ok, since the dollar currently buys SO MANY pesetas... have any of you in the U.S. bought goods from Spain on line to take advantage of it? What sites are there? Can you shop from El corte ingles, for example? thanks!

I found current Spanish CDs at inflated prices at Amazon and ordered Kiko Tovar and Nauta. They arrived a month after. I'd love to hear if someone's successfully ordered books or cds from Spanish stores via the internet (and had them delivered to the US)

Hi Group!! Just thought I'd mention that I have ordered chorizo, lomo, and salchichon from Tienda.com about 3 times and loved the products. Not all the products are FROM Spain, but others are made from the same meats and processed in 'the Spanish way' here in the US.

Just a couple of days ago, I ordered, from La Española Meats , 3 different kinds of chorizo (2 of which were from/of the 'Bilbao' variety -- after ordering and doing more research I found, I think, that Chorizo Bilbao is a kind of cooking chorizo. Is this true??), lomo, and 2 pounds of jamon serrano. And guess what! Nearly ALL of their products are about HALF the price of those of Tienda.com ! I'll let you know of the quality of the La Española Meats after it arrives.... in New Mexico (going there this weekend - also taking 10 cans of aceitunas con anchoa - store bought).

Saludos, MadridMan

I've been ordering from La Espanola for the past 8 years, and their chorizo is good. My favorites are "chorizo cular","pamplona" and "cantimpalitos" (little choricitos). I fry the cantimpalitos in olive oil, and they are delicious. I also cook them on the grill (you have to use skewers for this); I love eating them "en bocadillo".
The chorizo tipo bilbao is a softer chorizo, used for cooking. You can try frying it, but I mostly use it to make lentejas and cocido.
Next time, make sure you ask them before placing your order. They are very friendly and helpful, and won't mind walking you through your order, and make sure you get what you are looking for. They are a good company with good products. I've never had a problem with them.
Angela

I actually didn't call La Española Meats, but used their online shopping site instead. Too bad too.. I bought 1-pound packages of 2 different selections of chorizo bilbao. The other was chorizo rioja. Oh well. I'm sure the lomo and jamon serrano will be good. I can't wait to "dig in"! I just hope the package arrives BEFORE I do!

Saludos, MadridMan

Hi Madridman, I, too, have been ordering through La Española Meats for years and have always been a satisfied customer. Once you receive your package from them, it should include a copy of their catalog. I like ordering from their catalog better than online because, as the previous post states, they are very helpful in answering questions.

p.s.I just got back from New Mexico where I spent a long weekend with my abuela. I went to Café Broadway in Albuquerque, food was good though the atmosphere was a bit plain. In Santa Fe, try El Faro on Canyon Rd, you are guaranteed a good time, especially if there is live music! Let me know of any other places there, as I'm sure your ladyfriend has many!. Have Fun! Pack warm, it snowed yesterday.

I have to share this.

A day after my birthday in October, I received about 9 pounds of assorted products from La Espanola Meats (from whom I had ordered previously).

Thinking that my daugher had ordered and sent it as a gift, I e-mailed her a thank- you note. She responded that it was not she who had ordered it.

Non-plussed, I e-mailed La Espanola Meats to learn how I had come by this beneficence.

They replied that it had been ordered and paid for by someone else, but sent to me by mistake.

Further, they said that because it was my birthday, I should keep it as a gift from them.

I thought that very much in the tradition of the Spanish grand gesture. These are very nice people. I thank them again.
Cantabene

WOW!!!! What a GRRRREAT story! How very very nice of them to allow you keep all those feverishly opened and passionately half-devoured meaty Spanish items after they admitted their mistake. hehehe... I wouldn't mind if they made such a faux pas (pronounced in English as "Fox Paws". hehehe) on or about MY birthday. (Which, for whomever cares, is towards the beginning of December. HINT! HINT! WINK! WINK! Hehehehe!! <yes, just kidding> ).

So, Happy Belated Birthday, cantabene!! Did/do you find the general quality of La Española Meats' product to be average, good, or excellent? (please fill in the appropriate box and pass your tests to the front of the class. hehehe...) I'll be sure to let you all know HERE, in this thread, just because I'm that kind of a follow-up guy.

Saludos, MadridMan

MM-All of the La Espanola products I've tried have been excellent. The meats come vacuum sealed in sturdy plastic wrap and are dated. The more heavily seasoned, cured sausages can be dated as far ahead as a year or two. So far La Espanola is my only source for authentic Morcilla--indispensable for fabada and cocido. Reasonably priced and very good.

I could not be more pleased. I love to cook Spanish food--always difficult to replicate in the USA because it's not easy to find the proper ingredients--and feel fortunate to have discovered this source.
Cantabene

Does anyone know of a good website for Spanish art? Thanks.

So here's my follow up. Can you believe the La Española Meats order came and I didn't get to try ANY of it?? I ignorantly ordered 3 different kinds of chorizo, ALL OF THEM of the cooking chorizo variety. ARGH! The lomo looked fine, but we were all surprised that the jamon serrano was not dry, but very very moist/wet. They opened the package, put it in the refrigerator, and the cold, dry air did the job in a few hours.

alejandro, you might want to try the Spanish Art section of Tienda.com . Just go to their main page, then click on PRODUCTS, then SPANISH ART, then there you go! They don't have much of a selection however.

Saludos, MadridMan

Did I hear "fabada"? YUM!!! Does anyone have a good fabada recipe or one for lentejas that is SPANISH? I'm always finding cheap Latin American imitations...and nothing can replace the delicious cocido español!

I'm logging onto La Española...you should see if they'll advertise on the MM site, MM! I would love to say "MadridMan sent me"!

Oops...I just posted and realized that I had inadvertently placed the English "YUM".

Unbeknownst to many, the Spanish version of that is "ñam ñam". The things you learn while supping from the pages of "Mortadelo y Filemón"!!! Anybody else read those 'books'?

Hehehe.. Good idea Calibasco, but... nah nah nah nah nah nah... hehehe.. I already thought of it. La Española Meats has already been "solicited" (as has Tienda.com), but have received no reply yet. Ah well. That's how it is sometimes with big companies.

I too have to settle for the cheap latin american 'version' of Fabada-in-a-can and I like it a lot, but prefer the cans of garbanzos, chorizo, potatoes, and ham. Mmmm... Sooo gooood..... I saw another place online that only sold green olives and olive oil from Spain. I don't recall the URL right now...

Saludos, MadridMan

When I lived in Madrid in the 70s I often visited a small neighborhood restaurant that in winter always offered a fabada. That, together with a "media de tinto" was wonderful reinforcement against the cold.

In trying to replicate that dish in later years here in the USA, I always failed--because I lacked both a good morcilla and the proper pimenton.

When I finally acquired some of the La Chinata sweet, smoked pimenton, the dish came together as the one I remembered from that tiny restaurant. It was the pimenton that was essential to creating the familiar flavor.

By the way, a reliable recipe for fabada can be found in the Penelope Casas book, "The Foods and Wines of Spain."

Ms. Casas' recipe includes pimenton, but does not specify that it must be the Spanish smoked type. Although she does refer to that elsewhere in the book. Que aproveche!
Cantabene

[This message has been edited by cantabene (edited 11-15-2000).]

Thanks, cantabene. I actually am too cheap to buy those books, so I rely on my fellow friends who love Spain to have them...I'm in luck, and I'm in the kitchen!

After reading this thread I checked out Tienda.com and found so many great items for reasonable prices.....although I didn't buy any whole jamon or queso. Yikes! I got about 10 different items for $60(including shipping) Thanks everyone.