos (a GoMadrid favorite), La Zapateria (Galician raciones), La Tosta, Oreja de Oro and La Costa Vejer.

Another hot area is c/Huertas down the hill to c/Jesus, where both branches of Maceira are. Maceira has the best Galician seafood raciones in town.

C/Postas runs from Sol to Mayor and has some busy places of the old "clean, well lit" variety. My favorite is Sol Mayor, run by my friend Pepe. They specialize in fried seafood. It is a hoot to watch them hustle when they are busy.

As for the jamon, forget it and either buy it from LaTienda.com or try to find it in your city. They sell it in Minneapolis in a greek deli by my house.

I hope this helps!

where are the best beer in the world?i want to find cruzcampo beer